Dave Doeren: "That Was A Special Night"
No. 20 NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 34-30 win over North Carolina Friday night.
NOTE: Click the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.
Opening Statement
What a football game. What a game. That’s why you play until the last second runs off the clock. I’m so proud of our team and their fight, the coaching staff, their chemistry, the resolve of this team, the mental toughness, next man up... We’re down seven starters now on defense. We had the flu run through our team this week and had guys who didn’t practice all week. To be able to win like that, it says so much about these young men. I want to thank our crowd, the students on Thanksgiving break coming back. I love you. Our students are amazing. That was a special night. You guys were incredible. Thank you for that. Our seniors deserved that, and you guys delivered. Devin Leary continues to make clutch plays. It’s pretty cool to see him break Philip Rivers’ [single-season passing touchdowns] record. Philip’s such a great player. Devin just thanked his entire team down in the locker room, thanked his O-line, everybody: Defense, offense. He’s a selfless player. You’ve got to tip your hat to Sam Howell; that guy’s a warrior for them. He played really hard. He’s a great football player; he’s gonna have a great career. That was a hard-fought game by two teams, and we found a way to win it. I don’t know what was left on the clock there when we needed two scores, but we found a way to get them. Pretty awesome that it was Emeka [Emezie] to make that play. Pretty awesome that it was him on senior day, a guy that comes back for an extra season. Great way to cap it off. So many things that that game meant. Not just beating our rival, but being undefeated at home. That’s a legacy thing for our players. It’s been 35 years since that’s been done. Getting that ninth win, now a chance to win 10 or more, depending on the game tomorrow. Chance to finish higher in the rankings and put ourselves in great position for an excellent bowl game berth. All those things. It was an awesome game, I’m proud of our guys.
On recovering the onside kick...
We needed that one. We blocked the second punt, and it bounced back. Have you ever seen someone block a punt and the other team gets a first down out of it? Like, [it was] the opposite of getting bounces our way. We were due for that, but thank God we got it. We certainly didn’t get a whole lot of breaks. We got a sack and forced fumble by Daniel [Joseph], and the tackle he beats is standing there watching the sack and recovers the fumble there. So yeah, we were due there for a break on an onside kick. It was well executed. I thought our special teams were fantastic: blocked two punts, had several good returns in the game, and obviously a huge onside kick.
On the type of onside kick...
It’s a numbers deal. We line up in three pods and look at the count. They left two guys in the middle, and we’ve got two guys to block them plus the kicker to recover it, so we’re just trying to play a matchup game. The percentages of getting an onside kick are very low to begin with, but you’re just trying to use the numbers in your favor whenever you can.
On his confidence in Leary on the final drive...
Tim [Beck] asked me, “Do you want us to run the ball a little bit?” and I said, “No, Devin’s hot. Let’s just score.” I didn’t want to put it on the kicker and risk whatever could happen there, so we were going to be aggressive and go down the field. The way Devin plays in the fourth quarter and in clutch situations, we knew something good was gonna happen.
On Emezie scoring the winning TD on senior night...
It’s special. Pretty emotional seniors down in that locker room right now, him being one of them. It’s good karma, man, it’s just good karma. Good things happen to good people. He’s one of these young men that’s just special. I’m very, very happy for him.
On how happy he was to see C.J. Riley score the TD on the blocked punt...
That’s awesome. Love it. Guy in his sixth year to come back, Jordan Houston blocked the punt, I did see that. Pretty cool to see your tailback go in there and block a punt and a receiver recover it. That says a lot about the team itself. When you look at what’s going on on special teams, there’s a lot of guys selling out for us right now.
On the defense wearing down and still holding UNC to a field goal to go up nine...
I’d like to go play someone that has seven defensive starters out. I’d love to go play that defense. So to say that our guys are beat up, it’s a M.A.S.H. unit. They’re tough. They just keep fighting and scrapping and finding ways to make plays. It’s hard. You have a rotation on defense for a reason. We don’t have much of a rotation anymore. We just don’t have that luxury. The guys just dug deep and found a way to stop them. We dang near took that screen to the house. That was so close to an interception on third down there with Jakeen [Harris]. It was a great stop. We needed it.
On watching Boston College vs. Wake Forest tomorrow...
I gave everybody tomorrow off. We need to get away from here for a day. It’s been a lot: 10 night games and a short week. But yeah, we’ll all be posted up somewhere watching BC and Wake, and obviously we’re Boston College Eagles fans tomorrow and hoping for something good to happen to allow us to go play in Charlotte. That’s what we’re going to be doing.
On what playing in the ACC Championship Game would mean to him...
I don’t know if I can put that into words for you right now. Maybe ask me that again at my press conference. I’m tired. That was a hell of a football game right there, I just want to go enjoy the win with my family. Wolfpack fans had a hell of a night. You definitely made it great to be in red. We don’t have to listen to all those people in blue talk for another year, so it’s a good night for us. Let’s just enjoy that and we can talk about the ACC later.