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N.C. State head football coach Dave Doeren walked into the tiny visiting media area and pulled out one of the chairs. The fabric seat was soaked in sweat after CJ Bailey and Popo Aguirre’s brief interviews.
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“It’s probably what I deserve, though,” Doeren quipped.
Following the Wolfpack’s stunning 34-8 loss at Virginia, the postgame news conference lasted 9 minutes and 32 seconds, with reporters allowed to ask 12 questions. Doeren spoke for four minutes.
The short media availability and self-deprecating comment followed a Week 0 game in which N.C. State lost nearly every phase — and that’s not hyperbole or dramatics.
N.C. State finished with 168 yards of total offense, compared to UVA’s 413. It finished with 76 rushing yards and gave up more than 258. The Cavaliers topped the Pack in the turnover battle, time of possession, fourth-down conversions and red zone opportunities.
And Bailey, the third-year starter of whom so much is expected this season, threw a career-low 84 yards and finished with his second-lowest completion rate (52%).
“(Bailey) was inaccurate at times. His guys didn’t get open for him at times. There was a blend of it,” Doeren said. “He got pressured at times, and you know, it takes 11 guys to have a good football play. It’s always going to be the head coach and a quarterback to get the most after a bad game, and I understand why. But it’s not all on him. There are some things that he’s got to do better, and he’ll own that.”
The only real wins came in the return game, a slight edge in the average punting distance and total tackles … but that was only because the defense was on the field nearly double the offense. It was an indictment on the offense more than it reflected the defense’s strength.
It was far from the performance most were expecting after the Wolfpack’s offseason. Doeren took the blame for the team not being ready, “for whatever reason.”
“That’s our job to figure out,” Doeren said, “with this week that we have coming up and the next week leading into the Richmond game.”
N.C. State enters a Week 1 bye, which the ACC scheduled when the game was set for Brazil, which gives it two weeks before its second game. The head coach always says teams make the biggest jumps from Game 1 to Game 2. After getting exposed on national television, Doeren and his staff know this squad needs to take a big leap.
“That’s going to be our goal: to improve in every way possible,” Doeren said.
Aguirre, who led all players with a career-high 18 tackles, said the team needs to look in the mirror and put their arms around each other. It wasn’t the result they wanted, but they know now what needs to be fixed.
The confidence hasn’t wavered and there’s plenty of positivity, Bailey added, and there’s plenty of football left — a line players and coaches have used before.
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“Virginia lost to us last year and still won 11 games,” Doeren said. “There’s a lot of football. There’s a lot to play for. The world’s not going to end, but it was disappointing as hell, to say the least, to see how we played today. And I own that. It’s on me, so everybody can blame the head coach. That’s great, and I’m going to go in there and work my ass off for these guys and help them.”
Doeren didn’t sit in the “saturated” seat, as he described it, but he has to sit with this loss for 13 days and figure out how to rebound in the coming weeks.
Because anything other than a resounding win would be a disappointment.
Richmond opened the season this past Saturday with a 35-14 win over Bucknell. The Spiders, who were No. 26 in the FCS preseason coaches poll, had a solid showing in their first game. They come to Raleigh in two weeks, after playing at Howard on Sept. 5.
In Game 1, Richmond finished with a 100-yard receiver, 100-yard rusher, a 100-yard passer, and held the Bison to fewer than 200 total yards.
Camden Byrd helped set the tone on the defensive end, recording 2.5 sacks, a pass breakup and quarterback hurry.
Byrd was an All-Patriot League second team selection in 2025. He was named to several preseason All-Patriot League and All-America lists for 2026. Additionally, he earned Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
This is the second straight season Richmond has made a visit to the Triangle. A year ago, the Spiders played at North Carolina, where it lost 41-6. Byrd had three tackles, including one sack, and a forced fumble against the Tar Heels.
Meanwhile, Aziz Foster-Powell rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per carry, against Bucknell.
Foster-Powell was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection in 2025 after rushing for 568 yards and four scores. He was named to the conference’s preseason awards this summer.
With the issues N.C. State had at the line of scrimmage, these two players could be a measuring stick for the progress it makes in the next two weeks.
Teams: N.C. State Wolfpack (0-1) vs. Richmond Spiders (1-0)
Where: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC
Day: Friday, Sept. 11
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Stream: fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV
Series history: N.C. State leads the all-time series 18-1-1. Its lone loss, 21-6, came on the road on Sept. 12, 1970. The Wolfpack has won three in a row, but the teams have played only twice since 2000. N.C. State won 42-0 in 2004, and 23-21 in 2013, Dave Doeren’s first season.
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