RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — No one has won more games at N.C. State than Dave Doeren and only five coaches in the Bowl Subdivision ranks have been at their programs longer.
Yet Doeren enters his 13th season driven by milestones still unmet. After all, his teams have flirted reaching 10 wins or reaching the ACC title game in recent years.
“I had a lot of goals when I got here, and I’ve accomplished a lot of them,” Doeren said. “But there’s still … meat on the bone.”
N.C. State (6-7) is coming off a fifth straight bowl bid and 10th in the past 11 years under Doeren, a run that includes four nine-win seasons and three of those with 6-2 league records.
Yet securing only the second 10-win season has proven elusive, down to the Wolfpack’s 2021 shot ending when UCLA backed out of a matchup in the Holiday Bowl due to COVID-19 issues. So too with the first-ever bid to the ACC championship game, with the Wolfpack coming closest that same season.
This year, N.C. State is picked to finish 10th in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
Staff changes
Doeren has adjusted his coaching staff, hiring DJ Eliot as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after Tony Gibson left to become Marshall’s head coach. Doeren also fired Robert Anae as offensive coordinator after two uneven seasons and promoted Kurt Roper to that role in addition to keeping his duties overseeing quarterbacks. Roper has been on Doeren’s staff in Raleigh since 2019.
QB growth
Quarterback CJ Bailey was pressed into duty as a true freshman last year with transfer arrival Grayson McCall facing injuries that ultimately ended his career. He started nine games and threw for 2,413 yards with 17 touchdowns amid learning-on-the-job stress.
“When I first got in (against Louisiana Tech), I struggled, I threw an interception on my second drive,” Bailey said. “I was frustrated on the sideline because I know how good I am. I can’t make mistakes like that.”
Doeren said Bailey has improved his mentality as a returning starter.
“You’ve got to know how to bounce back from it,” Bailey said.
Returning threats
N.C. State returns its leading rusher in redshirt sophomore Hollywood Smothers, who ran for 571 yards and six touchdowns in a split backfield.
Top receiver KC Concepcion is gone, but tight end Justin Joly is a big target (43 catches, 661 yards, four TDs) while receiver Noah Rogers (35 catches, 478 yards, one TD) is a returning starter.
Defensive trouble
The Wolfpack ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense (20.0) and 20th in total defense (329.5 yards) over linebacker Payton Wilson’s last two seasons, according to Sportradar. N.C. State fell dramatically in both categories (30.2, 390.8) without him last year.
“It’s always hard to replace a player like him,” linebacker Caden Fordham said, adding: “I just think a couple of times last year when we faced a little bit of adversity, sometimes we kind of let it roll on longer than it should in situations.”
The schedule
The Wolfpack’s first six games are in North Carolina, first with a Thursday night visit from East Carolina (Aug. 28) in a testy instate series — including last year’s Military Bowl won by the Pirates in a meeting featuring a late brawl. There’s also an unusual nonconference game against ACC member Virginia (Sept. 6) that won’t count in the league standings as it was added outside the conference’s scheduling model.
The official ACC opener comes at Wake Forest (Sept. 11), while a trip to sixth-ranked Notre Dame (Oct. 11) tops a schedule capped by a visit from rival North Carolina (Nov. 29).