NC State head coach Dave Doeren held the first of his weekly game week press conferences, and it was a long one. For almost 34 minutes Doeren spoke to the local media about the upcoming season and its Thursday opener against South Florida, which is a 7:30 kickoff at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on the ACC Network.

We tackle some of his comments in our news and views feature.

NEWS: Pass-outs for halftime at Carter-Finley Stadium have been a longstanding contentious issue around the football program. Doeren and the program have been in a concentrated effort this preseason to plea with fans to back in the stadium by the end of halftime.

DOEREN: “I appreciate Boo Corrigan and Fred Demarest and the admin staff for the improvements that have been made in the stadium. I think the beer garden area, the party platform or whatever we're calling that up there, it's going to be fun for those that take advantage of it and hopefully give you a reason not to leave at halftime, to stay in there and hang out with us and enjoy what's going on."

VIEWS: That's just a small sample of a nearly five-minute stretch where Doeren went on about creating an atmosphere at Carter-Finley Stadium that Doeren noted when at its best is one that rival fans would be jealous over.

This is after the Pack football twitter account shared a video of a group of defensive backs talking about being back in the Carter-Finley Stadium during a scrimmage, and during which senior corner Chris Ingram made a remark about being back for the second half.

It is not uncommon for the stadium to empty out during halftime as fans return to their tailgates with pass-outs that will allow them back in should they choose to return. The filing back into Carter-Finley Stadium is often a slow process that at times does not come to fruition.

This offseason, fan enhancements were made. Doeren is referring to what they are calling "Raleighwood," an expanded 25,000 square foot area in the northeast corner of the stadium that will have food trucks and beverage stations among other amenities.

This is the most concentrated effort yet by the administration from both a communications and tactical standpoint to entice more fans to stay in the stadium during halftime. It's clear it has become an issue that Doeren is passionate about. He has spoken out about before, and now he seems to be getting more backing on the issue.