NC State Film Study: Lessons From Falling to Duke in Week 5

NC State fell to 3-1 Saturday when the Wolfpack lost 45-33 to Duke. Wallace Wade Stadium continued to be a house of horrors for NC State, although members of the team and coaching staff are insistent that the loss is just a bump in the road.

The loss included a major collapse by the Wolfpack defense in the second half. Duke exploded for 24 points in the third and fourth quarters and broke the game open with several explosive plays. The recurring inability to stop teams from breaking big plays continued to frustrate head coach Dave Doeren in the days following the loss.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, hosts Tucker Sennett and Daniel Rios discuss takeaways from the All-22 film of the loss and attempt to diagnose some of the major issues plaguing the Wolfpack after four games.

Watch the episode here

Doeren discussed some of the problems NC State dealt with the in the loss during his Monday press conference. Read more of what he said in this partial transcript:

On the loss of Shawn Clark, Doeren's close friend and fellow coach

Doeren: "Before we get to football, we lost one of the best of our kind last night in the profession in Shawn Clark's passing, and wanted to send out our prayers and deep condolences to Shawn Clark's family, his wife, Jonelle, and daughters, Giana, and son, Braxton, and the Appalachian State community and UCF community, their teams, staff and players."

"Shawn was a great coach. He's a better man and a good friend. The man that loved his family, his players, and he loved the game in the brotherhood, and that's what this is. It's brotherhood, this fraternity of coaching. And over the years, I've been able to have the privilege of getting to know Sean and meeting his wife, and we've become good friends. When my son Jacob moved in at App State, Shawn reached out, asked for his phone number, called him on the phone, picked him up, took him to lunch. Hadn't met him his whole life. it's just the kind of guy he was..."

On what to expect from Virginia Tech

Doeren: "You talk about our opponent, offensively, it starts with their quarterback. (Kyron) Drones is a big, athletic guy. He's got a big arm. He's 235 pounds. They run him a lot. You've got to tackle him. He's not going to go down easy. He's thick and he's fast. He's a tough kid. They have a talented receiver corps. They've had some guys in and out, but when you watch them, they've played against good teams, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, and they've made some really nice contact catches. They've made some explosive plays.

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