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Dave Doeren 'excited' for NC State to open ACC play at UVA

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•09/20/23•

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(Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)

NC State will kick off ACC play at Virginia on Friday night in a short week, and it’s the first of two back-to-back weeknight games that the Wolfpack will play this season. 

For Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren, if it were up to him, Friday nights would be left for high school football. The Wolfpack coaching staff utilized game night recruiting last week with four coaches on the road, but for the next two weeks they won’t be able to do that. 

Not only was Doeren not a fan of the game impacting NC State’s recruiting abilities, but he also won’t be able to watch his son’s high school games for the next two weeks with Louisville visiting Carter-Finley Stadium in a week.

“I understand the value of the coverage, that part of it is great for our program,” Doeren said Wednesday afternoon. “I’d rather play on a Thursday night if I had my pick, just so we could use Friday nights accordingly for recruiting. … I understand it’s about dollars, we need to make money in our conference. We have our two weeks back to back, and we’re going to make the most of them.”

With a trip to Charlottesville on tap for the Wolfpack, it not only gives NC State a chance to play in a nationally televised game on ESPN, but it’s an opportunity for some of the Wolfpack’s roster to play in their home state of Virginia. 

NC State has three players from the Commonwealth: safety Bishop Fitzgerald (Woodbridge, Va.), cornerback Nate Evans (Virginia Beach, Va.) and offensive lineman Derrick Eason (Norfolk, Va.).

“It’s great for our players, especially our regional players,” Doeren said. “We have several players from the state of Virginia, so very rarely do they get a crossover against guys they grew up with. … It’s great to get these games. For our fans, too. They’re drivable games.”

The week’s game against the Cavaliers is one of two games the Wolfpack will play in Virginia — NC State will travel to Virginia Tech on Nov. 18. 

But before the Wolfpack play the Hokies towards the end of the season, there’s a plentiful amount of ACC games up ahead. Doeren, who’s in his 11th year at the helm of the Wolfpack, said he was excited to kick off league play with everything on the table. 

Since the ACC did away with divisions in football this season, the top two teams in the league will meet at the end of the season to play for the conference crown. 

With that in mind, anything’s possible for the Wolfpack, who is searching for its first ACC title since 1979.

“We’re excited,” Doeren said. “[It’s] a wide-open race. Obviously some teams have already had conference games and they’re up or down in the league. Now the thing starts for us. We’ve put a lot of time in, a lot of investment. We’re excited to get on the road and play our first game in the league.”

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