NC State Beat Writer Answers Five Questions About Cal's Next Opponent

Every week we ask someone who covers Cal's next football opponent to answer five questions about that opposing team. Cal (3-5) plays North Carolina State (3-5) on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina, so we asked Andre Cherry of North Carolina State Wolfpack on SI five questions about NC State.

We provide excerpts from each of Cherry's answers, but you need to listen to the video to get his complete answer.

--- Question No. 1. How do you think the players and NC State fans are reacting to the firing of Dave Doeren, and were you surprised? (Todd Goebbel, the team's running back coach and special teams coach, has been named interim head coach)

Answer No. 1. “I believe most fans probably saw this coming; however, the timing of the decision is the thing that is the most shocking,” he said.

Cherry noted that Doeren had been a steady figure for 14 years at North Carolina State and had only three losing seasons.

What Dabo Swinney has done at Clemson may have affected NC State’s thinking.

“I’d argue that the Tigers were an average team prior to Dabo Swinney, so I feel like NC State is in kind of a similar position right now, and they’ve seen the success that Clemson has had where they’ve kind of jumped over NC State, so to speak.”

Some suspected Doeren might step down after last season. Maybe the midseason firing is because the Wolfpack want to get a head start on looking at candidates.

--- Question No. 2. Does CJ Bailey’s fumble in the end zone when NC State was running out the clock, turning an apparent win into a loss against Vanderbilt in the third game, still haunt the Wolfpack?

Answer No. 2. “State had moved on from that ill-fated fumble during the Vandy game, but the incident was a major inflection point in the season,” Cherry said.

NC State won its next two games.

“A think a win would have kept NC State’s train on track a bit longer,” he said, “and perhaps keep Doeren from being fired in-season.”

--- Question No. 3. NC State has lost two straight since its impressive win over Louisville. What has been the difference, particularly in last week’s loss to Stanford?

Answer No. 3. “The Wolfpack have been hit hard by the injury bug this season, specifically on the offensive line. I think there are 12 players listed as out and five others listed as questionable.”

Cherry thinks the offensive line struggles were a major reason NC State lost to Stanford last week (by a score of 31-28).

--- Question No. 4. Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey is NC State’s star. How would you assess how he has played this season?

Answer No. 4. “Bailey has played well at times, and there certainly outliers where he didn’t bring his best in certain games, but he has been a steady presence for the Wolfpack, and as a returning captain the team really looks to him for his leadership.”

“I will say the turnovers have been concerning, but we’ve seen CJ Bailey perform at a high level this season against Louisville. Bailey set a career high in passing with 373 yards.”

However, Cherry notes that the problems with the offensive line have hurt Bailey, especially against Stanford, when Bailey had his lowest completion rate of the season.

“And he was sacked numerous times in that game,” Cherry said, “and I don’t think Stanford is a world-beater by any sense of the word.”

--- Question No. 5. Who are NC State’s best players and are there any key Wolfpack injuries heading into Saturday’s game against Cal?

Answer No. 5. Besides Bailey, Cherry mentioned wide receiver Keenan Jackson, inside linebacker Popo Aguirre and outside linebacker Harvey Dyson III.

“There are star players on this team, and they’re going to have to bring their full effort against Cal this week.”

Injurie are problem. Center Spike Sowells Jr. is out for the season.

“Duke Scott I believe is out, and he was a dynamic running back,” said Cherry, who noted Scott has been out since midway through the Louisville game back on October 3.

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