Virginia Tech vs. NC State: Game Day Preview and What to Know

After falling to Duke in Week 4, Dave Doeren and NC State have a prime opportunity to get back in the win column with a matchup against Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack spent the week fixing some of the costly mistakes, particularly on special teams, that the staff believes contributed to the loss.

The Hokies enter the matchup led by interim head coach Philip Montgomery. After losing the first three games of the season, Virginia Tech opted to move on from Brent Pry and elevated Montgomery for the rest of the season.

Now, Virginia Tech travels to Raleigh to face an angry Wolfpack team ready to turn the season around with a win. On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, hosts Tucker Sennett and Daniel Rios preview the game with stat predictions, key storylines and final score guesses.

Watch the episode here

Throughout the week, fixing some of the costly mistakes was a major point of emphasis. Doeren spoke about some of those issues and the leaders who stepped up to correct them after Thursday's practice session.

Here a partial transcript of Doeren's thoughts:

On the Wolfpack's preparation for playing in inclement weather and whether the team has a game plan for bad conditions

Doeren: "We do. I coached in the hurricane game (2016 vs Notre Dame) and so I've been around bad conditions a time or two. Our first scrimmage in fall camp this year was in the rain. We do wet ball drills on Thursdays, so that's part of what we always do."

"It depends on how bad the rain is. If it's just a normal rain, then we play ball. If it's torrential, then you've got to be able to adjust. Obviously, the game plans on both sides can change, so we've just got to be ready for that."

On quarterback CJ Bailey's leadership after the Duke loss

Doeren: "Leadership is most important after a setback. Adversity brings out the true leaders in the team. It also brings out the doubters, the boo birds and all the other things. So, inside the walls of the Murphy Center, those who are being leaders have to be at their best during those types of situations. CJ definitely stepped up. All of our guys that are on the leadership council, when called upon to make sure their position groups understand how important discipline is in a football game."

On coaching against teams with interim head coaches

Doeren: "I've been in this position many times. I can't remember points of season for you, but definitely transitions on teams that we're playing. It can go two ways for those teams. It can. The thing (Virginia Tech) has in their favor is they've got a proven coach in Philip Montgomery. He was a good football coach at Tulsa as the head man. He's always been a good offensive coordinator.

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