Dave Doeren has a lot of admiration for Texas Tech program

Before he became the head coach at Texas Tech, Joey McGuire was a successful high school coach in the Longhorn State. Through that capacity is where his friendship with NC State football coach Dave Doeren is rooted.

When Doeren was an assistant coach at Kansas, McGuire was getting started building a state championship program at Cedar Hill High in Dallas. McGuire’s first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) prospect was a receiver named Marcus Herford, whom Doeren would land for the Jayhawks.

“I remember eating pregame meal with his team,” Doeren recalled. “He had the best chicken-fried steak and gravy you’ve ever had before the game.

“Crushing that with him. He’s a good dude.”

Doeren’s respect for Texas Tech, however, runs deeper than his friendship with McGuire. For one, he sees a similar culture between NC State and the Red Raiders.

“When you look at just the way that they play and the chip on the shoulder,” Doeren clarified. “Their fans, if you’ve ever been to Lubbock for a game, they have an awesome game day.”

Doeren suspects that “chip on the shoulder” is rooted in not receiving the attention in their home state that Texas and Texas A&M dominates.

However, Texas Tech turned heads locally and probably nationally with a double-overtime home win over No. 25-ranked Houston this past Saturday to improve to 2-0.

Doeren added that NC State fans should probably take note of how the Red Raiders dominated Mississippi State 34-7 in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis during the 2021 postseason. That same Bulldogs squad defeated NC State 24-10 during the regular season.

“Beat them convincingly, and a lot of that team is back,” Doeren said of Texas Tech.

The game will likely represent the biggest challenge yet for NC State, which has Doeren excited for the atmosphere to come Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

“It’s a very good team coming to town,” Doeren noted. “A team that is being mentioned in the top 25. They play hard. They’ve got good players, good coaches, and I’m excited about the matchup and looking forward to our students and our fans and our parents and recruits.

“Get tuned up and have a great time and give us a lot of noise. Man, we need it. I think there’s nothing better than a night game at Carter-Finley when it’s rocking. It’s supposed to be beautiful weather, too.”

More Tidbits From Dave Doeren

• As Dave Doeren first noted during the postgame press conference following the 55-3 win for NC State Saturday against Charleston Southern, he reiterated that both fifth-year redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson and fourth-year redshirt sophomore corner Shyheim Battle are expected to return Saturday against Texas Tech.

• Doeren also confirmed that NC State football will be breaking out the all-black uniforms for Saturday’s game.

• NC State is playing Texas Tech for a 7 p.m. kickoff Saturday. The ACC announced that the following weekend the Connecticut start in Carter-Finley Stadium will be 7:30 p.m.

Doeren likes the atmosphere of night games, but he wants a balance.

A season ago, 8 of NC State’s 12 games were 7 p.m. or later starts and a ninth was a 6 p.m. kick.

“I think playing at night is great, I love it,” Doeren said. “Playing at night 8 or 9 games, particularly when you are traveling, getting home at 4 in the morning or 5 in the morning, that’s a different conversation.

“I asked the ACC to be cognizant of that for player health, and really for coaches’ health. We’re working on short hours that become shorter, and that’s not good for your mental health. It’s not good for your physical health.

“I think there just needs to be balance. ‘Hey, this team played 3 in a row at night, let’s put them on at 3:30 if they’re a marquee game.’”