Doeren: "It's Going To Be A Blue-Collar Game"

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media to discuss the upcoming game against Boston College.

Opening Statement...
Just going back to Saturday, it was an incredible atmosphere. I appreciate so much the fans and students for creating an environment they did. I thought it was electric.

It was a four-quarter game, and I was proud of the way our guys fault and battled throughout the game. There were a lot of ups-and-downs for both football teams and fight in both football teams, but they made more plays than we did.

I was disappointed with the result, you play back-to-back the third ranked team and fourth ranked team and come out short, but there were a lot of positives in both games. That's what we'll take away from them.

The biggest thing you learn in those games is how much one or two plays make a difference.

We move forward with a great opportunity to play maybe the hottest team in the league. Boston College, coming off a bye week, has won four of five and three in a row, averaging over 35 points a game. They've found a really impressive running back in AJ Dillon, and quarterback Anthony Brown has got better and better. 

Defensively they are really sound... active front with Harold Landry and Zach Allen, and a secondary that's tied with Miami with the most interceptions, 13... there's not a lot they do, but they do it really well... man-free and quarters.

Our team was great yesterday. I think they understood the value of the film and the importance of moving forward. With this senior class, we have the chance to play for a lot... there's still a 1-0 mentality with a lot out there.  If they can win out they can win ten games and it's been done once in program history.

That's where our eyes are right now, and it starts with this game, playing up there on Senior Day in a cold weather game against a physical and fresh team.

Is it good they are on a roll and hot, beating teams? 
I think they would have our attention regardless.

It's a team we didn't play well against last year. They beat us and we didn't play well, we had had a lot of penalties, took touchdowns off the board on offense and defensively we gave up a halfback pass at the end of the game and a throwback play on a two-point play. They executed well, and we didn't.

I think anytime you're playing a team that's playing well it gets your attention, but we want to play a lot better than we did. That helps too.

Do you have any reaction to them looking for fans who were throwing debri at the officials?
I didn't know they were doing that. I've been watching Boston College all day. I couldn't tell you what's going on, on planet Earth right now. Sorry.

What does it tell you about how far the program has come, that game on Saturday?
I said to our team, and I'm not trying to take a moral victory out of it, but four years ago we ad a stadium and people came to it and cheered and sometimes they stayed and sometimes they didn't.  Maybe they've been doing it their whole life, tailgate, come to the game, and leave.

But, we've created an environment where it's the place to be on Saturday in the state of North Carolina.

It was electric, and it was also like that against Louisville. Our fans were awesome.

That doesn't happen if you don't play the way we're playing. Our players are playing hard... the quarterback play, the receiver play, the whole thing.  That's what I dreamed it would be and that's what I hope it will continue to be for this football program.

It was 41-0 against that football team a few years back, and the last two years we've played them toe-to-toe and they are the defending national champs.  We've come a long way, but we're not where we want to be yet. We have got a lot better.

What's the reason for BC and NC State... it doesn't make a lot of sense. Is it possible it's tougher to play certain teams?
There's history with certain teams... I'm not sure how much they've played... there's not a tradition with it.

My experience is they've been really physical games, and I think Steve does a great job of using what he has on his football team. They've recruited well and it's been a tight, one-possession, two-possession game with them.

Our kids know what kind of a game it will be. It's going to be a blue-collar game for sure.

Kelvin Harmon has come on strong for you guys.
Kelvin is a guy that's super dependable and very talented.  Defending him is hard not just because he makes tough catches but how hard he is to tackle.  He's dragging guys down the field which makes our guys on the sidelines excited.

He's like that everyday. Our team expects that kind of play out of him and he does it in key moments of the game, the moment of truth when you need it... it really stands out.

You've struggled in the losses in the third quarter.  What do you need to do to be better there?
The first thing we need to do is execute better. The first two drives in the Clemson game, we had a drop on third-and-10 by one of our best players, Jaylen Samuels. He normally makes that play.  It was a pretty routine play, he was open, we threw it to him, and he dropped it. 

The next series we overthrew a touchdown to Kelvin Harmon, so it's not like we're calling bad plays. We're just not executing like we are earlier in the game for some reason.

It's something we need to address obviously.

What have you seen from Jakobi Meyers and his growth this season?
He's learned how to control his emotions.  He's a very competitive young man and cares a lot about his teammates and about his play. Early on he would take things so personal that he couldn't get to the next play when something bad happens. He's learned how to use it... I think he's build a trust with coach McDonald.  
 
Earlier in the year it was hard when he was getting coached to take it a constructive way, and now he understands all he's doing is try to make him play better. Those two have a really good relationship now because of what they went through.

What stands out about Boston College's defense?
A lot of things.  Their front is good, long.  They have big guys who get off of blocks, use their hands, and play with good technique. Their linebackers are active players, and their DBs play tight coverage... are good tacklers as well.

They have depth. They are able to rotate at spots... they are not real sophisticated. They play a couple of coverages and do have some different things on third down, but they are going to make you block them and they are going to use really good fundamentals and technique to get off blocks and make one-on-one plays.

More on what State's playing for...
We're playing for so many things that people outside of our building may not realize.  Our seniors, we're playing for those guys. 

If we can win the next three games we'll have a chance to win ten, which it's been I think 20 years ago when that's happened, when Thunder was a senior.

So those things matter a lot to our guys. The fact the national spotlight isn't pumping it up doesn't change that it's important in our locker room.

It's also about getting that winning taste back in your mouth for the players and coaches, and to do that we have to beat a very good Boston College football team. 

Whether nobody watches the game or ten million people... it doesn't change that.

Did you talk to Kyle Bambard during the bye week?
In practice, Carson has been better. It wasn't something everyday where you go to the field and say this is coach.

But, in the back of my mind I knew we were getting close to where I had to give Kyle a chance if Carson didn't come through. I thought Carson had two really good weeks of practice but it didn't translate over to the live kicks.

At that point, I felt Kyle deserved an opportunity to see if he could do it and he did. To his credit, he made two kicks in the game and he'll be our starting kicker this week.  We'll see where we go.

I met with Carson and told him to keep working and be ready. That's where we're at today.

On the replay where Ryan snapped the ball but they replayed it anyways... what's the rule on that?
Apparently there are two things that can happen. One, they can be getting buzzed and it's happening before the whistle is blown. I don't know if that happened, but it could be happening.

They have the ability after the play is snap to go back and review the play as long as they have notified the officials.

That is legal.

You now have Chis Ingram listed as the backup nickelback.  Can you talk about that move?
We're trying to get him more reps in practice and get better. He's a long kid that's got better and better on special teams, and he plays well in man situations.

He's a really smart football player and I felt like with him at corner he wasn't getting reps for the defense, but he could get better and provide an opportunity to grow over the course of the season. 

He can maybe be that guy next year and potentially be that guy on third down this year where we can move Boone around a little more.  

He's been there a couple of weeks now and we like the progress he's made.