Dave Doeren's Final Thoughts Before Miami Road Trip

RALEIGH — NC State faces one last road trip in the 2025 season, as the Wolfpack will head to South Florida to face the No. 15 Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.

The game is filled with unique storylines for the Wolfpack, including sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey's homecoming after playing high school football in the shadows of the Miami program in Hollywood, Florida.

The Wolfpack's head coach, Dave Doeren, feels as though his team benefited greatly from a second bye week. The 13-year veteran spoke to members of the media following Thursday's practice, discussing the progress of some of the younger players and the mindset of the team heading into the tilt against the Hurricanes.

Watch Doeren's Availability

Noteworthy Doeren Quotes

Oct 25, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren reacts on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

On how his team utilized the second bye week

"It was great. It was needed. It gave the guys a chance to heal up and we got a head start on our opponent. Different obviously than bye week number one, where you're looking at seven games and trying to really break yourself down. With only two games following, you're not going to have the same type of information come out of those two weeks."

"It was really more about how healthy can we get and get ready for not just this game, but knowing our next game is a short week game, we felt like we really had to rest our guys as much as we could and get them back and it worked. We've had some really good practices coming out of the bye week. I thought the guys really ran around well."

On maintaining momentum from the win over Georgia Tech despite having the bye week

"It's great to have that feeling going into a bye. Losing is terrible. As a coach, you don't sleep very well when you go into a bye week after a loss. It's a long time before you get a chance to take that taste out of your mouth. And now it's the opposite. What you've got to guard against is complacency that can come from that. It's the first thing I talked to the guys about."

Fans storm the field at Carter-Finley Stadium as NC State upsets No. 8 Georgia Tech 48-36. @WolfpackOnSI pic.twitter.com/v655WOCcRJ
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) November 2, 2025

"We have to understand what it took to get that win and to be able to repeat something like that, and it's even harder on the road. You know, when you go on the road and play a top-ranked team like we are in their environment, you've got to be even more dialed in."

"And so, been really guarding against the attaboy syndrome, I guess you call it, trying to get these guys to understand, 'Hey, enjoy the win for a couple days because we have a bye. But then once we started our Miami prep, that's over.' We've got to flush it, just like you do a loss."

On Syracuse being the opponent of the week for many of NC State's upcoming opponents and whether that's helpful or not

"It can. I honestly wish we'd see some other people, because schematically we're not like them on defense. And so, to be able to see someone play before you that's more similar, because everyone offensively, with the exception of the QB run game with Georgia Tech, is pretty similar when you look at formations, tailback runs, and pass concepts, I would rather see other teams that play similar schemes to us than the same team that doesn't."

On facing Miami's potent rush defense

"It's a test. I mean, they're giving up 88 yards a game, so one of the top rushing defenses in college football because of their front, those D-linemen are really good players. Their defensive coordinator adds one to the box quite a bit with five-man pressures, and they're going to try to plus-one you."

"You can see he understands how to target run blitzes, and he's done a good job schematically with his guys. Their free safety and nickel tackle really well in the box. So to answer your question, it's going to be critical to not be one-dimensional. Some of it's going to be ugly, you've just got to keep the plays from being negative-yardage plays."

Oct 25, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack safety Tristan Teasdell (19) intercepts the ball against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

On the performance of the safeties while dealing with numerous injuries

"I think coach (Charlton) Warren deserves a lot of credit in how he's gotten these guys to grow through his time here and then those young men deserve the credit, too. I think we saw (Asaad) Brown has done a tremendous job being versatile... Played nickel, played strong, played free. We can plug him into any one of those spots. And that wasn't where it started back in January."

"... When you look at today's college offenses, and how many formations and styles of play, drop-back quarterback one week, running quarterback the next, tempo team this week, formation, motion, shift, there's a lot going on for DBs, and to be able to play three spots in your first year as a true starter says a lot about (Brown's) football IQ."

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @WolfpackOnSI and @SennettTucker and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.