After beating Wake Forest 45-42 on Saturday, NC State Wolfpack football coach Dave Doeren was interviewed on ACC Network’s Packer and Durham.

Here are highlights from that appearance.

On setting the tone on opening possessions:

“We came out of the gate ready to play, I thought, both sides of the football. Kids played fast, they were physical. Our offensive line, tight end group, the running backs, I think they set the tone. Our receivers down the field created some space so we could have some explosive plays down the field. Really proud of the staff and the way the guys competed.

“Something we talked a lot about was how poorly we started first and third quarters a year ago as a point of emphasis in training camp, and obviously it was something the players took the heart.”

On handling the interruptions well:

“We talked a lot about embracing unknowns in this COVID period, and how we were going to have to be able handle things that we didn’t think would happen and handle it well. And not let things control or dictate our ability to have positivity in our day.

“I think the power of that is kids understanding what they can do and not necessarily embracing what they can’t do. I think the wait is agonizing. The kids wanted to play so badly that the fact that we finally got to game week was very emotional, but I think they really managed their emotions and they learned how to do that through this crazy period we have."

On re-watching the opening possession and appreciating the toughness and physicality:

“We embrace that. We hand out bottles of syrup to our players on offense that pancake people, and we had about 15 that we handed out this weekend. It was fun.

“That is part of what we celebrate here is the physicality of the game. Whether it’s a big play offense, defense, special teams those we notice, but we really embrace finishing plays and do it with a physical fashion.

“The hard, tough, together is what we’re all about. We want to embrace that on film.”

On defensive line Daniel Joseph and offensive guard Ikem Ekwonu’s performances:

“Daniel Joseph, first of all, I thought he was productive. He plays hard, and he’s done that since he’s gotten here. He’s playing like a guy that is in his last year. He’s grown up since he’s been here. Being a role player at Penn State and then stepping in to being a starter and having to learn how to adjust to that, I thought he really came through.

“He played his best football in the fourth quarter for us and made some huge plays on third down.

“As far as Ickey goes, he’s a left tackle as a true freshman, a freshman All-American, and was a guard in high school. To put our best five out there we felt like putting him in at left guard next to Tyrone [Riley]. He’s embraced it.

“He loves the contact of the game. He’s a really good wrestler in high school. He played o-line and d-line. He is a very violent offensive lineman. I love watching him play, and he loves finishing blocks.”

On falling behind and responding:

“I told the guys throughout the week ACC football is four quarters, no matter what the scoreboard says. You are playing against a well-coached team that has good football players, and we have the same, but we got to play the whole game.

“When we went down, it was who's on the field next. I thought there was a lot of responding, not overreacting in this game, and that’s what we needed. There was good leadership on the sideline from the coaching staff, from the players alike.

“They rose up. When the defense had to get two fourth down stops in the fourth quarter, they did, back-to-back series. Pass rush, coverage, it was all tied together. Really the only disappointing part of the end of the game was we didn’t close it out. We had a chance to stay on the field and not give the ball back and didn’t get that done.

“Outside of that I thought we played really complementary football.”

On confidence in both Bailey Hockman and Devin Leary at quarterback:

“I’m really proud of Bailey. He took an advantage of an opportunity. For Devin, it was really an unfortunate situation through contact tracing that took him and brought him back in a position where he wasn’t before.

“Bailey took advantage of the opportunity, the reps. I thought he played gutsy football, he was tough, he made plays on his feet, he was accurate with the football for the most part. He really played good football for us.

“As Devin continues to get back to where he was, we’re going to need them both. How it plays out, we’ll see. Especially in a year like this, you are always one play away but you’re also one COVID test away too from changing your lineup. We need both of these guys to perform at a high level.”

On playing Virginia Tech without game tape on them:

“Personnel-wise we are going to have to kind of feel it out during the game because we don’t know who is going to play, or who isn’t. Obviously offensively they return a lot of players, same play callers, same coaches.

“It’s the defensive side of the ball with Bud [Foster]’s retirement and we actually have two of the former coaches on defense here. So we are going to have to feel that out. Our offense is going to have to get on the field and play and see what their changes are and the schematics how they are going to play coverages, what their blitzes are.

“It’s like an opening game for us against a team we don’t have film on. There is obviously some familiarity with Charley Wiles and Brian Mitchell being here with their personnel. We are not just sure who is going to be on the field right now.”

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