The tenure of Dave Doeren has been an interesting one at NC State. He was brought in to win games, and in his first 4 seasons it was looking rocky. He was not beating teams that he should have (last year ECU, BC are just 2 of those examples). The fan base was becoming very restless in Raleigh.
The complaints were many, and wide ranging. There was the dismissal of Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, there was “he lacked personality,” and then there was the no signature wins. No wins against teams that he had less “talent” than. That all ended on Saturday, with the Wolfpack’s victory against Florida State. Now, people will say, that the reason that NC State won is because FSU lost Deonndre Francois. Others will say it was because of the ref’s and some questionable calls (yes, there were some).
Still others will say it was because of the 2 week layoff that the Seminoles had because of Hurricane Irma (this is the only one I’ll give you). Through all of this, Dave Doeren’s team came out and did what it needed to do. The Wolfpack defensive line was dominant, making life hell for FSU’s true freshman quaterback. The offense was balanced rushing the ball 37 times and passing 33 times.
Dave Doeren has been working on all of the things that critics have been throwing at him. If you watched him on The Coaches Room during the National Championship game last season, you saw the personality come out! He was funny and engaging! Dave Doeren needed this game against FSU!
He won against a team that will be a top 25 team at the end of the season! Now all he has to do, is not allow this team to rest on this win and continue carrying on that intensity that they took to Doak Campbell Stadium this past Saturday.
