What the NC State-UNC rivalry means to Dave Doeren: ‘This one runs deeper’

Shortly after Dave Doeren was introduced as NC State’s 36th football coach in program history inside the Murphy Center nearly 12 years ago, there was a common theme among the congratulatory sentiments from the alumni and donors in the room. It was one that prepared him for the pressure of what comes with coaching in Raleigh. 

“I hope you beat Carolina,” nearly every person told the then 41-year-old head coach, fresh off his first two seasons running a program at Northern Illinois. 

Welcome to the ACC. 

Later that first week, Doeren met with then-NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow, who continued to hammer into his brain about the rivalry against North Carolina. The biggest priority? Never wear that shade of blue — ever. 

“I knew in one week’s time just what this meant to the school and to the fans,” Doeren said Monday evening. “And obviously, over the years of playing each other, it gets to another level.”

Now, more than a decade later, Doeren is looking to help NC State beat UNC for the fourth consecutive year. The Wolfpack has accomplished that feat just twice since the 1988 campaign after it won five straight over the Tar Heels from 1988-92 and then again from 2007-11. 

Even though Doeren holds a 7-4 record against UNC in his career, this year’s meeting could be brimming with even more emotion on the NC State sideline than usual. And for the first time under Doeren, the Wolfpack will be playing for bowl eligibility against its arch rival. 

Doeren and NC State are well-aware of that, and they’re looking to channel that in the right direction when the game kicks off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. 

“It’s always a hard-fought, emotional game with them,” Doeren said. “I know this one will be no different.”

Educating the Wolfpack

NC State brought in more than three dozen new players, either from the transfer portal or the high school recruiting ground, ahead of the 2024 campaign. Some hail from North Carolina, already familiar with the bad blood between the two programs. Others, not so much. 

So, Doeren, who quickly became one with the rivalry on his first day on the job, takes the education of the rivalry into his own hands. He does that for other storied matchups on NC State’s slate, including the longest-running rivalry with Wake Forest, but UNC is just different. 

For Doeren, the rich history and animosity is what makes college football so great. 

“I do think that’s one of the cool parts of college football: the pageantry that goes with it,” Doeren said. “You definitely, as a head coach, want to educate your roster about the matchup. In this case, the oldest matchup in the conference.”

While the coach presented a presentation in front of his squad earlier this week to teach them about the rivalry, that isn’t the only education NC State’s roster receives. The current players that have battled with the Tar Heels over the years, including senior defensive end Davin Vann among others, also have a duty to talk about what this game means. 

And so do the former players on staff. Director of Strength and Conditioning Dantonio Burnette split his four matchups with UNC, while nickels coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay and recruiting staffers Isaiah Moore and Tyler Jones have also gone to war with the Tar Heels. That quartet has also shared their experiences with the newcomers, looking to cement why this is such an important game for both sides. 

Those current and former players don’t even include those that were recruited by both teams. Freshman wide receiver Keenan Jackson was once a UNC commit, while redshirt freshman nickel Tamarcus Cooley and sophomore wideout Kevin “KC” Concepcion heavily considered playing for the Tar Heels. 

So, yeah, the point of the game has been drilled into every player on the Wolfpack’s roster going into the season finale. 

“They’re big games. They’re bragging rights games with the fan bases, there’s recruiting behind them with the head-to-heads you have with schools,” Doeren said. “When you’re in the same driving vicinity of your rival, it’s even more unique because you run into the fans, alumni, players, even sometimes their coaches at the grocery store in just regular day life.”

“They’re not just a game of, ‘Hey next year, we’ll beat them,’” Doeren added. “It’s a game that’s talked about and you hear about for the next 365 days sometimes if you’re out in public.”

Doeren’s approach to preparing for UNC

Most coaches like to say they treat every game the same. It doesn’t matter if it’s an FCS team or their arch rival on the schedule, the old cliche is this game is the biggest because it’s the next one. 

But for Doeren, that isn’t his thinking when it comes to playing against UNC — especially on the road. 

“I’m a little different I guess,” Doeren said.  “I don’t treat it as a normal game. Rivalry games are different.”

The coach admitted the practice routine and preparation is the same, but when NC State wakes up on game day and boards a bus bound for Chapel Hill, he wants the vibes to be different. Doeren knows how to rally his team — something he has nearly perfected when it comes to avoiding laying an egg against the Tar Heels. 

Doeren doesn’t want his players to think of this as any other game. He wants them to use their dislike for UNC to their advantage on the gridiron. Channel it the right way and be the one to throw the first punch on the scoreboard, while playing within the Wolfpack’s culture and system. 

“For me, it’s more about using the emotions properly and pouring that into executing the right way,” Doeren said. “You don’t win the game because you’re fired up to play it, you win the game because you played better than the other team and you made fewer mistakes.”

It’s an unusual approach to preparing for a game, but it has worked for Doeren in the past. NC State, which has been the underdog for five of the last eight meetings, has emerged victorious in three of those. Now, as the doubted once again as a 3.5-point pup on the road, Doeren knows this one means more to everyone involved. 

So, that’s what his mindset will be going into kickoff as the Pack looks to extend its longest winning streak against the Tar Heels in Doeren’s 12-year career at the helm of NC State. 

“The results speak for themselves. I’m not perfect at all, they’ve beaten me. … But we’ve played well in this game,” Doeren said. “It’s a meaningful game. Every coach has a different approach, but mine is to make sure they understand the value of winning games like this.” 

“It’s something that matters deeply, not just to Dave Doeren, it matters a lot to the former players, the alumni, the donors, the administration. Not that the other games don’t matter, they do, but this one runs deeper.”