{"id":4712,"date":"2026-07-15T22:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4712"},"modified":"2026-07-15T22:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:04:17","slug":"nc-state-is-tired-of-being-second-what-unexpected-things-inspired-the-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4712","title":{"rendered":"NC State is \u2018tired of being second.\u2019 What unexpected things inspired the team"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The best part of a tomahawk steak is the meat on the bone, and N.C. State football feels a little bit like an unfinished steak.<\/p>\n

Read more NC jury awards $18.2 million after finding WakeMed doctor negligent in boy\u2019s birth<\/a><\/p>\n

Dave Doeren enters his 14th season as the Wolfpack\u2019s leader. The team has been a consistent contender and solid program. The program has been good, and, at times, even great.<\/p>\n

But it still hasn\u2019t gotten over the hump. It hasn\u2019t won the ACC, picked up double-digit wins, nor has it made a College Football Playoff or a New Year\u2019s Six bowl game. N.C. State is also second in ACC wins since Doeren took over.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s sick of being second.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s meat on the bone,\u201d Doeren said on Wednesday at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. \u201cEvery school I\u2019ve worked at, even as a player, won a championship \u2014 a conference championship, was part of a National Championship. It\u2019s what I came here to do. I know that this school can reach that goal and those heights, so it drives me. I\u2019ve always wanted to leave N.C. State better than I found it, for sure. But I want to put it at a place where it\u2019s special for everybody for a long, long time. That\u2019s what this is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

One team that managed to take things to the next level after a long drought? The Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

N.C. State football took notice of its NHL Final-winning neighbors at Lenovo Center and hopes to replicate the success.<\/p>\n

Running back Duke Scott was reminded of the importance of staying focused, not looking at games except the next one, and playing to the team\u2019s style. When the Canes played outside of their typical style or in an attempt to \u201ccatch up,\u201d that\u2019s when they struggled.<\/p>\n

The Wolfpack was inspired by watching the Canes push through the Stanley Cup Finals and the six-game championship series. They saw the way Raleigh supported the team in the postseason and partied when it won. Players and coaches were among the celebrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to do exactly what they did: Win some championship,\u201d quarterback CJ Bailey said. \u201cThe city was crazy when they won the championship. I want (Raleigh) to experience that with the football aspect, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are plenty of questions going into the season, of course. Luck and injuries play into a season\u2019s success, too, but the team feels more settled than it was a year ago.<\/p>\n

N.C. State retained all of its coordinators, meaning there is less focus on jargon and more on scheme, this time around. Plus, Bailey is returning to the starting role for a third straight year; something many schools can\u2019t claim.<\/p>\n

Read more Why NC\u2019s Tillis says Democrats should \u2018look in the mirror\u2019 as they criticize Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pack\u2019s schedule also appears favorable, avoiding several programs that have been a thorn in the Wolfpack\u2019s side, including Virginia Tech, Miami, Clemson and Georgia Tech. Preseason rankings are always deceiving \u2014 see the 2025 Virginia Cavaliers \u2014 but the team believes it has an opportunity to cash in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a great chance to do something special that\u2019s never been done here,\u201d Scott said. \u201cThis is an opportunity that we need to take full advantage of. I\u2019m 100% excited, and I feel like this year is going to be the year we can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doeren: We have to get quarterbacks getting rid of the football before they want to. We\u2019ve got to have more sacks, more forced fumbles, more interceptions because of pass-rush.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve added some pieces that we\u2019re excited to see. That\u2019s what training camp is going to be about. It\u2019s going to be about what Harvey Dyson is going to be like. We saw him in the spring, sample what he is, but fall camp is a lot different than spring football because you\u2019re on the field every day.<\/p>\n

Really excited about the competitive depth in the secondary. Last year in the Pitt game we had four freshmen playing in that game. I think we had eight different starters throughout the year in the back end because of injuries. They\u2019re all back, so now you have a lot of competitive depth. Those things are important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doeren: \u201cThe kids know when we play, they know who will play, and you want to be in control of your own destiny. Winning a conference game in Week 1 does that; it gets you right in that position. They understand. There\u2019s definitely an intensity in the summer workouts because they know we\u2019re playing a really, really good football team out there a week earlier than normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note: N.C. State opens at Virginia on Aug. 29.<\/p>\n

Duke Scott: \u201cOne-hundred percent. There\u2019s a lot more. There\u2019s a lot more buy-in from the team, buy-in from the leaders. We do a lot of stuff, a lot of independent events for the team to make sure that everybody\u2019s on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doeren: \u201cWe\u2019ve always had leadership council. We\u2019ve always had these type of meetings. This team has embraced that differently. Versus, \u2018I have to go to this meeting,\u2019 it\u2019s, \u2018I get to go.\u2019 That\u2019s credit to them. They want to learn to be better leaders, and they\u2019re taking the material from the classroom. That\u2019s awesome to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey: \u201c(My) first season in college, I can honestly say like my first year I was winging it. I was just out there making plays, being an athlete. I really didn\u2019t know much about the game, to be honest with you. Going into that next off-season I learned a lot. It changed my whole perspective on everything about football, defense and everything like that. I learned a lot. From now, everything is slow for me right now. Everything is moving fluent. Shoot, I got confidence with the whole offense, the whole team, and everybody believes in me. I\u2019m just ready to make some plays for N.C. State.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom middle school, from high school, I could not run the ball for nothing. My linemen were faster than me. For some reason, when I got here, either I grew, my legs got stronger, maybe I just started running the ball more. My freshman year and last year, there was not as much as running as I should be. To be honest with you, I didn\u2019t trust my ability to run because my whole life I\u2019ve been throwing the ball. Now this year, I\u2019m gonna run more I\u2019m gonna put more on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more New owner keeps longtime mom-and-pop hardware open, locally owned and downtown<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

N.C. State football enters Dave Doeren\u2019s 14th season aiming to win an ACC title as the Wolfpack lean on leadership, returning starters and Raleigh momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNC State is \u2018tired of being second.\u2019 What unexpected things inspired the team - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4712\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC State is \u2018tired of being second.\u2019 What unexpected things inspired the team - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"N.C. 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