Doeren, Joly Reflect on Wolfpack’s Emotional Defeat to Virginia Tech

The NC State head coach and tight end broke down what went wrong in the Saturday night loss.

Aug 28, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren walks out during the warmups prior to the game against East Carolina Pirates at Carter-Finley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

RALEIGH — NC State suffered its second loss of the season at the hands of Virginia Tech, losing to the Hokies 23-21 in front of a sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium crowd.

The disappointing loss came hours after news came out about the passing of the daughter of first-year defensive coordinator DJ Eliot after a lengthy battle with cancer. All of the Wolfpack players and NC State head coach Doeren were incredibly emotional after the loss and all mentioned wanting to win for Eliot and his family to provide some levity in an otherwise heartbreaking situation.

Doeren and tight end Justin Joly fielded questions from the media immediately following the loss.

Watch the Press Conference here

Here is a partial transcript of Doeren's portion of the press conference:

From the Opening Statement

• Doeren: "I'd like to thank our fans for showing up. You guys were amazing and I know how much you wanted that win. We wanted it, trust me, more than you did. We really wanted to bring coach Eliot's family some joy tonight and we didn't deliver on that.

• "You've got to give Virginia Tech credit. They won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football and that's not indicative of our football team. It hasn't been this year, but that was the tale of the game. (Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey) didn't have time to throw in the first half. Obviously, we didn't run the football efficiently or else you would've seen Hollywood (Smothers) having the same numbers he's been having..."

Sep 27, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey (11) attempts to run the ball but tackled by Virginia Tech Hokies defensive lineman Ben Bell (33) and linebacker Jaden Keller (24) during the first half of the game at Carter-Finley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

On CJ Bailey being sacked five times in the loss

• Doeren: "They didn't do anything crazy. They were moving a lot, as far as stunts and things, but they just beat us. Our offensive tackles have been really good this year against some good defensive ends and we got beat. Their ends powered us into the quarterback multiple times. Collapsed the pocket on CJ and he didn't have time to throw in the first half. Obviously, that hurt us. We only scored one time in the first half."

Sep 11, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren walks his team out on the field against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Luke Jamroz-Imagn Images | Luke Jamroz-Imagn Images

On losing to a struggling Virginia Tech program

• Doeren: "It's a game that if we execute and do the things that we should do, in my opinion, it's a game we should win and we didn't get that done. Virginia Tech played really well in the first two games and didn't get it done. It was a tight game with South Carolina and a tight game with Vanderbilt and those two teams finished. It's not a bad football team. They played really bad against Old Dominion... We didn't know which Virginia Tech team we were going to face."

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