NC State was in need to bounce back from not only losing to Miami, but having star middle linebacker Isaiah Moore suffer a season-ending injury. The grit was evident with both teams locked in a defensive battle for three quarters.
“It was a really good response from our staff and our players,” Doeren said. “It was a lot of fun.
“I was really proud of the faith of our team and the resiliency of our team throughout the game. They hung together.”
Playing for Moore became a battle cry in trying to slow down Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham, who created big plays with his feet and arm.
“Man, just getting it down and tackling well in space,” Doeren said. “We played good complimentary football defensively.
“I thought Drake Thomas and Levi Jones were spectacular that game [combined 22 tackles]. Drake had 15 tackles, but he had three or four that were just one-on-one in space that were really nice plays.”
Doeren was impressed with Cunningham, and FSU is up next on Saturday, and the Seminoles also feature a dual-threat quarterback. Florida State had quarterback uncertainty between Jordan Travis and McKenzie Milton, but the former has emerged. He has gone 66-of-105 passing for 812 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, plus has rushed 82 times for 340 yards and four scores. Travis is fresh off of going 14-of-22 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-20 loss at Clemson last Saturday. The Tigers’ defense held him to 16 carries for minus-4 yards.
Doeren said pass-rush discipline is a key part of handling running quarterbacks like Cunningham or Travis.
“It was really, really good,” Doeren said. “Coach [Charley] Wiles with the front, and with Levi in it at linebacker. The guys just did a nice job of keeping him [Cunningham] in the pocket or having a spy in for him. They slanted one way or twisted another way, forcing him into a certain direction and tackling him, as I mentioned with Drake and Levi.”
NC State quarterback Devin Leary is succeeding in a much different way than the aforementioned dual-threat quarterbacks. Leary hasn’t thrown an interception in six games, which has been terrific for the NC State defense.
Doeren was also proud of the offense going 3-for-3 on red-zone opportunities. Leary’s calmness and poise under pressure shines in those situations.
“Protecting the football is the best way to win, period,” Doeren said. “That gives you the best opportunity to win games. When your quarterback is doing what our is from that standpoint, he’s getting us the best chance to win, and not because of his arm and accuracy, but because he doesn’t help the other team.
"At the end of the day, a lot more games are lost than won. Devin does a nice job of putting that out there and giving them a chance to play on a short field and hurting our defense. He understands that every play doesn’t have to be a great play.”
FSU features Georgia transfer Jermaine Johnson at defensive end, and he has 49 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and eight sacks on the season. He leads the ACC in the latter two categories.
“We have to get the run game back to where it was,” Doeren said. “They [FSU] is simplified on defense, playing better and playing sound and hard.”
Another subplot to the game is the return of NC State nose tackle Cory Durden to his previous college. Doeren said the key is to temper emotions in that situation. He knows both teams are different from last year, so it isn’t like the coaches will go to Durden to pump him for insider knowledge.
“He has friends on that other sideline, but when the ball is snapped, that doesn’t matter to him,” Doeren said. “I thought Cory played his best fundamental game of the year against Louisville. We just have to keep focused on what works for him.”
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