Clemson has been the standard bearer in the ACC for the large part of the last decade, winning seven conference championships in the past nine seasons, including six straight from 2015-20 – a span in which the Tigers also made six straight College Football Playoff appearances and captured two national titles.
Given Clemson’s recent history as the crème de la crème of the ACC, so to speak, does NC State head coach Dave Doeren view this weekend’s matchup against the Tigers as a “barometer” game to see where the Wolfpack stand?
Doeren was asked that question during his weekly press conference on Monday and said he’s not focused on the past, but rather simply focused on his team doing what it’ll take to beat the 21 st -ranked Tigers on Saturday at Death Valley (12 p.m., ABC).
“I don’t think the last 10 years matter. I don’t,” Doeren said. “College football these days, every team’s got so many new parts. What matters is the guys on your team that have played against these teams and you have a lot of players that have played well against Clemson obviously. We need to get the job done down there, and that’s something we haven’t done. We’ve been close. Close doesn’t get it done.
“So, it’s more about how do we win this football game, and focus on those things. How can we play better for four quarters instead of two quarters here, two quarters there. How you win a game against a good football team is you don’t turn the football over, you play physical and you don’t give up explosive plays for scores, you’re really efficient in your special teams departments with your field position. That’s the focus of winning. It’s not 10 years ago, what’s happened. These guys were 8 years old. That’s not going to help us win the football game.”
Clemson (1-1) is looking to continue its home dominance against NC State (2-1) at Memorial Stadium.
A win Saturday would extend Clemson’s home winning streak against the Wolfpack in Death Valley to 10 games, which would be the eighth home winning streak of 10 or more games against a single opponent in school history.
At the same time, the Tigers are hoping to avenge last year’s road loss at NC State. The Wolfpack have beaten Clemson in two of the last three years, with both of those wins coming in Raleigh.
Doeren did admit that “beating (Clemson) in the past helps,” adding “we know that we can beat them.”
After Doeren took over as NC State’s coach ahead of the 2013 season, Clemson won seven straight games against the Wolfpack from 2013-19.
“There was a time where, I don’t know how many in a row it was that we lost to them, where it seemed like a mountain we couldn’t climb, and that’s not the case anymore,” Doeren said. “We know that we can beat them. We also know that they’re a really good team, and playing them at home, they’re an even better team.”
Doeren also believes his team’s early season test this year against now-sixth-ranked Tennessee – a game that the Volunteers won, 51-10, on Sept. 7 in Charlotte – is beneficial as the Wolfpack get set to play Dabo Swinney’s squad.
“You’ve got to play a certain way, and I think that’s where playing Tennessee earlier helps us because we have seen a really good team on the field already,” Doeren said.
“So their level of speed and size and the combination of both isn’t going to be shocking going out there. But we know what Clemson’s program has been and how good their talent is and what kind of game we have to play, playing against a team like them. I have a lot of respect for their football team and what Dabo’s done there.”
Saturday’s game will feature the winningest coaches in each program’s history. Swinney is 8-2 all-time against Doeren, Swinney’s second-highest winning percentage against a head coach against whom he’s coached at least 10 games (10-0 vs. Dave Clawson).
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