Doeren looks back at Clemson, ahead to Louisville
Dave Doeren held his regular weekly press conference at Carter-Finley Stadium on Monday.
But before recapping Saturday's 55-10 homecoming loss to Clemson and looking ahead to Saturday's game against Louisville as he usually does, the NC State football coach had a message for his injury-riddled team's frustrated fans:
"I know right now that it’s tough as a fan base as we are suffering through some difficult things, but I also know that we’ve built a heck of a program here and these kids are working really hard and the staff is working really hard. I know we’ll continue to do so. Being young and facing the injuries has created a reality of adversity that we’re in.
“I really believe that adversity shows you your true self. I think for us, it’s an opportunity to be the best leaders that we can be. I was raised by a great family and had a terrific grandfather who used to say ‘tough times never last, but tough people do.’ I think that’s a great thing for this program right now. I look forward to continuing to persist and fight and help these guys get better."
While Doeren acknowledged that Clemson was by far the superior team Saturday, he said that his Wolfpack didn't do much to help give itself a chance in the game:
“We have a great opportunity this week. I’m excited to get back on the grass with these guys. They were really good in our meetings yesterday. It really comes down to us not beating us. As good as Clemson is, we obviously gave them a lot of opportunities with the turnovers we had in the first half. It’s about ending every drive with the football, and handing the ball to the referee at the end of every play. If we end each drive with a kick, whether it be a punt, a field goal or an extra point, that’s got to be what we do to win football games.
“Defensively, we’ve got to get much better in our tackling fundamentals. The last two weeks that has not been where we need it to be. It’s really just consistency in technique, which allows you to be consistent in your fundamental execution of your plays.
Doeren next addressed this week's opponent Louisville, emphasizing the Cardinals' speed -- something he's concerned his team will have a hard time simulating in practice because of all its injuries:
“As far as Louisville goes, I have a lot of respect for (coach Scott Satterfield). He’s doing a great job. They’ve got good team speed. He inherited a team that had some really good skill players, and those guys make plays for them. They have three receivers (Chatarius Atwell, Dez Fitzpatrick and Seth Dawkins) that are averaging over 17 yards per catch. They have a young tailback (Javian Hawkins) that’s very dynamic. They play hard on both lines of scrimmage. Their coaching staff does a great job. It’s going to be a great opportunity."
“For us, it’s just about helping who’s in the lineup to execute as good as they can, and giving those opportunities to them. We’ve got to practice really, really fast. The hard thing for us right now is our scout team. We talk about depth. When you’re taking guys from the scout team to play on the upper fields, your scout team doesn’t give you the best look all the time. Having that speed against each other, we’re going to have to do some good on good throughout the week to make sure we can simulate the speed that we’re going to have to play against."
Considered a rebuilding team when the season started, Louisville has turned into a formidable opponent at 5-4 (3-3 ACC). Here, he breaks down the Cardinals:
“They had some turnover issues early in their season and they’ve gotten that together. They’ve been relatively healthy as a football team. Personnel wise, their quarterback (Micale Cunningham) is playing really well. He’s 62 percent, he’s a very good athlete. Only three interceptions and 10 touchdowns.
“I mentioned their three receivers. I think Dawkins, Atwell and Fitzpatrick are all very good players. They do a good job with them on their play action schemes and their jet schemes, getting the ball to them where they can make plays. On defensive, they’ve struggled in some games and in other games they’ve been very productive. They are a disruption-based defense. They bring a lot of pressure. They give you a lot of looks, a lot of different coverage. Another week, another challenge, another opportunity for our football team.”
