Five games. That is less than half of a college football regular season. In the grand scheme of things, it does not seem like a large sample size.
When NC State takes the field against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Dave Doeren will be coaching in his 160th game with the Wolfpack – a remarkable total with one program, regardless of the success rate.
The identity of Doeren’s program meshes well with the university it represents, but growth is always a must. Where is the growth in Doeren’s tenure?
Aside from the identity, the growth is primarily in the consistency of his teams. Good, solid, workmanlike, and giving of effort are traits that label most of the football seen at NC State since Doeren arrived prior to the 2013 campaign.
The problem is that those same traits also accurately describe the Wolfpack since 1986, and throughout the 1970s as well.
Redundancy is also a word that can be used to label NC State in its quest to end a drought of conference titles that is nearing a half-century.
Would Dave Doeren be a smarter man, football-wise, if he somehow coached NC State to an ACC title or even a College Playoff Berth in 2026? In all honesty, no.
At this point, no brain food or magic wand can take Doeren to another level after a coaching career that is three decades old, including exactly half of that as a head coach at the college level. He knows the game inside and out.
But this is a results-oriented business, and it also requires hope in a better future when the current results come up just short of greatness.
Doeren has been in this position before. Just two seasons ago, it was a long winning streak that pushed a middling team to a 9-3 regular season finish, and yes, historically at NC State that is a solid season.
That might be the biggest problem of them all with NC State football. It feels like a solid season is neither great nor surprising. If the Wolfpack conjures up magic and rides a wave through December, it will be doing something it has already done, both recently and historically.
NC State needs hope that the breakthrough is coming soon. How do we get there? Does the Wolfpack take the same path it has been on, or should the ‘house be remodeled?’
And what if the five-game season produces more losses than wins? Well, that is another tangent altogether.
The Wolfpack enters the Steel City needing a steely resolve following a much-needed bye week. The next four games will not be easy. It is possible this thing can go south, and that is not simply a directional reference. Back-to-back seasons with seven losses would look ugly, regardless of the culture.
NC State fans are tough, but fair. If you give them a reason to believe, they will have your back and dream big. However, once hope recedes and monotony sets in, they will find something else to do with their time until they get the changes they seek. The NCSU football culture is superb, but the product lately has not been.
The next five games represent a seminal moment in NC State’s football history. Either it will be a continuation down the same road with a belief that the best days are near, or it might be time to search for a new direction.
If the Wolfpack wants to keep this thing going and respects the leadership as it is, it would behoove them to show folks something before December. In the NIL era, a program must help fans so that the supporters will then help the players.
A game after a bye week, and directly before Homecoming, is the best time to start. And so a game with little stakes on a national scale may have the ultimate stakes when it comes to NC State’s future. That is not new in Wolfpack Nation and is actually getting old, but it is what this team has on the table.
