NC State Opens Fall Practice

NC State head coach Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack prepare for the 2022 season.

Dave Doeren is approaching his 10th season as head coach at NC State in much of the same way he has the other nine, sans a beard that belies the clean-shaven look he previously has sported.

The Wolfpack enter the 2022 campaign as favorites for a division and conference title. That is another outlier. In Doeren's tenure, NC State had realistic chances to win a division title and reach the conference title game in 2017, 2018, and last season in 2021. NCSU has never won a division title and has not claimed a conference crown since 1979.

Like he has since he was hired before the 2013 season, Doeren is preaching pragmatism as his team readies for its season opener on September 3rd in Greenville, North Carolina, against ECU.

"It is appreciated, and these guys have earned the opportunity, but I think they’re very aware of what we have to do and where we want to be," Doeren said. "Make no mistake about it, we’re excited to play other people."

NC State finished 9-3 in 2021, but there was some element of regret. The Wolfpack came up just short of a division title with a close loss to Wake Forest and was denied the chance for a program's second 10-win season when the Holiday Bowl matchup scheduled against UCLA was canceled on the day of the game.

With 17 starters returning in 2022, it has set up NC State for something they do not often have to deal with; preseason expectations. 

"We talked about all that stuff since January," Doeren said. "Last year’s stats won’t win this year’s games. We’ve got some key pieces we have to replace, particularly on offense and at punter. There’s a lot of work to do, and we’re not going to earn any wins listening to things or hearing things. 

"It is appreciated, and these guys have earned the opportunity, but I think they’re very aware of what we have to do and where we want to be."