RALEIGH – After nine long months, NC State 's 2024 season came to an end with a loss to rival East Carolina in the Military Bowl and...
RALEIGH – After nine long months, NC State's 2024 season came to an end with a loss to rival East Carolina in the Military Bowl and an embarrassing fight late in the game. The season started with high hopes and a lot of potential.
The Wolfpack will play those same Pirates to start the 2025 season, so that loss is still fresh in people's minds.
Coach Dave Doeren, who is going into his 13th season as NC State's all-time leader in coaching wins, said, "I value wins more than I ever have because, over time, you start to really see how hard it is to win games, and you value that."
"And as a coach, every loss stays with you until the next game." So if you lose the last game, you have to wait a long time to play again.
The game between NC State and ECU starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game can be seen on the ACC Network and heard in the Triangle on 101.5 FM.
NC State is still dealing with the fallout from the late-game fight that got eight players kicked out and one official hurt and made ECU's 26-21 win look less impressive.
Doeren said that offensive lineman Val Erickson and defensive lineman Brandon Cleveland will not be able to play in the first half of the game because they were ejected from the bowl game. Before the bowl game, Erickson started two games, one at right tackle and one at nose tackle, while Cleveland started all 16 games for NC State last season. The plan is not for Erickson to start this season.
Jayson Tarpeh, an offensive tackle for East Carolina, was thrown out and can't play. He is not on the team that is traveling to the game.Last week, Doeren said that he and his team "didn't live up to the privilege we have to be at this university and that we work at this university." He put himself down after the game and said he was "embarrassed." He hasn't been afraid to talk about it since the season ended.
"That can't and will not happen after that game," he said.
After NC State beat foe North Carolina in the last game of the regular season, there were a number of fights on the field. It wasn't as bad as what happened with ECU during the game.
"Not letting that happen again because that's not how things are done on our team or at our school," Anthony Carter, Jr., offensive blocker and team captain, said. "Our name, the university, the team, and ourselves are on the back." We need to be very strict about that.
Doeren said that players should respect their opponents and the game in a way that goes beyond having fun during the game.
Doeren said, "When you watch MMA or boxing, you see the same thing." "These guys go into these rings, and that's the enemy at that time." What do they do at the end? They give each other a hug. And I don't see a difference. Football brings people together. During the game, they are the bad guys. We need to win the football game. They need to win the sports game. That has nothing to do with how rough you are during the game, though. You should play with respect. The things in the game don't belong there, and our guys know that. A lot of people have talked about it.
Since last year, when NC State was talked about in terms of the playoffs, the team hasn't gotten much attention. Doeren has new offensive and defensive coaches, but top skill players like running back Hollywood Smothers and tight end Justin Joly are back. Sophomore quarterback C.J. Bailey was thrown into the starting lineup last season because of injuries, and a lot of other top players are also back.
NC State was picked to come in 10th place in the ACC, which has 17 teams. Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the Wolfpack is 26-16 in ACC games, second only to Clemson in wins. But under Doeren, NC State hasn't been able to make it to an ACC title game or have a 10-win season. Those goals have been just out of reach.
NC State has only lost two home nonconference games under Doeren. The first was to ECU in 2013, which was his first season, and the second was to Notre Dame in 2023. NC State and ECU have met 12 times to start the season. NC State has won 19 of the last 14 games against ECU, and they are 17-8 when the games are played in Raleigh.
For the game, the Wolfpack will wear unique outfits that say "City of Oaks."
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