After an injury-plagued 4-8 campaign in 2019, many among Wolfpack faithful wondered what was next for NC State head coach Dave Doeren.

Nevermind the back-to-back 9-4 campaigns in 2017 and 2018, two seasons that produced a combined 11 NFL draft picks. Had the Pack just found a way to beat Wake Forest in either year, those seasons would have been worthy of a New Year's Six Bowl appearance.

Anyone that follows Wolfpack football closely knew that something was different about this season when NC State found a way to beat the Demon Deacons 45-42 in the opener with its back-up quarterback starting and after trailing in the fourth quarter.

It set the precedent for a young, hungry team that was predicted to finish 11th in the ACC and instead finished tied for fourth. A team that many, except "True Believer" Matt Carter, picked to have a losing record but instead finished 8-3 with a program record-setting seven conference victories.

Many inside the Murphy Center deserve credit. Most notably the players, who sacrificed so much just to play football during a pandemic. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck is also deserving of accolades considering the strides the Pack's offense took this fall under a new coordinator that didn't even get a full spring practice period to become acquainted with his personnel.

No matter what the end results may be, however, the praise or criticism of success or failure starts with the man at the top. In this case, that man is Doeren, who has led his Wolfpack to one of its best seasons in recent memory while playing through one of the strangest years in American history that seemingly threw every obstacle possible his way.

Several coaches in the ACC present strong cases for the ACC Coach of the Year award, but Doeren's argument is the best. Here's why:

Four months before Clemson crushed Notre Dame in Charlotte this weekend, the college football season was very much in doubt. This was right around the time that NC State had to pause all of its football activities due to a COVID-19 cluster within the program.

These were the mental and physical obstacles Doeren's team faced just weeks before its opener against Virginia Tech, which was later postponed to week two of the Pack's schedule after both programs were in no shape to begin their seasons on Sept. 5.

What was unknown to the public at that time was that starting redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary was in the middle of a quarantine. Leary was named the team's QB1 back in the spring, but he was unable to start the first two contests as he worked to get back into game shape after quarantine.

The Pack found a way to beat the Demon Deacons in the opener, capitalizing on a strong first-half performance from back-up redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman, who would later turn out to be one of this season's saviors.

But then the debacle in Blacksburg happened. NC State was manhandled by Virginia Tech 45-24, which put every positive that was discovered in the opener instantly in doubt.

This is where Doeren becomes the most deserving for the ACC Coach of the Year crown.

Many Wolfpack teams in years past could have let the Virginia Tech loss bleed into the next week, and then the rest of the season. To this team, however, it was a turning point.

NC State finished with a 7-2 record from that point on, its two losses coming against two top 20 teams in the most recent College Football Playoff (CFP) Rankings. That also included two wins against teams that were ranked by the AP at the time, Pittsburgh and Liberty. Not to mention, that nine-game stretch included just three starts from Leary, who suffered a season-ending fibula break in the third quarter of the Duke win.

Speaking of the CFP rankings, the Wolfpack will enter its Gator Bowl matchup against Kentucky on Jan. 2 as the No. 23 team in the only rankings that matter.

To go from being picked to finish 11th out of 15 teams in the ACC preseason media poll, to finishing the season inside the CFP Top 25 without your starting quarterback for most of it tells you everything you need to know about NC State's 2020 campaign.

And Doeren hasn't forgotten about the preseason doubters. Exhibit A:

Clearly, the case for Doeren to win ACC Coach of the Year is a strong one. He's undoubtedly on a shortlist of candidates who have a chance to win it this season. But what about the other contenders?

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly probably had the most competitive case to beat out Doeren had the award been voted on by robots instead of people. Disregard the absolute drubbing the Irish suffered at the hands of Clemson in the ACC Championship game this weekend, the people that have covered this league for decades are probably never going to let a coach from a program that is a one-year member win the prized award.

Sorry, Coach Kelly. Your Irish have to put a ring on it before you get that kind of cred.

Miami coach Manny Diaz would also be on the shortlist, but his resume lost a lot of its glamour after the Hurricanes were exposed in a 62-26 beat down against UNC in Hard Rock Stadium. That was an unofficial "winner goes to the Orange Bowl" game. Had Miami won, many would have made the case that "The U" is back and Diaz would have been probably a frontrunner for Coach of the Year.

Instead, the Hurricanes are still licking their wounds after giving up 554 rushing yards to the Tar Heels. That wasn't a typo.

Boston College coach Jeff Hafley did an incredible job in his first season with the Eagles in 2020. What a year to go through your first season as a college head coach? BC was picked to finish 13th in the preseason ACC media poll but instead finished tied for sixth with a 6-5 overall record against arguably the league's toughest schedule.

If Doeren doesn't win the award, Hafley would be a deserving alternative. But there's something more impressive about an 8-3 record, a top-four finish in the conference standings, and a bid to the Gator Bowl.

Even if Doeren doesn't win the official award this week, he has proven in 2020 that the 4-8 campaign in 2019 was an outlier as opposed to a true representation of the program he runs. The Wolfpack has now won eight games in three of the past four regular seasons and has a chance to earn its third nine-win campaign in four years with a win in the bowl game.

The future is bright in Raleigh, and 2020 has undoubtedly been a success. Wolfpack fans should be proud of their head coach, whether the league finds him to be its Coach of the Year or not.

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