NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media for his weekly press conference Monday to discuss the win over Louisiana Tech, the ensuing bye week and this Saturday's 7:30 kickoff at Boston College on ACC Network.

Here's a full transcript.

"Good to be back into game week, had a good bye week. I guess I'll go backwards here to Louisiana Tech just a little bit, and then get into the bye week and Boston College, but it was great to be able to sit back and have some time to really look at that game. A lot of things come out.

"The biggest thing is our guys have found ways to win differently in a lot of contests dating back to last year. So, I'm proud of the guys for that. They're finding different ways, they're playing complimentary football.

"It was really two different halves on the two sides of the ball. We struggled offensively to finish drives in the first half and second half we finished our drives and scored a lot of points.

"Defensively, we were dominating in the first half. Really the only thing they did was when we had two penalties to extend drives. Outside of that, in the second half we did not do a good job at times of finishing in coverage, and we allowed their quarterback, who I thought really played a good game, to extend drives with his legs with his scrambling.

"I thought our special teams were excellent, all night. Our punt returners or punt return team, excuse me, did a nice job setting up Thayer [Thomas]. He judged the ball well. He made some nice plays. We strained, made some smart blocks. There's plays where you could have had clips and things like that and guys did a good job playing technique football and not putting us in a bad position, played very smart.

"We had to handle a lot of weird kickoffs. They were determined not to kick it to Bam [Knight] in that game. There were bloop kicks or squib kicks and our guys manage those well. It's good to see Chris Dunn get back in a rhythm and knock two feel goals through.

"As a team we won the turnover margin, which is a big deal. Won the explosive play battle. Offensively, as one of our goals coming out of Clemson game going into LaTech was to have more explosive plays and we had 15 plays that hit that category for us. Both our tailbacks ran really hard. I thought Ricky [Person]'s run was a big momentum play, best football play I've seen him have since he's been here. Was a great play by him.

"The offensive line continues to protect Devin [Leary] and he does a good job getting rid of the ball and finding ways to extend plays. Did not turn a football over offensively. We had another good end of half drive to get points. 38 seconds to get and get a field goal going into half I thought was a big drive for us momentum wise.

"Negatives, like I said, we started slow. You would like to see a score more points. And we didn't finish drives. We didn't sustain blocks. We got on the right people and didn't finish. That obviously got corrected in the second half.

Defensively, two takeaways and close to the third. Daniel [Joseph] had the strip on a sack. We did pressure the quarterback well. We need to do a better job of getting the quarterback to the ground. Continue to play great third down defense. The design runs that they had, we stone the run very well. Thought our D-line, with the exception of one play, where we got out of our gap at nose guard, I thought we played the run. We had really good gap integrity. We missed some tackles late in the game, we got fatigued. You could see that. Jakeen [Harris'] interception was a great play for him on his birthday, was pretty awesome to finish the game like that.

"At corner I felt like we can play better. Those guys at times, play too loose, can play, challenge the people in front of them a little bit more, play better technique. We had a really good week with that with our bye week.

"With Boston College, they're a 4-1 team that they play really hard. They're very good statistical defense. When you watch them, they're fundamentally sound. Their kids up front play hard. They're strainers that really strong guys, you see that. They have good length at defensive end. Have a good rotation, up front. Their linebackers are active. Number 19 makes a ton of tackles for them. I thought their corners played well against Clemson. They were very aggressive and didn't allow people to get behind them.

"Their safeties do a nice job disguising things and they understand what they do on defense. They've made a lot of plays. They have six interceptions as a defense.

"A lot of one high coverage, a lot different than what we just played against. Offensively, they're a physical unit. They're what you would think when you see BC: big tight ends, big offensive linemen. Good rotation at tailback. I think what makes him different is Zay Flowers the receiver. I have a lot of respect for Zay, recruited him in high school, and think he's a really good athlete. Kid we offered here on both sides of the football. I thought he was a really talented guy.

"That starts a tough stretch for us schedule wise, to have four out of the next five on the road and, playing at night, getting home at four in the morning like we're going to on these night games, we're gonna have to be really diligent with our time here and be smart as players and coaches and make sure that we rest when we can rest and recover when we can recover.

"We got to be at our best. When you go on the road you've got to play, obviously, not only against the team you're playing but sometimes against their fan base and you've got to do a great job of being focused and executing. There's a lot of things that win football games on the road, turnover margin is critical, and being great on special teams to set up our offense and defense.

"Bye week did come at a good time. I thought we played two very physical, emotional games in a row. Guys were ready for a little break after a hot fall camp here. It was very hot here in August and September. We were able to get them off the field and give them some rest, but I also felt like we had two really good days of work where we could focus on our fundamentals and get a little bit of a head start on BC.

"With that, I'll open it up."

Do you have a good gauge of the identity of the team?

"Yeah, I think we're a team that wants to get better. That's the biggest thing. We're a very close group of guys here. They play hard for each other. There's a lot of passion on this team, not just for playing football but for playing for your brothers, and that's evident,. You can see the sideline hype, even the guys that aren't playing. Those guys are into the game. They're cheering on their teammates or talking to them on the sideline. So that's the one thing that does stick out.

"I think I've talked about Mississippi State. We've learned a lot in that game. That game helped us even though we lost, it helped us. I think identify some things that we can't be, and the guys took that to heart.

"But we're a team that is physical. Team that plays hard. Team that's not beating itself, and all those things put you in position to win a lot of games. We just got to consistently improve in the areas that we're not doing things right.

"That's one thing I do love about this group. The things that we emphasize, things that we see, they are really diligent about doing what we're asking them to do. Each week there's something new that all of a sudden comes out, and we've got to work on those new things, and that's kind of what I like about this group. They're not listening to outside stuff, they're really focused on how they can get better and they know that this is a tough game coming up against a really good team."

When you look at your offense during the bye week, were there any areas you felt like you could really work on, anything specifically?

"There's tendencies that you uncover when you study yourself like we did and so the first thing is trying to erase some of that. It's just certain personnel groups are more run heavy or pass heavy, certain formations. You want to try to make sure you're not giving things to the defense. Looking at all of our stances, looking at everything, and trying to make sure that we do our best to make it unpredictable for the other side of the ball.

"I think that's the first and foremost thing that we do. Sometimes you know when you're in a five game prep, or five day prep for an opponent, it's hard to fix that in five days, and really uncover it. But when you get to sit down and study it differently like you're doing by week, it really helps you.

"From a player standpoint, every guy on our team was tasked with the same thing. Find one thing in your game that you want to see disappear from film, just one thing. We don't need a guy to fix 25 things. If every player that plays, we take 80 on the road, if 60 of them are playing, at some point they all do one thing better than we're much better football team.

"And so that's kind of where we've been. It's not really a singular thing that stood out offensively, but there are little things throughout the roster that can improve."

I know they just announced that I think the Miami games to be at 7:30. Do these road trips become more difficult with all the night games?

"Yeah they do. I mean they take a toll on your kids and your coaches, for that matter. You get home at three or four or five or whatever it ends up being. It's a lot. I wish there was a little bit more, I don't know, really to play a 3:30 game every now and then. Not saying I'd like to play at noon. But this will be for us our sixth game and five of them are at 7:30. So, a little different."

Are there one or two players that you can identify that really benefited from the bye week health wise and just tell how big was the bye week for those guys?

"I think our receivers and our corners and safeties and nickels, like the skill guys that run the most yardage, they were sore. Their legs were, or feet, you name it. They put a lot of volume out there on the field when you talked about yards ran. Typically those guys are hard work day practice. They'll run anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 yards and that's not slow running. They're running running, pads on. That accumulation over time allows us to back down and get those guys some rest Devin Carter, Thayer Thomas, Emeka [Emezie], and so on, I think it's helpful with the running backs.

"Then on defense like Isaiah Moore, Drake Thomas guys that have played every snap on defense, basically, that's helpful. When you have players that are in a rotation, I don't think they get the same type of wear and tear, maybe, as some of the guys who have played the entire game."

I know there's always an emphasis on the here and now and one game at a time but it's it's human nature, especially given the wide open nature of the ACC this year, to kind of look at the big picture. Do you have to talk to your players about not getting caught up in this next stretch on the road and what might be available and just stay focused on now or is it a given that they're already just locked in?

"Nothing's ever a given, nothing. They are 18 to 22 year old guys, like our society, walk around with their phone and see everything that's there, just like you guys do. So yeah, we have to talk about it.

"One of our goals is to be the best 1-0 team that we can be and that means we're really focused on the present. It does matter that four of the next five are on the road but what matters more is we just take this week for what it is. Let's be the best we can be this week. We'll worry about next week, next week.

:Just keep approaching it that way and I'm trying to help the guys, communicate with them on what they need, where the focus needs to be for them. That's one thing that I met with the captains yesterday, good conversation, good understanding where the team is and how I can help them from a recovery standpoint the most.

"We're on the same page and we just got to keep being that way."

Generally when NC State plays Boston College, the tail of the tape is inside and the offensive line. Your impressions of their front offensive front and what is it about them that makes them so well?

"I think they've embraced, kind of what they are up there. I think Coach [Steve] Addazio did that you see coach [Jeff] Hafley doing that.

"They've got good linemen for one, and they're all old. They have one guy that's a sophomore, but the rest of them are graduates, or fifth year players, so they're 22 to 24 year old guys. They're big, they've been in the college weight room eating college food for a long time.

"Their demeanor is they're going to run the football and play action pass. They're physical. They're good at what they do, right. Big tight ends that are you that are quasi alignment, that go in there and do a nice job. They've had big backs. They're not as big in the backfield as they've been when the had [AJ] Dillon and some of those other guys but you know there's still 200 pound backs.

"So, I think more than anything, just like when I was at Wisconsin I felt like at that university we embraced what we were there, I feel like BC has done that.

"They don't try to run the spread offense. They're going to get in a phone booth. They still try to run by you, don't get me wrong. They got some play actions where guys are running down the field. They do some good things with their misdirections and their jets and things like that. You're going to see some 12 personnel for most of the game and sometimes more than that. Sometimes they bring an extra offensive lineman in and a tight end jersey even and you got to be ready to play those types of things.

"As you know, I like that type of football, too. Our guys embrace the challenge and look forward to the opportunity to play a very physical, disciplined Boston College team."

Is it a situation where they seldom surprise you but they're just so efficient at what they do?

"This is the first time playing against Jeff and his group, so it's kind of hard for me to say that. I think that the previous staff, they were different every year based on what their quarterback was. They were always gonna run power and counter and the pin pole and have all the different formations.

"But they sometimes, Boston College had a really athletic quarterback. Sometimes they had a drop back quarterback and so they're different that way. I think the thing that impresses you with Jeff's team it doesn't matter, his quarterback got hurt, the other guy comes in and they're still putting up points.

"That's good coaching. They're doing a good job making the offense fit their QB and not turning the football over and not hurting their defense, doing the right things that way."

During a bye week do you guys give as a coaching staff give the guys that aren't playing a little extra special attention, or do just give everybody basically time off? at a time for those guys to get a little extra hands on from the coaching staff.

"Yeah, you know there's been some years where we did a lot of that developmental type practice. This wasn't one of them. We've been doing that every Friday. We have our developmental skelly and our developmental indy with those guys every Friday. So we've been doing that for the last seven weeks with them.

"Felt like this was more of a time, it's not just the physical toll, it's those freshmen, giving them a chance to leave town and go home and be with their families is just as valuable as 10 minutes of indy right now for them. It's a long year and I think just being with your family for a couple days can help reset.

"That was great for those guys to have that option, whether they took advantage of it or not, but they had the ability when we left here on Thursday to be home for the weekend and, that was good for them."

Emeka Emezie and Chris Dunn are both nearing these big program records, can you just talk a little bit about what they both meant tothis program over the last few years?

"Yeah, I think that's a tribute to their work ethic, their consistency.

"I think from Emeka that's why he came back. Obviously he wanted to get better but he also wanted to leave a legacy behind. He's been chasing these guys in front of them for a while and so whether it happens this week or next week or whatever, those are meaningful things to have.

"You know with Chris, Chris has been Mr. Consistency for us in this program. You all know what we went through for years before him at times after Nik Sade, and Chris has been somebody that we can count on. He had a tough day versus Clemson and but outside of that his four years he's been very, very, very consistent, very accountable into what he does.

"I'm really excited for them and any player you know that has that type of career. I think that's says a lot about, not just their ability, but their dependability to be able to do that over time."

Delbert Mimms and DeMarcus Jones found a role for themselves on special teams. Can you just kind of talk about who came in and embrace that role that kind of unsung hero role but they attack it the same way.

"Yeah, I put Jordan Houston in that category, too. He's starting on our kickoff team. He's out there on our punt return. He's on our kickoff return.

"Those kids have all bought into helping each other win, and they realize that there's two really good backs in there. So they're probably the biggest fans on the team of what happens when Bam and Ricky get the ball, but they know that their way to help us win right now is through special teams and staying ready, in case something happens in the backfield.

"It's not like they just bring effort. These guys are leaders now. They've got guys people look up to on the team, and coach [Kurt] Roper has really done a nice job developing that identity in the room that they're all going to contribute, whether it's seen or unseen.

"I do appreciate you bringing that up. I think that's great for guys that are kind of behind the scenes that make things happen to get some notoriety there."

Coach Goebbel said they had everybody's respect because of the way they approach their work. Did you see that kind of early on from those two?

Yeah, they definitely get along well. It's funny about Delbert, to go back and watch his high school highlights. What'll stand out to you is his kickoff coverage, and he was literally blowing people up on kickoffs. That was one of the things that I really liked about his film.

"There's a lot of good running backs on tape. When you find one that likes to break the wedge up all the time that kind of sticks out. A guy that can do some things on your team, and so that was one of the things, one of the reasons we offered him. It is not just his ability to run the ball but what he was doing without the football."

Has Boston College's offense changed at all and if so how since the starting quarterback went out?

"Not much, not much. I think there was maybe some design runs that you'd see. I mean they're still doing a little bit we call zone read avoid. Where we'll fake, read the end and have a ball fake read and ride with the tailback and a tight end blocking your outside linebacker, where he can keep it, you still see that. And I know going back to last year it seemed like the starter had more rushing attempts.

"Now some of that may be just because they want to protect the guy now that they're down one for the year, but the rest of the offense is, I'd say 95% of it, looks the same."

You haven't recovered a fumble, which is interesting for a physical defense. When you watch the games back is that something just you consider that a little unlucky? What would you kind of label that to?

"We've had a couple balls out that just haven't bounced to us. Savion [Jackson] had one he could have got earlier in the year. One Saturday, I don't think Daniel knew he stripped it. He landed on the ground, the ball landed on top of him. I don't think he saw it there, and then their lineman recovered that he beat.

"The fumble thing is about getting a break with how the ball bounces. I do think as we get more and more sacks you'll see more and more fumbles, that's part of the game. Probably where the offense is going to have the worst ball security is the quarterback because he's thinking about throwing it when he's not running. So getting to the quarterback a little bit more before the ball is thrown could help that stat but, overall I think if you look at us, we're ahead of where we were a year ago in the takeaway category.

"And so just like to keep trending. It's about getting two or more game, that's our goal and we're not there yet. But we are getting better than we've been."

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