NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media for the final time prior to this weekend's matchup against Notre Dame.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Thoughts on the game after getting a chance to watch them all week long?
Yeah, I mean a really good football team, what you'd expect, physical, really good tail backs, big defensive ends, big o-line. The receiver we played against at Virginia that's there now is a big, big body that can run and catch football as a physical blocker.
Defensively, very similar, their box has a big rotation on the D-line, a lot of guys get a play. Same thing at linebacker, they've got depth and speed, they're good players. So it's one of those physical football games, and you don't beat anybody like them if you can't stop the run, you can't. And so we've got to do a great job, not just in tackling, but in being sound and our gaps and how we're fitting things, how we're leveraging and getting off of blocks.
And then we get to them, you've got to tackle these guys with wrap-up. I mean, they're going to run through people and that's what good backs do. So it's going to be a fun game. It's going to be a great challenge and the guys are excited to play.
You've always been high on turnover margin. Does it hit home to the players when they watch Boise State with the four interceptions?
Yeah, I mean, first thing I put on the board is we're undefeated with a winning turnover margin for a long time, like a long time. It's a lot of football games where that's a true statement. Over 95% of the games I've coached in since I've been here. So if you want to win a game, that's the The first thing we have to do.
And that takes everybody. It's not just the offense. It's every blocker that's blocking for ball carriers. It's CJ putting the ball in a position where guys can make plays for us. It's not allowing the third guy to get to the back and that guy punches the ball out. It's finishing your blocks and keeping people away from your ball carriers on defense.
All the things go into stripping the football and then, when they give you an opportunity, it's cashing it in, right? And then on special teams, you have opportunities. So there's a lot of plays in a football game. Almost 200 when you add them all up. Offense, defense, special teams. And at the end, you have a score and a lot of times that score is going to be dictated by ball security and taking the ball away.
What do you feel has been the issues on defense and not being able to force those turnovers?
Because to this point, just three turnovers in the season, no fumbles for coverage at this point either. Yeah, we've got a lot of pass breakups and not a lot of interceptions. And so it's just, getting our hands on more footballs obviously comes down to more contested coverage at times. Getting hands up at the line of scrimmage, forcing some tip balls, that creates interceptions.
When you're tackling, it's a lot harder to force fumbles than it is to get interceptions in football. And that's a proven stat. So, when you stop a run, you get people into throwing situations, the result is more interceptions.
And we saw that with this when we played Wake Forest. We got them into a lot of third and longs where we could play with exotic defenses and pass rush and glitzes and create turnovers. And so getting people into those third and longs helps that quite a bit. And then your pass rush,
if you can get to quarterbacks and create some sack force fumbles, that's a good way to get them too.
Knock on wood, what was it like when you saw 65 degrees in the sun against Notre Dame?
Yeah, I know. Yeah, I mean, it's great. It's what it was here the last two days. So, you know, it's nice to have good weather when you play for all teams. And, could be the other way, this time of year.
This could be a really big statement, win. Do you feel like the guys have been practicing kind of with that in mind, with that intensity?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, when you're playing a team that everyone says you can't beat, you know, there's something to that internally. As a competitor, it's one of my favorite things to do is prove people wrong, and I think that's something that I've lived by my whole life. It's something that our team carries with them. But we also know it's something you have to earn on the road.
A lot of teams have been in South Bend and come away unhappy. And to win a football game there, you got to do all the little things right. I mean, it's just the details of the game. The guys understand it. And we're living proof of that. You know, there's two losses on our record because we didn't do the little things enough in those games. And so hopefully those lessons have sunk in.
What is your impression of the job Marcus has done up there?
Yeah, he's done a great job. I mean, that job itself gets more attention than any job in college football. He's managed the fishbowl of what that is. He's got a really good staff, and he has when he's lost coaches, replaced them with good coaches. Obviously, he's recruited well to have the roster that he has. I have a lot of respect for him.
When you go up to a place like Notre Dame, the kids have said that really that there's no real aura to that. Is there still as a coach walking in a stadium like that an aura to it or is that lost on you?
It depends on the coach. For me, I grew up in the Catholic church. And so, you know, I went through Catholic high school. Obviously, there's a stigma to that school for me. But for other people that didn't have that in their life, probably not. It's just an away game. You know what I mean? So, but yeah, the traditionalists of college football that remember them from our upbringing and what they were like when Lou was there and all that that time.
Yeah, you can definitely have that. But for these guys, probably not. I mean, to them, it's they've never been there, so they really don't know what it's like. And, comparably speaking for us, it's like going to Clemson. It's like going in front of 80,000 people with, a loud fan base and all the things that go with it.
You were able to welcome back Anthony Belton this past week. And if you throw in Larrell Murchison, how big was that redshirt year for those two guys coming in from junior college? And how did that shape their careers?
A lot of junior college players, it takes a year to get into what this level of college football is like. And I've always seen, whether you play them right away or get a redshirt, I'm usually that second year you have with them. They're way different players, physically, mentally, the time management, all that stuff that goes with it.
And so being able to do that and have them behind some NFL players when they got here, both of them. Icky was here, so Anthony got to watch how he played and how he prepared. And the D-linemen that we've had over the years, Laurel was able to see those guys. And it's awesome to see any of our former pros, current pros that come back. But it was great to see Anthony and talk to him about what he's learned. And it was fun having him back.
