Dave Doeren, NC State athletes react to Boston College loss

NC State’s defense eventually wore down after playing elite football for most of the game, and the offense went silent during the second half of Boston College’s 21-20 victory at Carter-Finley Stadium. This game halted a 16-game home winning streak for the Wolfpack and kept the program from achieving history. 

After the game, head coach Dave Doeren, quarterback MJ Morris and linebacker Payton Wilson spoke to the media about the program’s third loss of the season.

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NC State fails to send out elite senior class on a high note

More than 30 athletes participated in Saturday’s senior day ceremony, some with eligibility remaining. For those who are done with college football after this season, they will finish their career at Carter-Finley Stadium with a bad taste in their mouths.

Wilson participated in senior day despite his junior standing, and he discussed the emotions surrounding the team in the locker room after the game.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” Wilson said. “It’s pretty tough. I think that a lot of us were really excited to leave Carter-Finley with a win, and it’s just tough that we couldn’t get it done. I hurt for everyone but, at the end of the day, we’ve still got two more games to go out there and give it our all.”

This was NC State’s first loss to Boston College in Raleigh since 2016. Doeren shared his thoughts on the defeat.

“Pretty down for these kids,” Doeren said. “Obviously, we didn’t play well enough to win, didn’t coach well enough to win, and I’ll always put that on me.

“I hate it for these seniors, a great group of young men, and we didn’t get it done.”

Doeren has coached members of this senior class for as many as six seasons in Raleigh. He had a lot of praise for the group following the loss.

“I love every one of them,” Doeren said. “Thankful that they’ve been in my life and blessed to be their coach, and I hate that we didn’t get that win for them tonight. They’ve done a ton for NC State, for this program. They’re going to have very successful lives because of the people that they are, not just the players. They are incredible people.”

Morris is a true freshman, but he empathized with how the seniors are feeling in the locker room tonight. He made sure to tell all of his teammates he loves them in the locker room.

“I just told them to keep their head up and that we’ve still got two more games to go out in the right mindset, so we’ve just got to keep on going,” Morris said.

The Pack shares thoughts on a controversial pass interference call

NC State’s defense lived in the Boston College backfield all night and finished the game with 13 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. The loss hinged in-part on a controversial call in the red zone. Linebacker Drake Thomas batted away a pass on fourth down that would have sealed a Wolfpack win, but the refs called pass interference. Boston College scored the winning touchdown on the next play.

“I thought Drake made a fantastic play,” Doeren said. “Disappointed that a flag was thrown on a play like that. I thought it was a bang-bang play to win the game, and I don’t know how you throw that flag. Really disappointing call by that official, but there were other plays in the game that we could have made that it wouldn’t have come down to that, and we didn’t.”

Wilson agreed with Doeren and made sure he told Thomas to not get discouraged after the game.

“I told Drake in the locker room ‘Don’t even think twice about it. It’s a bad call, and you made a hell of a play, and the ref just decided to do what he did,'” Wilson said.

MJ Morris discusses the offense’s struggles

After starting his career with consecutive ACC Rookie of the Week awards, Morris turned the ball over a total of four times Saturday, although 1 of his 3 fumbles came on a lateral during the final play of the game. NC State started the afternoon with 2 touchdown drives and then never found the end zone again.

“We didn’t play to our full ability,” Morris said. “We slowed down a lot. In the first half, we were playing really fast, and we just kind of slowed down a bit. I feel like they got some momentum, and they just ran away with it.”

Morris finished the game 12-24 for 135 yards, 2 total touchdowns and 1 interception. The Wolfpack’s final two regular season games are on the road, and the quarterback knows the Pack needs to bounce back well from this loss to finish the year strong.

“Every game is not going to be a W,” Morris said. “It’s just not realistic. Every team is not perfect. We are going to have those losses. It’s about how we respond to the next game. The next game, we’ve just have to come out swinging. Every play, we’ve got to have that mindset that we’re the best team on the field at all times.”