How the Gasparilla Bowl Helped Doeren's Thoughts on the Future
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TAMPA, Fla. — Dave Doeren and the NC State Wolfpack finished the 2025 season in style, beating the Memphis Tigers 31-7 in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl to end the year with an 8-5 record. The Pack stormed out to a lead and never looked back, holding the Tigers scoreless for three of four quarters.
While the shifting sands of college football make it nearly impossible to predict how one season will go compared to the next, Doeren felt confident about the future of his program and his own future after hoisting the trophy in the Sunshine State on Friday.
Building for 2026
While NC State was impressive in the win because it got the most out of many players who easily could've opted out of the game, it also included young players in the victory as well. Part of that came as a result of the numerous injuries the team suffered throughout the year, but there was some strategy to it as well. The Wolfpack is building for the future, even in the present.
"All the guys that return will have the experience of the offseason under their belt and what it took to win the game," Doeren said. "They'll understand how we prepared. They'll understand the process we went through... That is valuable. You can't replace experience as a coach. So, the experience they have here will carry forward for the next time we're in a postseason game."
2025 GASPARILLA BOWL CHAMPS 🏆#1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/lvbouzCrv7
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) December 20, 2025
Earlier in the season, there were questions from outside of the program, which Doeren debunked emphatically on National Signing Day, about his future at NC State. Since the start of November, the coach displayed a hunger and passion that felt different than his coaching approach of the past. It rubbed off on his players and appears to have Doeren ready for the future of football at NC State.
"I'm really excited. I just spoke to the team now. I'm here to win a conference championship. That's my dream and goal, being in this position at this school," Doeren said. "I want this offseason to be all about that. Some things have got to go your way, health-wise at times, but this next phase that's about to happen in college football, with retention, attrition, and acquisition, it's going to be crazy, man."
For Doeren, there is nothing left to question. He is in it for as long as NC State wants him and his goals are loftier than ever.
"Why would you want to not stay here and build a championship?" he asked. "Hopefully, we'll have enough of those guys decide to do that and we'll be out recruiting hard, like everybody else, trying to find the spots that we can't get."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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