Dave Doeren, N.C. State Head Football Coach

Looking for stories about Black culture, Black news, all Black everything? Then listen and subscribe to the podcast Beyond Black History Month. From influential newsmakers like Soledad O'Brien. I try to use Twitter to explain this thing is not good, but let me explain to you why it's not good. And let's talk about what framing is. To why Game of Thrones fans can believe in dragons, but not a Black Targaryen.

Or Valerian, technically. Find Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. We continue, this is Zach Yelp's show Coast to Coast on CBS Sports Radio. Big weekend of college football upcoming and we have a top 10 matchup between NC State ranked at number 10 and Clemson is all the way up to number 5. And now joining us is the head football coach at NC State.

He's been with the Wolfpack since 2013 and that's Dave Doran. Coach, appreciate the time as always. How are you?

Doing well, hope you are. Well I appreciate you coming on. I want to start you off, and you guys had a blowout victory last week up against UConn. I know that you guys take it week by week, but was there ever any fear last week that maybe guys were looking ahead to this matchup? And if so, I'd have to imagine that went away with the quick start that you guys got off to.

Yeah, no. We talked a lot about that beginning of the week, just challenged them. Some teams out there would play down to a level of competition watching them on film.

They'd really struggled in a few games and challenged them to get better. That we needed to be a better version of us to be prepared for what's in front of us and not skirt the fact that we're about to play three undefeated teams in a row and we need to improve to be ready for that challenge. There's a lot of challenges in getting ready for Clemson. How do you kind of plan for the hurricane that is ongoing? What have you guys been doing this week just in preparation there? Yeah, we do different things as far as getting the balls wet, scoring the balls with water, getting water on the hands of guys handling it, and crowd noise regardless of the weather. But doing everything we can to create what could be a wet day seems to change every day on the forecast.

So whatever it is, it is. We're both playing it, and our guys will be as prepared as we can get them there. Dave Doran here with us from NC State. They go up against Clemson this weekend.

10-5, big ACC matchup. This program is drastically different than when you first got there in 2013. You guys are now in the top 10 for the first time in 20 years. Just how do you put this journey into perspective for you? Yeah, there's a lot of thank yous. We're not done for long, but there's been a lot of people that have helped me from staff to coaches, obviously the talent, the players. It's been a joint effort. There's been a lot of suffering along the way. We've learned good ways to do things in bad ways. We have our scars.

I think that's the beauty of this thing. I've been able to see it through and try to put this program in a place that everyone wanted it to be and us to compete for championships and that's where we are. It's the beginning of a very important eight-week stretch.

A lot of things are going to happen in the next eight weeks in college football, so we've just got to continue to stay focused on the moment. In order to compete for those championships, you have to have the right culture. Everyone talks about culture, but how do you describe the culture of your program? Well, I think the first thing you start with is love. I think there's genuine love here with these players and coaches. We care about each other.

It's bigger than football. We care about them as human beings. We care about each other's families. Then it goes to accountability and just doing the job here that you were set out to do and living up to the standard of trying to be the best version of ourselves and doing it in a way that serves others.

I think the servant leadership piece is really an important part of our culture here. Your quarterback, Devin Larry, had a sensational season a year ago, 35 touchdowns, only five interceptions, had over 3,400 yards. How have you seen him really develop the last few years into the quarterback that we get to see each and every Saturday? Yeah, he's always had a great arm. I think it's his mind, his leadership that have developed over the last three seasons, just his confidence level, becoming the guy and then having the success that he's had and having the people around him show their love for him and their belief in him.

That's truly become his team over a long period of time. I'm proud of him, excited for him, and I know he'll continue to work hard to get better. What were your conversations like heading into last year's offseason after he just had that successful year? Just to stay focused on what helped him get that success and what areas can you improve in. Running the football was one of them. Leading others outside of his room. Building relationships outside of practice with receivers, outside of practice with offensive linemen.

Extending his reach from a leadership standpoint. Four games in so far. Big test upcoming on Saturday against Clemson, which is a highly anticipated matchup. What's the feel around your team?

What are the things that you're happy about and what do you think are the things that you need improvement on, coach? We expect to win. It's the biggest thing these kids believe. We're going down there to try to do something that has been five years in the making. Nobody's lost down there.

It's a tough task, but our kids believe that we can go down there and do that. We know we can't beat ourselves. We know we have to overcome the crowd and now both teams have to overcome the weather. Key points in this game will be the ability to take care of the football, the turnover margin.

Special teams play on both sides is going to be critical. Last year you guys beat them. We all remember the overtime game. When you have a win like that, we know it was a big moment for your program. But on the other side, people now say that's extra motivation for Clemson.

It's a revenge game now. But for you guys, it does put that confidence like you're talking about. Does last game matter or do we just make too much of that into the buildup? No, it matters. It matters a lot. It may not matter for them since they've beaten us eight times in a row prior to that.

But for us, it matters. When you're a team that hasn't beat somebody and then you do, there's a weight that's lifted off you. You know that you can win. You believe that you can win. It's different.

It just is for these players. I think that's a huge thing. Obviously, they're going to give us their best shot.

We know that. We're going to give them ours. It's going to be a great football game between two really hungry teams. Dave Doran, Coach, everyone talks about their defense for Clemson, but what do you want the nation to know about your defense? Our defense is going to fly around the field. They're going to hit people. They're going to make plays on the football.

It's 11 guys that play together and have a lot of fun doing it. I think they're going to bring a lot of different looks and make this quarterback think on his feet after the snap. That's the one thing about Tony's defense. He brings pressure from everywhere.

It's fun to watch. There's been a lot of conversation about DJ Ungololay, their quarterback. Last year did not go the way that he wanted and so far this season he's been turning it around.

How do you view DJ when you look at old game film and get ready for him coming up on Saturday? Yeah, he's worked hard. I think you would hope a second year starter would do. He's definitely fixed some of his weaknesses. He's improved his mobility. He's strong, more accurate balls. I think his receivers are helping him more.

They dropped a lot more balls last year. There's a collective effort there when you talk about getting better at that position. He can definitely see he's settled in. He's playing with more confidence. What's the toughest part about preparing for Will Shipley, the running back who's very explosive? He's got a lot of grit. He's tough. You've got to wrap him up.

You're going to get him down. He's going to continue to bring his feet. He's got great balance, acceleration. He's just a real competitive guy. He's the kind of guy you like playing against.

He's going to play really hard. I know ball security, like we've been talking about, is going to be a big emphasis, but what are some of the bigger points of emphasis this week for your offense going up against a very talented defense in Clemson that's looking to bounce back after last week? Well, their defense is all about their D line. They've got the best defensive line probably in the country. Those guys are deep.

They're talented. You've got to not just block these guys. You've got to keep them from making explosive plays in your backfield and keep you behind the chains. I think if you can give Devon time and give the backs a chance, they've been exposed in the back end. They have. We've got to be able to do that.

You've got to work hard to make contact catches. Devon's got to give our guys a chance to go up and get it. It all starts with that defensive front of theirs. Coach, last thing I'll ask you, Coach Dave Doran here with us. NC State, 10th in the country. They go up against Clemson this weekend. Has anything surprised you about your team so far? Not really.

No. I mean, that's what I was hoping they would be. A very coachable bunch of guys that work really hard and want to be great. Well, Coach, we appreciate the time. Safe travels and good luck this weekend. Thanks for having me, bud. Go pack. How's your mental health? I'm listening with Charlie Puth. I just surround myself with my family.

And if you don't really have a big family, just surround yourself with some of your closest friends. And it's pretty amazing how other people can lift one up just from their energy alone. Mental health in general is not to be looked down upon. It's a very serious thing.

And it's important that your mind is healthy just as much as your body physically is healthy. Looking for stories about black culture, black news, all black everything? Then listen and subscribe to the podcast Beyond Black History Month from influential newsmakers like Soledad O'Brien. I try to use Twitter to explain this thing is not good, but let me explain to you why it's not good. And let's talk about what framing is. To why Game of Thrones fans can believe in dragons, but not a black Targaryen or Valerian technically. Find Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from.