Dave Doeren: "We Can't Turn it Over and Expect to Win"

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media following the Wolfpack's 24-17 loss to Syracuse Saturday evening.

NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.

Opening statement

[This was] a game we lost because of the three turnovers going in to score. All three were different, but all three costly. You’d hope that you did at least get nine points with three trips into the red zone, and to come up with zero on all three trips and lose by one score, obviously, that dictates the outcome of the game. [Kyle McCord] played really well. He's a good football player. He's very accurate and gives his receivers a chance to make plays. They did not turn the ball over offensively, and we did three times. That was the difference in the game. I’m proud of how our guys finished. We were down, and to see them come back like that shows me they’ve got a lot of fight. I am proud of them for that: for coming back, fighting, and giving us a chance to have a one-possession game there down the stretch.

On how deflating the turnovers were...

It’s one of the tenants of our program. We're undefeated in the last five years when we win the turnover margin. We talk about it every week, and the guys know it. We’ve got to do a better job believing it. The most important thing on the whole field is the ball. There's a reason they named the game after it, and we're not coveting the ball enough on offense. Obviously, they did a better job of that than we did with their offense compared to ours, and their defense compared to ours. That was the game. Three times, we just marched right down the field, did a really good job moving the football, converted on those third downs, made some plays, and each time we got down there, it was a different player. We’ve got to get back to protecting the football. That's how you win games.

On evaluating C.J. Bailey...

[There was] some good, some bad. I thought he made some good throws. He missed a couple. He had K.C. [Concepcion] down the middle on one that could have been a really good throw on a vertical seam. He made some plays for us. I know he's taken this hard because of the fumble he had on the blindside hit. I don't put that on him; even though he should be able to hang onto the ball, but when you get hit in the middle of your back, we should protect him better than that. The other one, he was definitely off the mark on the throw to Kendrick [Raphael]; that could be a better throw. C.J. is doing a lot of good things as a true freshman, I'm excited about him, not down on him. He's going to get better and better each week. We're going to ride him. He's our guy, and guys around him have got to make plays for him as they did in fourth quarter. We just need more of them.

On the clock not stopping on the 72-yard pass towards the end of the game...

It was unclear on the field. There's a lot of things unclear on the field. I can't critique officials. You guys know that there was a lot of things down there that were hard to understand.

On seeing separation between the skill players...

We're getting better. I think the chemistry between the quarterback and his receivers is improving. We saw an explosive play from Noah [Rogers]. That was great job by him getting back in bounds after the reroute. I thought Hollywood [Smothers] sparked the offense, and we needed a spark. K.C., we got him involved. Justin Joly continues to make plays. There are some positives, and there were some positives last week. We're just not getting the satisfaction of a win from these things because we're beating ourselves too much. That has to get fixed. Whether it's a costly penalty — we had two guys in motion, that's a mistake by the quarterback, he's got to let the guys get set — or turnovers. The fastest way to lose the games is to beat yourself. We’ve been pretty good at that around here: not beating ourselves over the last four seasons, and this year, we’ve got to get back to it. This team will continue to work. They'll continue to get better, and there are some good, young players, so we’ve got to let those guys mature and play for their quarterback.

On the Carter-Finley Stadium atmosphere...

It was awesome the crowd was great. I’m very thankful. I thought the uniforms looked great, too. The crowd was awesome. Man, they were loud. They were into it. It's been a while; Obviously, it's our first Saturday night game of the year, and it took seven weeks to get one. The first game being at night, but it's on a Thursday, so it's great to have a weekend that way. I’m thankful to the fans and to the student section; they were great. I know they're frustrated by the outcome of this game. Just hang in there. We have some good, young players that are fighting hard for you, and they're going to keep getting better.

On third-down and fourth-down defense...

We had opportunities, for sure, a lot of third-and-mediums. They made more plays than we did. We’ve got to have tighter coverage. We missed Brandon Cisse tonight for sure, one of our best defensive backs. We missed having him out there. We missed not having [Caden Fordham] on defense. When you're missing good players on a certain side of the ball on key downs, it shows up. Was it good enough? No. We expect to be better than 8-of-15, so [above] 50 percent. We expect to be better than that. Obviously, fourth down, they were only 1-of-3 which means we were 2-of-3. That's pretty good. It's the third-and-medium area where they converted on some slants, and there's really tight coverage, good throws, and catches by their guys. We’ve got to have tighter coverage, and it'll break those up.

On the message to the team...

I just keep telling the truth. We fought hard; I told them I was proud of the fight. We can't turn the ball over three times in the red zone and expect to win. I mean, it's honest. I was proud of how they finished. They fought hard all the way down to the onside kick. We had a chance at that football, and Kanoah [Vinesett] did a nice job.  I’m just telling the truth. I care a lot about these players, and I just want them to play hard for each other and keep getting better. Eventually, the tide will turn if you do it that way.