Dave Doeren, NC State athletes discuss Mayo Bowl loss to Maryland

NC State traveled to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and lost its final contest of the season 16-12 to Maryland Friday. The Wolfpack finished the 2022 season with an 8-5 record after a barrage of injuries to many major contributors. 

After the game, head coach Dave Doeren, linebacker Isaiah Moore, quarterback Ben Finley and linebacker Drake Thomas all spoke to the media about the loss and reflected on the season. 

Doeren explained today’s quarterback situation

As the Wolfpack went through bowl prep, both freshman QB MJ Morris and Finley practiced, and Doeren planned on both signal-callers playing in the bowl game. That changed in the days leading up to the matchup.

“MJ practiced throughout the bowl’s [practices] and, as we got closer and closer to the game, he got sore and just didn’t feel like it was the right move for him,” Doeren said. “We would’ve loved to play him, but I wasn’t going to put him out there where he wasn’t completely confident. He was frustrated, we were frustrated, we just felt like it was the best thing for his future not to put him out there in that situation.”

That led to Finley playing all of the snaps under center, and he finished the bowl game 22 for 48 for 269 yards and 2 interceptions, including the game-sealing pick in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. 

Doeren assessed the quarterback’s performance after the matchup. 

“I think he rushed some things at times,” Doeren said. “There were some drops that hurt his numbers, [he] made some good throws. . .”

“He battled, he made some plays for us. If you talk to him, he’ll tell you he’s really disappointed. Ben really did practice well going into this game, so I think he had high expectations for how he’d play, and I think he would tell you didn’t meet those.”

After the game, Finely said he did do enough to win the game, noting that the offense was not on the same page at times. 

“I take full responsibility for that,” Finley said. “At this point, all we can do is go watch the tape and get better from it, but I’m hurting for the seniors.”

Finley told the media that he will return to NC State in 2023. 

Christopher Dunn caps historic season with another record-tying day 

Christopher Dunn, after receiving consensus All-American honors and winning the Lou Groza Award, capped his career with the Wolfpack with a 4 field goal performance, which tied the Duke’s Mayo Bowl record for the most made field goals in the bowl game.

“Chris Dunn had an excellent day for us, and I was hoping that we’d be able to get him a game-winner there at the end,” Doeren said. “Kicking the ball back to them, stopping them, getting it back and having a chance to go down and kick the game-winning field goal would have been a great way for him to finish his career but just didn’t get there.”

The Wolfpack head coach was super complementary of the graduate student’s career in Raleigh.

“I think he’s just a great example of persistence,” Doeren said. “Very talented, clutch, consistent performer and a guy that is hard on himself but in a good way. He set a great example with our specialists, set a great example with our players on how to bounce back and how to respond when things don’t go your way.”

The seniors showed up, and they reflected on their careers and more

Dunn was one of quite a few seniors who stepped up in NC State’s bowl game, just like the group did all year. In his final game with the Wolfpack, Tanner Ingle finished the matchup with 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. 

Doeren shared his thoughts on the senior safety’s performance and the rest of NC State’s senior class. 

“It’s a great group of young men that I get to coach,” Doeren “I’m going to miss them. You got to see Tanner Ingle probably at his best contact speed today. Seeing him hit like that, I’m going to miss that a lot. I’m going to miss Drake Thomas and Isaiah Moore and so many of these guys.”

Thomas, who finished the bowl game tied with Moore for a team-leading 11 tackles and a whopping 4 tackles for loss, was asked if he thinks the program met expectations in 2022. He said it’s difficult to say, but the Wolfpack wasted no effort. 

“We left it all out there,” Thomas said. “We didn’t leave any stones unturned. Every single week, we came out and we executed to the best of our ability and we played as hard as we could every single snap.”

Moore capped his sixth season with the Wolfpack with yet another dominant performance, ending the afternoon with 1.5 tackles for loss.

“I’m blessed to be a part of this program and this university,” Moore said. “The guys back in the locker room are going to fight like hell next year.”

The Wolfpack linebacker legend, who wore the coveted No. 1 jersey for 3 seasons, will immediately begin training for the NFL Draft. Moore shared what he will miss about the Wolfpack after the game.

“I think it’s the family that I’ve made here,” Moore said. “The amount of relationships I’ve built, not just from the football team but from the university, the admin all the way to Chancellor [Randy] Woodson. It’s been a huge blessing to be part of the university. I just hope they know that I gave my all.”