Opportunity is knocking on NC State’s door against Clemson. Will the Pack let it in?
The word for the week at N.C. State is, “opportunity.”
Another opportunity presents itself for the Wolfpack to make a statement. Two weeks ago, an opportunity slipped through the cracks, as N.C. State let one get away in SEC country, falling to Mississippi State by 14 in week two.
It’s not often teams get another opportunity to win on the big stage. Two weeks later, No. 9 Clemson (2-1) comes to town for a Atlantic Division showdown on ESPN. The Tigers are always a big draw, mainly because they’ve been what Dave Doeren called the “gold standard” in the league for his entire tenure.
Doeren has never beaten Clemson and N.C. State’s last win against the Tigers came in 2011. The Pack has come close, especially in Carter-Finley, but the last two times the teams met Clemson outscored N.C. State 96-17. Dabo Swinney’s current team has struggled offensively, but boasts a stingy defense with (per usual) a defensive line full of five-star recruits.
The Wolfpack (2-1) has a solid defense as well, one of six teams in the country not to allow a rushing touchdown this season. The Tigers haven’t allowed a touchdown at all. Saturday’s game at Carter-Finley Stadium might turn into a four quarter, knockdown, low scoring, brawl. If N.C. State doesn’t rise to the occasion, many fear it could easily be another Clemson blowout.
Coaches try not to make one game bigger than the next, but there’s no doubt what a matchup with the Tigers means, and how far a win could go for the Pack. It would mean Doeren, 0-10 in his previous matchups with teams in the top 10, finally got over the hump. That the program, in its ninth year under Doeren, has taken the proper steps. Coaches want to treat every game the same, approach practice the same no matter the opponent, but this is Clemson, in the ACC opener. There is no way this is just the next game on the schedule.
“It is an opportunity, they are the No. 9 team in the country,” Doeren told the News & Observer. “They’ve won the league six years in a row. I think the first thing you do, you don’t avoid the elephant in the room. You’re going to see it on social media, it’s going to be on ESPN, everything is going to talk about how big this is. They know.”
A week after the loss in Starkville, Doeren talked about how he hated his team having to be beaten for them to learn a lesson. The lesson was don’t let a big opportunity slip through your hands. So how does he make sure a week from now he isn’t having that same conversation?
“I don’t know if I have the answer for you,” Doeren said when asked how he avoids that scenario again. “You cover all these things. Maybe the Mississippi State game was enough of a wake up call where they are going to listen and not suffer through another loss.”
Big plays
One thing Doeren knows for sure is his team is well prepared.
By Wednesday of game week they’ve done all the install they plan on doing. Thursday is about taking out plays they know they won’t use. Doeren never adds any new plays after Wednesday, and Friday is a final walk through.
He noted how the team had laser focus throughout the week. He pointed out they had better be locked in.
“They have no choice or they get embarrassed,” Doeren said. “Offensively, you can’t not turn the tape on and see those guys are good on defense. Their d-line is the real deal, so I think there is a lot of urgency in the way they are practicing. You have to be on.”
Doeren didn’t sugarcoat what type of contest he expects on Saturday, with two of the top defensive units in the league. He used the term “hit in the mouth” to describe the back and forth battle Saturday will be. With the exception of the forgettable 2019 season, three of the past four contests in Carter-Finley Stadium have come down to the fourth quarter. While Clemson has dominated the series — winners of eight straight — N.C. State has been in battles right until the final 15 minutes more times than people like to admit.
So what’s been the difference? According to Doeren, championship plays.
“There’s championship type plays made in big games,” Doeren said. “You have to make some big boy plays, momentum type plays.”
After losing to the Bulldogs in week two, Doeren pointed out his team didn’t make their layups, or the routine plays. To beat Clemson, layups won’t do.
“You have to make a three-pointer with a dude all over you,” Doeren said. “That’s what we have to be able to do in a game like this.”
In 2017 he took an unranked team to Tallahassee to face No. 11 Florida State. The Wolfpack left FSU with a 27-21 win over the Seminoles. Doeren remembers standing on the sideline, impressed with how his guys made championship plays all afternoon. He’ll need that and then some on Saturday. Some of those championship plays include forcing more turnovers. Against Furman last week defensive end Savion Jackson failed to scoop up a loose football and linebacker Jaylon Scott had his hands on two would-be interceptions. N.C. State can’t afford to leave those plays on the field against Clemson.
“The thing about it, when you put too much emphasis on if we don’t do this we’re going to lose, it can create a heightened sense of nervousness with your guys,” Doeren said. “We just need to play football the way we need to play football. You just play. Be aggressive, attack, that’s what I want our guys to do. We have to make the plays we are capable of making and make a couple of special plays.”
Rise to the occasion
The players haven’t downplayed the type of game Saturday is.
“This is the game a kid would dream about, versus a top 10 opponent,” wide receiver Porter Rooks said. “This is a big one. I’m excited.”
Linebacker Isaiah Moore wouldn’t sugarcoat it either, admitting it would “mean a lot” if N.C. State could pull off the upset. The last time the Wolfpack defeated a ranked ACC opponent at home was No. 17 Louisville in 2017. They dropped eight straight to ranked opponents before knocking off No. 24 Pittsburgh and No. 21 Liberty last season.
Those wins were steps in the right direction, but neither one of those teams was Clemson. N.C. State fans have long put those two wins in the rear view mirror, instead focusing on taking the next step. The Tigers are a 10-point favorite and have won 15 of the past 16 in the series. The Wolfpack has three wins over Clemson teams ranked in the top-10, but none of those has come under Doeren.
While many wonder if they will rise to the occasion, defensive end Daniel Joseph doesn’t believe that’s a thing he and his teammates have to worry about.
“I think if you prepare the right way and kind of make sure you’re ready, you don’t ever rise to the occasion, you just fall back on your training and that’s what we plan on doing,” Joseph told the media. “I think we’ve trained tremendously hard and at the end of the day we know that’s what’s going to carry us.”
When Doeren learned what Joseph had said, he agreed with his senior defensive lineman. He used an analogy of Tom Brady, how people call him clutch, but Doeren believes he’s the same guy all four quarters, his training is just better than everyone else. Doeren feels like his team has trained and prepared well, but even he knows it’ll require a little more than that to pull off the upset.
“It’s right there for you, take it,” he said when asked what his final message to the team will be. “Just go attack, one play at a time and attack, every snap. I think it’s one of those games if you want it you have to take it. They’re not going to give it to you.”
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