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COMMENTARY: Doeren, NC State Overcome
For Dave Doeren, the celebration after the North Carolina game was almost certainly a much-needed respite from the path NC State football has been forced to take over the past few weeks.
No one will cry for Doeren, nor should they. Football is a competitive business, and it is a sport where schools do not hang participation banners.
As his 10th regular season in charge of the Wolfpack ended -- with two overtimes added for good measure -- Doeren has firmly entrenched himself among the better NC State football coaches in the program's history.
Doeren's team will earn a bowl bid, the eighth time in 10 years that has happened, and, barring a second straight cancellation, NC State will compete in the postseason with its leader only six wins away from setting the school record for victories by a head coach in its program history.
NC State last clinched a conference title on November 17th, 1979, when the Wolfpack cruised past Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in front of the smallest crowd it had appeared before that season.
The Blue Devils were trying to build something under first-year head coach Shirley 'Red' Wilson, but NC State was ending a highly successful decade of football that featured winning seasons in seven of the last nine years and two conference titles.
NC State beat Duke, 28-7, on November 17th, 1979, in front of 24,100 fans at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, to clinch the ACC title.
When a program goes without a title for as long as the Wolfpack has, it is easy to lament what has not been achieved.
Doeren has not won an ACC title, but only three NC State coaches have ever done that (Earle Edwards, Lou Holtz, Bo Rein). Doeren has not won 10 or more games in a season, but that feat has been accomplished only once in program history, by Chuck Amato's squad in 2002. Doeren has not guided the Wolfpack to a major bowl or an ACC division title, but neither has any other coach at NCSU.
There have been 12 teams in NC State's history that have won at least nine games. Doeren has coached three of them, and the Wolfpack's win at UNC gives him a chance for a fourth nine-win campaign should he pick up a victory in the upcoming bowl game.
Doeren is second in wins, first in bowl berths, tied for first in bowl appearances, fourth in winning percentage (minimum: three seasons), first in seasons with at least nine wins, and second in tenure length in regard to football coaches at NC State. In 2012, he set out to be one of the better coaches in school history. That bridge has been crossed.
But the last few weeks have been tough on Doeren, and it is clearly visible. Recently, he has looked more tired than ever and has admitted as such to the media.
There are plenty of factors for his fatigue. The inordinate amount of injuries, the tragedy at Virginia, a couple of tough losses, and the realization that some of the goals he and his team have strived to achieve are out of reach have all played their part. Coaching is also time-consuming and tiring in general. Doeren has done a decent job of taking care of himself while at NC State. That will need to continue.
As for the victory this season at North Carolina, it probably will be as gratifying as most for Doeren and it could gain equity over time. That is saying something because he has four wins in five tries in Chapel Hill, among others, to choose from.
There will be no banner to hang in 2022, but NC State slogging through the adversity, stunning its rival once again on the road, and putting itself in a position to tie the second-most wins in a season despite needing to use four quarterbacks is an addition to Doeren's legacy that both he and his players can be proud of.
Perhaps more importantly, the team's effort and pride can lift Doeren. The players on the 2020-through-2022 NC State teams did not let the standard slip, although it easily could have.
When UNC scored on the final play of regulation to send the game to overtime, it was set up for NC State to come up short, but the Wolfpack found a way. Doeren wants the Wolfpack to be hard, tough, and together. That is what he got in 2022.
That also can be exactly what Doeren needs to draw from for a recharge as he and his program readies for its bowl appearance, then reboots in search of more and greater glory in 2023.
Sometimes the team has to be there for its leader. The fatigue Doeren has felt over the past few weeks is akin to another injury for the program to deal with. NC State fought through that as well. The victory at UNC helps the healing.
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