11/18/2019 football Edit

Dave Doeren, NC State deal with short turnaround

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

There was a lot that a young NC State football team could learn from its 34-20 loss to Louisville in Raleigh Saturday evening, but in the latest twist in a bizarre schedule there simply is no time for that.

The Wolfpack will have a short turnaround to play at Georgia Tech Thursday night. The game was scheduled with both teams playing the previous Saturday despite this being a year in which the calendar fell in a way that allowed for two bye weeks this season.

Making it a double whammy for the Pack, the ACC’s television partners slotted NCSU into a primetime slot Saturday, meaning it only had a few hours of sleep before getting started on preparing for Georgia Tech.

“It's already game-week Wednesday,” Doeren said. “So no rest for the weary. We woke up day after the game, it was already Tuesday. We have to get on a plane here Wednesday.”

Monday is normally a day off for the Wolfpack, but instead the team will practice in the evening before getting back at it Tuesday morning for its normally scheduled workout.

There will also be a walkthrough Wednesday before getting on the planes.

"It's probably harder on the staff than it is anything,” Doeren noted. “We won't practice as long or as much because we don't have as many days. For us, you're trying to watch 10 games that they've played and also look at yourself and fix problems because the game is a lot about us, not beating us. It's just really quick.

"I mean, we're leaving town Wednesday. … I think when you're dealing with injuries and health, and then also just fatigue, going from a Saturday night game to a road game, it's really challenging on the staff and the players.”

The unknown is how well NC State’s freshmen, the Pack started six of them against Louisville, will handle it.

“They're resilient guys,” Doeren said. “The thing that has impressed me with them is their resolve and their fight. I don't think they'll flinch one bit. It is what it is. These guys will go out there and battle.

“I don't think I'll be able to truly answer it until after the game because I haven't seen them go through it yet. By all indications, their mood and their mindset yesterday when we met with them, they were great.”

One reality that is easy to comprehend even in a short turnaround: NC State’s thinning bowl hopes.

The Pack stands at 4-6 overall, meaning it will need to win at Georgia Tech and then return home and knock off archrival North Carolina to reach bowl eligibility status.

“I think they understand that it's a sudden death mentality if you're thinking bowl season,” Doeren said. “But we got to win this one first. It's the only one that matters, and you get this one, then you can talk about that.”

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Other tidbits

• For a second straight week, Doeren was asked about the turnovers forced and specifically the lack of them in ACC games. In an amazing stat, NC State has yet to gain a turnover against a conference opponent this year.

Yet, the other teams have been more fortunate. NC State had a deflected shovel pass end up right into the arms of a Louisville linebacker Saturday, for instance.

Doeren said he wish he could explain it all, but he also acknowledged he doesn’t have a great answer for why the lack of turnovers.

“I've never been through a stretch like this where we're not getting the ball back,” Doeren said. “Obviously in that [Louisville] game, we had four or five hit our hands, which makes it even harder because we were in position to make those plays in that game and didn't make them.

“I think recovering fumbles a lot of times is luck. One, you have to get a lot of people to the football to have that luck. But a lot of times, as you've seen, sometimes balls just bounce right back to the team that fumbled it and that's out of our control.

“Does it make me shake my head? I don't know.”

• One area against Louisville where Doeren was impressed was up front on both sides of the football.

“We played as good as we've played at the line of scrimmage,” Doeren said. “Holding them to 77 rushing yards and 12 tackles in their backfield, and on the other side of the football rushing the football efficiently, having some explosive runs.”

• Junior wide receiver Emeka Emezie has had an up-and-down season, but he may have played his most complete game Saturday with eight receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.

“He was definitely an impact in that game,” Doeren said. “He made a great catch over the middle on fourth-and-10, made a great catch on the sideline with tight coverage.

“It was good to see him have success again. I think that's huge for his confidence as we finish the season.”