Injuries Continue to Bother NC State Before FSU Matchup
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A short turnaround this late into the season for an injury-riddled NC State team could be even more problematic than an average week over the last month has been for this program. With Florida State coming into Raleigh for a Friday night tilt at Carter-Finley Stadium, the Wolfpack will be without some key pieces once again.
After a 41-7 loss to Miami coming out of a second bye week, the ACC availability report included some important Wolfpack players listed as out, including starting cornerback Jamel Johnson and reserve offensive lineman Kamen Smith.
On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, get the full injury breakdown from host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett and find out just how dire things could be for the Wolfpack in the Friday night showdown.
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Doeren spoke to members of the media following Wednesday's practice and remained adamant that his team will continue to fight the rest of the season. With two weeks left and an in-state rival led by Bill Belichick up next, the Wolfpack will need to rally for Doeren to avoid a lost season. Find out what he said below or watch the full availability here.
On the opportunity to play at Carter-Finley Stadium again and what makes the atmosphere special
- "I think it's team to team. Someone asked me that yesterday; it depends on your home environment. We have a great home environment, and this one, Military Appreciation Day, is always my favorite home game of the year. I think our military presence in North Carolina is huge. It's very, very special to me, being from a military family, my wife being from a military family, and so you have the pageantry of that, along with a sellout and a packed house."
- "If you were playing at a place, maybe where there's 20,000 people there, you know, probably a different answer to the question. But for us, home field is an advantage because of who we have in the stands and how loud they can get in the student section. There's some teams that have a bad game day at home, so going on the road might bring energy to them."
- "I think that's not the case for us right now. And you know, the teams I've had that have played well on the road, obviously, we were very mature football teams. We weren't dealing with the injuries that we're dealing with. Every year is different when you look at those kinds of things, but we have a great home-field advantage. It's been that way for a while and we're excited to be back in the Carter."
On Carter-Finley Stadium being an asset in recruiting
- "Thursday night and Friday night, you get great coverage, right? And so that's the positive of that. And your fans, it's great for them. For high school recruits, unless their seasons are over, which, to your point, some of them are, it's hard to get them in the stadium... We'll get, you know, a portion of them to be here for game day, but it's give and take."
- "I do like the coverage that we do get on a Thursday night, Friday night. Prefer those games after a buy or to open the season, just from a health standpoint... Being able to get guys fresh and keep them healthy throughout the season. But, there is a huge advantage when you're not in a short week to playing those night games during the week, because of how much television coverage you can 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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