Five Surprises Through Seven Weeks For NC State

While NC State's 4-3 record doesn't come as a surprise to many fans of the program, some parts of the season have certainly gone differently than expected. Different players have stepped up. Games have gone unexpected directions. The Wolfpack is not immune to the chaos of college football.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host Tucker Sennett breaks down the five biggest surprises of the Wolfpack's 2025 season, from Terrell Anderson's breakout campaign to the transfer success of defensive coordinator DJ Eliot.

Watch the Episode here

Dave Doeren, the staple of NC State football amidst all the potential surprises, spent the Wolfpack's bye week trying to figure out what his team needed to correct to finish the season strong. The veteran head coach spoke to the media Monday about his program before it takes on Pitt. Here are some of the notable quotes from his press conference:

On the team's self-scouting efforts during the bye week

"The team definitely took advantage of the bye week, not just from the opportunity to rest and get healthy with some players, but after seven weeks, a lot of things to look at in all three phases. The biggest thing, we haven't played complementary football yet this year for four quarters."

"It's game to game, which side of the ball really plays well, or which part of the game that side of the ball plays well. And so it's a team that has a lot of improving to do."

On the changes to the ACC and the parity of the conference

"I'll be honest, the whole time I've been in the league, every game has been a fight. It has. Who the teams are on top is changing more now. But, I mean, you can look across the board, man, and you see teams you don't think are going to play with that team and they do. And sometimes they beat them."

"Stanford had a heck of an upset over Florida State this week. I think you go across the board in this league, there aren't any easy outs. Obviously, with the portal, a lot of teams have opportunities to change the rosters ... But this league has always been a league that's well-coached."

On the team's mindset with a 4-3 record

"We've got a lot to play for. I told them today, I expect to win every game we play, every single game we play and we prepare that way. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't from an outcome standpoint."

"But we have five games to play and, you know, you go 5-0 in those five games and you're sitting here with nine wins. We got a lot on the table and so we'll take it one at a time... You go in there, 'Hey, we got five left. Let's go 5-0,' and that's the mindset."

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