Dave Doeren hopes experience will carry the Pack in Death Valley

Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack play at Clemson Saturday night. (Photo: Brett Davis / USATODAY)

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Wed Sep 28 14:29:01 GMT-04:00 2022

Saturday night under the lights with what's left of Hurricane Ian bearing down, NC State head coach Dave Doeren hopes his team's experience in big games and bad weather pays off against No. 5 Clemson.

Clemson and NC State square off in a top-10 matchup at 7:30 pm on ABC.

Doeren said his team is preparing for bad weather and crowd noise during practice this week.

"There's a lot. There's the crowd noise, so we'll have that going," Doeren said during his weekly press conference. "We're going to have to have wet balls. I've been through the hurricane situation before. I hope we don't have to play in something like the Notre Dame game. That was nuts. We'll be prepared if it is raining. Hopefully, it won't be one of those things that has devastation that comes with it, either. Sometimes these things fizzle out, and sometimes they get pretty strong, so we'll just have to see where it goes. We'll plan for the worst and hope for the best."

The Wolfpack have veterans at key positions, and Doeren hopes his older players can provide a sense of calm when the environment gets rowdy Saturday night.

"I can't make a guy have 47 starts. That's something that takes time to accumulate as players," Doeren said. "That linebacking group, in particular, some of the D-linemen, our receivers in Thayer [Thomas] and [Devin Carter], we've got a lot of guys that have played football. That's good. They've been in big games. They've won big games. They bring a calmness to the locker room. They're talking the right way. These are things they believe. They can talk to their teammates and show good leadership. They can be calm in the midst of a storm and get guys to settle down if they need to. That experience is something that I value a lot because I've had teams that were the opposite. When you have it, ride the wave with it."

Crowd noise and the environment inside Death Valley have been a big talking point, but he said he wants his players to focus on what they can control.

"It's one of the things I talked to the team about yesterday. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the stage. Enjoy the opportunity that's in front of you," he said. "But that's not what this week is about. This week is about winning a game. How do you win a game? By having the best Tuesday practice of the season. And then getting the right food in your body, getting treatment, going to class, getting rest, having a great Wednesday. We have to stack things on top of each other all week. We need to win the game way before the game is played with our players and our staff.

"That's what we're focusing on. And don't spend your time on your phone reading about how great the game is going to be. Let's focus on watching film. Let's focus on first down, second down, third down, and red zone, all the things that we have to be good at. Let's focus on the game plan. We've already discussed that, and I think the guys understand that there are a lot of things that can get you distracted in a week like this. We're trying not to look at it as that. It's more of an opportunity to talk about two great programs."

While Doeren wouldn't go as far as to say this is the biggest game in program history, he said it's everything you dream of as a college player and coach.

"I don't know. I'll let you guys figure that out. I haven't studied 35 years of games, so I don't want to speak out of turn on that," he said. "In my ten years, I would say probably so. As far as the history, that's a long time. I don't want to step on anyone's toes with that answer. It's a great opportunity against a great team in a great venue. It's everything you want as a coach and a player, and we're excited for the opportunity."

On Clemson

"As far as this week, I'm excited for the game. It's a great matchup against a very talented group with an experienced, talented staff. I've got great respect for coach Swinney and his program. It's two top-10 teams competing on a national stage. That's why we do this. The kids have worked hard. The staff has worked hard, and we expected to be in this position. We expected to be 4-0 going into Clemson. We look forward to playing a great team.

"We'll continue to focus on us. I think the path that has gotten us here is the path that we'll continue to stay on. It's individual and collective improvement through great practice and great meetings, and taking care of business. We will focus on our opponent and know those guys, but more importantly, we need to know what we need to get better at and get it done. We're playing in a great venue. It's the longest home-winning streak in college football. We know the crowd will be into it. It will be loud.

"When you talk about them, to me, it starts with their defensive front. I think they're really, really talented. They've got a great rotation on the defensive line. They're skilled. They're big. They're really good football players on that defensive front. They've done a nice job of recruiting those types of guys and developing them and coaching them. They've put them in positions to be successful.

"At linebacker, Trenton Simpson, 22, is a really good football player. He's a sideline-to-sideline guy. He's a really good player. They've played a lot of guys in the secondary. I know they've had some injuries there. They have good length at corner. You can see that they're not doing a lot of things. They're probably less multiple than they've been. Guys are playing hard. I know they just had a tough game against Wake, but I have a lot of respect for Mike Reed, and I know he'll have his guys ready.

"Offensively, their offensive line has stayed healthy. They've played the same five guys in all four games. They're better than they were a year ago. I think their quarterback is maybe the most improved part of their offense. He's playing with more poise. He's accurate. He's definitely giving his guys a chance on deep balls.

"His receivers, he's got two guys who are long and making plays for him. Their tight end has got four touchdowns. It's not surprising to see Shipley playing the way that he is. I have great respect for Will. He's competitive. He's talented. He's got a lot of great spirit and demeanor.

"It's a great matchup. I'm excited to get to work and get into the game planning today and start our practice. I love our team and our mindset. I'm excited for them with this opportunity."

On Clemson’s scheme after the coordinator changes

"Yeah, I watched last year's game. I think, offensively, it's the same. Coach Streeter is very similar to what they were. The personnel is very similar on offense. So you can look at last year's game on that side of the ball. Defensively I think they've changed more than they have offensively, but player wise, it helps to go back and see who gave us problems and how they attacked us. I know they're going to study that as well, so it's an important piece. But you do have to base more of it on the four games this year when you are looking at the defense."

On DJ Uiagalelei:

"He's endured a lot of criticism. His completion rate is up. He's throwing good deep balls. A lot of times a year ago, he was overthrowing guys, and now guys have chances to make plays. You can see that his chemistry is good with his receivers. He's throwing them deep. He's throwing back-shoulder to guys. His guys are making better plays for him, too. That's part of this that gets lost sometimes. Quarterbacks take the heat, but there's guys dropping passes all over the field that could have changed the game. That changes the quarterback, too.

"A lot has been said about his body transformation. Until I'm right there with him, it will be hard for me to comment on that, but they say that he's lost weight and is more mobile. He's playing good. He's got people hanging all over him. That 2-point play last week was a huge play that he made. There was a play in the Georgia Tech game on third down that was a similar situation; he finds a back and shovels it to him with people hanging all over him. It was a critical play in that game that kind of busted the game open."