NC State Wolfpack football head coach Dave Doeren held his postgame press conference following the Pack's 36-29 win over Syracuse Saturday.

The Wolfpack (7-3, 6-3 ACC) will next face Georgia Tech in its last regular-season game on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Here is a full transcript of Doeren after the Syracuse win:

"Proud of our guys for overcoming a lot of mishaps and good play by Syracuse in the first half.

"You can't turn the football over and give up a kickoff return and play the kind of game you want to. This team just fights and they find a way to win. They support each other and pick each other up.

"I thought the second half offensively, we really threw and caught the football well, our offensive line picked up their stuff and adjusted to the different stunts and blitzes they were giving us in the first half when we weren't blocking well. Those six sacks obviously set us back early in the game.

"Defensively, we kept it in front, we stopped the run, held them to less than 300 yards and four or five yards total rushing. It was a good performance overall by them.

"Defensively, we got put in a couple tough spots after the turnovers, had a nice red zone stop after the one on the five yard line. J

"Just happy to win a game. Winning ugly is okay, it's a lot better than losing I can tell you that. So, we'll take it."

Could you just speak to Bailey Hockman's play, particularly in the second half?

"I was really proud of the way he bounced back. The fumble he had on the goal line I know upset him.

"He was sick early in the week and I think he got a little fatigued early in the game. I thought he did a really nice job at halftime settling in.

"This gave our receivers a chance to make plays and they made them. He threw some really accurate passes and the guys made him look good making catches for him.

"He read coverage, he stood in there, he had time to throw which makes a difference obviously in the second half, but very proud of Bailey for the way stepped up."

You talk about this team and how they face adversity, but they bounce back and they just find a way to get it done. Is there one player on his roster represents that better than Bailey after you saw his first half, how his career has been. Does anyone represent that better than Bailey Hockman?

"No. He's a great example of overcoming adversity. And there's many of them on our team, I could tell stories for a long time on that.

"He's definitely a great representative of a young man that's overcome different obstacles and adversities and, obviously, showcased that today in the second half."

What were your thoughts on a couple of the big plays they overturned? Did you have really much of an angle in there to see those?

"The one that I thought was not conclusive was Bailey's. It looked to me like he reached across the goal line and then lost football.

"Our interpretation of a touchdown is you have to control the ball as it crosses the goal line, which he did. Not sure how they overturned that. I thought that was a bad decision on their part.

"The other two, I could see why they did. The fade on our sideline at the end of the game was a tough one to see on the screen. Maybe they had a better view of that.

"The one with Ricky, it definitely looked like his foot was out when they frozen on the sideline there."

How was it for a player or the team to put plays like that behind them? Is there something you have to say to them to adjust?

"It's just crazy to have three plays overturned against you in one game. I need to go to a witch doctor and figure out a way to break a curse apparently on that."

Could you assess Thayer Thomas’ performance tonight?

"Thayer is a great player. He's a weapon. He got matched up one on one today a lot. We took advantage of that.

"It just depends on how people are playing us. Liberty at a nickel or Will that would reroute the slot receiver and then keep safety over him, so he was double-teamed in that game a lot.

"Teams that are going to leave him one-on-one, he's going to take advantage of that. It's just a matter of taking what you get. Some games are different than others on how they get played."

Could you talk about Syracuse’s play today?

"I told our team all week that we're getting senior day performance out of these guys and I haven't seen them quit.

"I know they didn't play well against Louisville, but they played Boston College to a one-possession game. They were in the fourth quarter at Clemson. Sometimes players don't understand what you mean by that, but they found out.

"Syracuse has a lot of pride, they've always been a bunch of tough kids. I have great respect for Dino and his staff.

"We got what I thought we'd get today. We got a team that was playing for a senior class in their last home game, so they deserve credit for that and hopefully I'll get the same out of our guys next week in our senior game."

I know coaches keep a chart on when to go for two. Did the chart say, especially on the first one, to go for two there or was that a gut feeling?

"It said go for two in the first half, and we said we wouldn't do it until the second.

"I told the team at halftime we're going to score on the drive, we're going to go for two and tie the game. I think it was the right thing to do. It allows you to know earlier in the half what you're playing for as the game goes on, if you get it or don't get it.

"I'd rather do that than wait until the end. It definitely says that early in the game, but for us, we don't really like to do it until the second half."

What was your message to your team at halftime?

"I was far from calm. I was very upset. I let them know it. I demanded that we play the way that we're supposed to play the game.

"I called on every position group to step up and give us what they're supposed to and that they're playing for something that nobody in this school has ever done, win seven conference games. Not going to be around guys that don't get that done because they don't put their best out on the field.

"Proud of the way they heard the message and came out and played well in the second half."

On the kickoff return for a touchdown, I know at times you've talked about a sky kick. Was that by design?

"No. It was a poor kick by Trent and our guys didn't get off blocks and make tackles. We had three guys there on the replay, didn't get it done.

"It starts with the kick. You try to kick the ball into the end zone or between the hash and the numbers and he kicked it right down the middle of the field. That's hard on your coverage unit when you do that, but we still got to be able to get it done.

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