11/16/2020 football Edit

Dave Doeren, NC State respect undefeated, ranked Liberty

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

When it was announced that the ACC was going to go with a 10-plus-one scheduling model of 10 league games and one non-conference opponent in 2020, speculation immediately began over who would be that extra contest for NC State.

Logistically, Liberty made the most sense, and thus it was not surprising that the Flames, who were already on the original schedule, would be the Wolfpack’s plus-one contest. What is a bit unexpected, however, is how important this game, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on RSN, is shaping up.

Liberty has already defeated ACC foes Syracuse and Virginia Tech on the road, and sports an undefeated 8-0 record that has landed them at No. 21 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Now NC State presents Liberty with yet another opportunity to make noise on the national scene.

"That locker room is full of guys that felt like they could have played at a higher level,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren noted. “Those kids will have a chip on their shoulder when they play a Power Five team. They want to be noticed.

“They know that this is a chance to showcase, not just their individual abilities, but how they can play as a football team against teams that have a Power Five name.”

NC State Wolfpack football coach Dave Doeren — Doeren's Wolfpack squad is 5-3 after its 38-22 win over Liberty. (Ethan Hyman/News & Observer)

Odds are good that Liberty will have the Wolfpack’s full attention, which is never a guarantee when a Power Five program like NC State takes on a mid-major opponent.

However, Doeren is also not interested in being a so-called spoiler for Liberty’s dream season.

"How it impacts their season really isn't the motivating piece of that for me,” Doeren said. “It's more about us being better, and I think that's the one thing you can see with our team.

“Even though we didn't beat Miami, we've gotten better each week here coming out of our bye week, and I want to continue that trend. I want to be a better football team this week and then a better team the next week and peak out when we're supposed to peak out here.”

What may have pleased Doeren the most about NC State’s 38-22 win over Florida State on Saturday evening was that it came a week after losing a heartbreaking 44-41 contest at home to No. 11 Miami.

“I think that's a big deal,” Doeren noted. “I've been around a lot of teams that couldn't do that, so very proud of them, first and foremost, for their ability to respond and regroup.

“It's really what this team has done all year. It started off in our offseason when they came back, they were hungry. They couldn't wait to get to work.”

It’s going to take a similar effort to compete with Liberty on Saturday. The Flames are led by star quarterback Malik Willis, who has rushed for 700 yards and nine touchdowns and completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 1,645 yards and 15 touchdowns with just one interception.

"We have to make plays, we've got to be explosive, we've got to be physical,” Doeren said. “We've got to take care of the football and maximize our possessions.

"Obviously, this whole thing is going to be about being able to get Willis off track because nobody has been able to do that.”

Other Tidbits

• Saturday’s game will be dedicated to the Pack United mission, developed by student-athletes to help fight for social justice reform. Two NC State football players, redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore and redshirt junior center Grant Gibson, played a key role in the leadership of the group.

"I'm very proud of our athletic department, our student-athletes and Isaiah Moore and Grant Gibson, for all the work that has gone into that and continues to go into that,” Doeren said. “This game will have a lot of emphasis there, for us as a football program and I look forward to that.”

• From a health standpoint, NC State appears to be coming into Saturday’s contest in fair shape, with junior safety Tanner Ingle’s return potentially imminent against Liberty.

“I hope that we have Tanner back this week,” Doeren said. “That's trending positive. As of now, we should have the same lineup that we had last week with Tanner being added to it.”

• Doeren and Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze have twice played in the same grouping at a charity golf event put on by the organizers of the Peach Bowl. Freeze and his partner came out ahead both times.

“He is a good golfer, really good player,” Doeren said of Freeze. “And his partner was a really good player.

"[Freeze’s] got an awkward swing, I can tell you that, but he's a really good player.”