NC State knows the season is on the line at North Carolina, who the Wolfpack have defeated the last three meetings.
NC State coach Dave Doeren has always embraced the importance of playing North Carolina, and that was glaring last year, when the Wolfpack whooped a listless Tar Heels squad 39-20 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
NC State will play at North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the ACC Network at Kenan Stadium. The Wolfpack are 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the ACC, and UNC is 6-5 and 3-4 in the league.
Here is a transcription of Doeren's opening statement.
Opening statement:
“Starting with our game with Georgia Tech, a really hard-fought game between two teams. Both teams really wanted it and came down to the last play and was very proud of our guys, how we battled in that game and had to overcome a lot of adversity. I love how the guys hung in there and just fought. A lot of guys made plays.
“Not having [senior defensive end] Davin [Vann] the last quarter hurt us, from a pass-rush standpoint. He's really been a presence for us in those kind of moments and two-minute drives. He's doing good, totally expected to have him this week, so that's good news.
“I thought we really played well in the red zone on defense. Held them many times to field goals [three of them], had the interception down there [by senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald], which was a critical play.
“We were physical against a physical team. I thought we won the line of scrimmage in that game. We ran the ball for almost eight yards a carry and stopped the run until the last drive. Two scrambles in that drive [by Georgia Tech quarterback Aaron Philo] were the difference in that series. We played really hard, played physical. Our guys didn't flinch.
“I hate that Colin didn't have that kick go through. He had a lot of leg on it. He made a 67-yarder in practice that week, similar situation. Had the wind behind him. Felt very confident. Would have been a great story, a former walk-on. He's earned a scholarship here and has done a great job for us. I would have loved to have seen that for many reasons, but for that young man.
“Gave him a chance, 22 seconds, you get the ball, and [freshman quarterback] CJ [Bailey] threw a great pass to [redshirt junior wide receiver] Dacari [Collins] over the middle. We had a chance on the next one. If [redshirt freshman wide receiver] Noah [Rogers] could have came up with that, he extended himself and just didn't come down with it.
“I thought both of our line of scrimmages — I thought O-Line, D-Line — both played really well, strained.
“I was impressed with our three tailbacks. It's probably the best game that three of them collectively have played. They ran hard. They made people miss. They were hard to tackle. They caught the ball well out of the backfield.
“Both tight ends, it was probably Justin Joly’s best game without the ball as a blocker. I thought he really improved against a good defensive end.
“We made some good catches. The week before, we had some problems with drops, and it was good to see the guys get back to stretching and catching.
“CJ [Bailey] made some big plays with his legs in this game. Two big scramble touchdowns, and then the goal-line runs, so three touchdown runs.
“Negatives, obviously you turn the football over, and two of them, one of them's a touchdown. The other one goes down to the two-yard line. Two tremendous plays by them, freaky type of plays.
“The little quick pitch on the quick-motion jets is a pretty safe play. I think I've never seen that play. Ricochet, quarterback tries to knock it down, ends up in their hands and they score. Defensive end jumps up and intercepts a ball, so two tough interceptions. The other one he forced in that two-minute drill. Definitely a teachable moment for him.
“You do everything that you wanted to do in a game to win it, and the two turnovers that I mentioned were the difference, and turnover margin against a team like that is critical. We did a lot to overcome it and just didn't have that one play that we needed to win it.
“Their quarterback [Aaron Philo], you got to give their quarterback credit. I mean, it's a backup quarterback that's come in for Haynes King, and he was on fire. I mean, he threw two deep balls that were perfectly thrown, well-defended as well, over the outside shoulder.
“Guys made good catches. So, sometimes you play a guy with a hot hand, and unfortunately we did because our goal was to make him beat us, stop the run, and be good in the red zone, and those things happened.
“Moving on, rivalry week, excited about our opportunity this week. The oldest rivalry in the league. It's always a hard-fought, emotional game with them, and I know this one will be no different.
“When you look at their ball club, offensively very balanced, tremendous running back. I have a lot of respect for [junior Omarion] Hampton. He's also their fourth-leading receiver. They get him the ball a lot of ways, not just on screens and swing passes, but in check downs, and he's dangerous. He's playing really well, and his durability is impressive as well for the number of touches and hits that he's taken and given out with some of the physical runs. Really good football player.
“As always, they've got good skill. No. 5, [J.J.] Jones, No. 13 [in honoring Tyler Craft, Kobe] Paysour, [tight end Josh] Copenhaver. Young receiver, [sophomore Chris] Culliver. Had a really nice kickoff return. You see some of their younger receivers out there making plays as well.
“Their quarterback [senior Jacoby Criswell] struggled against Boston College, but before that, I thought he was playing really good. He had three good games in a row and has made plays with his feet. He's not a scrambler, per se, that gets a ton of yards, but he does move around in the pocket and extend drives and has guys around him that make plays.
“Defensively, they've got a really experienced, big defensive line, a lot of seniors, a lot of guys we've played against. [Senior defensive end Kaimon] Rucker, obviously been a force for them this year, leads them in sacks and TFLs. Their safety, boundary safety, [senior Antavious] Lane, leading tackler. Linebackers, are both productive guys, and we've played a lot against [senior Power] Echols, who's a really fast kid, and you can tell he's a leader in their defense. They're both productive blitzers, productive in the run game.
“Great opportunity in matchup between two teams that don't like each other a whole lot, and so there's a lot to play for. And excited, to get up there and win in games like this. It's about executing. It's about making more plays than them and fewer mistakes, and not getting too caught up in the emotions of the game. Being emotional but not letting the emotions control you. So excited to go up there and play.
“It's also our last regular season game. It's Thanksgiving week. Always want to take time, a lot of gratitude for the people that work here, for my staff.
“We have such a tremendous staff. So much to be thankful for, with the people I get to work with. Our administration, our players and their families and our fans, our coaches and our coaches' wives. I'm fortunate, I get to work with some really awesome people every day and have a lot of gratitude for that.
“For my family, it's going to be fun. When you're an empty nester, which this was my first year in that role. We go from two in the house to all of a sudden all three sons come home for Thanksgiving to five. I'm looking forward to spending some time with the boys and Sarah.
“I’m blessed, to have the family that I do and looking forward to Thanksgiving with them. The gratitude that you have for having such an opportunity. You take it for granted, This is a great week to just take perspective on what we have. A lot of people focus on what they don't have. I do think this is a week, for people to really look at what they do.
“In college football, you have a week to watch rivalry games. Man, it's awesome. Some of them started last week, the Stanford-Cal game, Montana-Montana State. There were some teams that already played. So looking forward to being a part of watching some of the historic matchups when we get a chance this weekend.”
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