NC State ninth-year head coach Dave Doeren called Saturday’s opponent Clemson “the gold standard in the ACC.”

There’s a good reason for that. Since Doeren arrived at NC State in 2013, the Tigers have finished in the top 10 in the final polls eight times, and in each of the past six they have been in the top five after competing in the College Football Playoffs, four times reaching the national title game.

Doeren has had a few close calls against the Tigers but has never beaten them. He is far from alone. During those nine seasons, Clemson, led by head coach Dabo Swinney, has gone 59-6 in the ACC, three times finishing undefeated in league action.

“We have played the best team in our league every year over the my period here at NC State,” Doeren said. “We all know they've done a great job, and Dabo and his staff have built a dominant program.

"They're well-coached. They do it right on and off the field.”

This year’s version of the Tigers have surprisingly struggled on offense. They did not score a touchdown in the opener against Georgia’s vaunted defense, which is forgivable. Scoring just 14 points on Georgia Tech this past Saturday in a six-point win raised levels of concern about a Clemson offense that is having to replace five players who were selected in the NFL Draft, including the No. 1 overall pick in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the ACC’s all-time leader in career rushing yards in Travis Etienne.

Doeren suspected that Georgia Tech caught the Tigers off guard by coming out in a 3-3-5 defense rather than the four-man front the Yellow Jackets typically utilize. NC State also uses the three-down scheme.

Yet, while it has taken the Tigers some time to click offensively this year, its defense has been dominant. Georgia’s only touchdown against the Tigers came on a pick-six. The Clemson defense has yet to give up a TD this year.

Doeren raved about Clemson’s deep defensive line.

“Their defensive front is very, very tough,” Doeren said. “They’re impressive, physical players. They bring a lot of pressure.”

The offensive struggles for Clemson have dropped the Tigers to No. 9 in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll, three spots lower than before its win over Georgia Tech. The coaches had CU at No. 7.

Oddsmakers currently have the Tigers a 10-point favorite in Raleigh. The last time Clemson was a single-digit favorite in an ACC game was four years ago at Virginia Tech.

Doeren feels that in order for NC State to pull off the upset, it’ll need to accomplish two things, starting with a singular focus on themselves.

“In games like this, a lot can be made of the matchups,” Doeren noted. “To me, this is more about us in this game. We just need to do what we did last week and in the first week against much, much, much better competition.

“We need to focus on doing our job.”

Secondly, playmakers will have to show up and produce against Clemson’s dominant defense.

“We have to make some special plays,” Doeren said. "We just do. I'm not saying trick plays. I'm saying guys jumping up and making a great catch or diving and laying out. We have to make spectacular plays and make the routine plays routine.

"We're going to have to come up with a few plays. Whether it's a deep ball or a run after the catch or a big run, whatever it is, you have to make some of those plays happen with just your ability.

"We do have some guys with ability on the perimeter. We need them to step up and play well."

• In a game like Furman this past Saturday, one of the priorities is emerging unscathed. Doeren reported that the Wolfpack came out of the contest healthy.

• One popular question among fans after the 24-10 loss at Mississippi State was why freshman receiver Porter Rooks only played 17 snaps.

Turns out, Doeren agreed.

“We look at Porter as a starter,” Doeren said. “He's one of our top receivers, and not to his fault, to our fault, he didn't play enough in the Mississippi State game. We told him that after the game. [Receivers coach] Joker [Phillips] owned that right away.”

• This is #PackUnited week for NC State. The on-campus racial justice movement by student-athletes was partially spearheaded by NC State redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore and redshirt junior center Grant Gibson.

Doeren noted it is a “really, really important” week on campus.

“The things that they've taught me and taught our staff brought our team closer together, and celebrating our diversity and celebrating our differences and loving each other,” Doeren noted. “I'm very proud that these guys are doing that this week and look forward to that being a part of what happens on our campus throughout the week.”

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