NC State coach Dave Doeren ‘super excited’ for Pop-Tarts Bowl opportunity

NC State coach Dave Doeren’s 52nd birthday was a successful one. It began with a handful of official visitors departing from their visit before driving to another recruit’s house for an in-home visit. 

Once he got home, he spent time with his family shortly before he found out where the Wolfpack was going to play in the postseason — the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Kansas State on Dec. 28 in Orlando, Fla. — to cap his work on his birthday. 

“For us, this is definitely a joyous Sunday,” Doeren said on Zoom soon after the bowl announcement went public. “It’s been a great day, a great weekend.”

It is the Wolfpack’s first time playing in the bowl since it appeared in the Champs Sports Bowl in 2010, a 23-7 win over West Virginia. 

NC State (9-3, 6-2 ACC) was not sure where it would end up throughout selection Sunday, and it appeared the Pop-Tarts Bowl was out of reach, according to several projections. But the Pack ended up with the game it was hoping for, and avoided repeat trips to the Gator, Sun or Duke’s Mayo Bowl this season.

“Super excited for NC State and Wolfpack Nation to come down to Orlando,” Doeren said. “We’re very thankful for the invite, excited to play against a great school, a great institution like Kansas State. I have tremendous respect for them.”

Doeren, a Kansas native, said he watched the Wildcats program’s rise under coach Bill Snyder and he has adored seeing its continued growth under current coach Chris Klieman.

Snyder turned the program into a winner in the 1990s and he retook the reins in the 2010s. The Wildcats have been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in 22 seasons since Snyder took over for the first time in 1993. Klieman took over in 2019 and has continued to keep the Wildcats’ success going with five straight seasons with AP Poll appearances.

“I have so much respect for Kansas State,” Doeren said. “For what coach Snyder did twice, and coach Klienman. … I have nothing but great admiration and respect for the Kansas State football program and the university.”

While Doeren talked highly of the Wolfpack’s next opponent, which NC State has never played against in program history, he also mentioned what this bowl means to the university. 

The Pack sit one win away from double digit victories, and if it wins the bowl, it would be just the second time ever that NC State did that — and the first with exactly 10 wins (11 wins in 2002). 

“It’s never happened at NC State,” Doeren said. “We’ve had an 11-win team and a bunch of 9 and 8 and 7s, but never a 10. In over 135 years of football, it would be the first time. Any time you can break ground with something over a period that long, it’s meaningful to say the least. This game means a lot to our football program and the guys are going to play really hard.”

While the Wolfpack is sure to give its full effort in the game against the Wildcats, Doeren wants his squad to enjoy themselves in Florida. 

NC State had a turbulent middle of the season this fall, but a five-game winning streak turned the year around and the Pack are in one of the ACC’s top bowls as a reward. 

“I told the guys after our last win, that we’re going to go to a bowl game, and we’re going to have more fun than any other team in the country,” Doeren said. “We’re going to enjoy each other’s company one more time — really revel in the brotherhood and the family that we’ve created. Enjoy the process of getting ready to win a game.”

Doeren wants his team to enjoy the process of preparing for one more game, but he was also looking forward to the opportunity to let the players have fun in the various theme parks in Orlando. 

He said that was a key reason why he enjoys this bowl, which he has been to multiple times as an assistant coach with Wisconsin and Kansas. 

“It just seems like there’s something every day that the guys can go do,” Doeren said. “Coaches have children and wives and kids that will be a part of that. Just the multitude of things, the roller coaster rides, I know the players were big on that. I didn’t partake in that. The golf course at the hotel. The restaurants. There’s just a ton to do.”

Wait, back to one of Doeren’s previous trips to Orlando for the bowl. He was on staff with the Jayhawks when they faced off with NC State in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl. 

And well, it did not go well for Kansas. 

“It was Philip Rivers’ last college game, it was not good,” Doeren said with a chuckle. “He played really well. But it was a great bowl experience to say the least.”

Rivers threw for 475 yards and five touchdowns on 37-of-45 passing in that one as he torched the Jayhawks. Luckily for Doeren, he will be the one with an NC State logo on his shirt this time around. 

Gone are the days of the Tangerine and Champs Bowl, and welcome the Pop-Tarts Bowl. It is the first year under the name, and Doeren was asked about the contest’s edible mascot — an oversized Pop-Tart. 

The winning team will eat it on the field, and Doeren wanted to know the flavor, which has not been revealed yet. Though that is the case, it is safe to assume the coach hopes it is brown sugar cinnamon, his favorite kind of Pop-Tarts. 

No matter what it tastes like, the Pack’s 11th-year coach embraced the new quirk to the game. 

“I guess I would have to, wouldn’t I?” Doeren said. “I’m not going to be the guy that doesn’t do that.”

NC State is more than three weeks away from game day, but Doeren was grateful that this was the Pack’s landing spot — and he found out on what has been an exciting weekend, featuring his birthday. 

“Thankful we ended up where we did,” Doeren said. “I think it’s a great place. … For our fans to be able to travel to Orlando, an awesome destination for us. This is what we were hoping for.”