Doeren looks back at Ball State, ahead to Florida State
Here are some highlights from Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren's weekly press conference on Monday, starting with a look back on the positives and negatives from Saturday's 34-23 win against Ball State ...
"Offensively, (we) averaged five yards per carry and continued to be very efficient in the red zone, 100 percent in the red zone with scoring. We improved on third down, were 100 percent on third and medium, which is the area we've struggled in. I thought we made some really good contact, difficult catches, which was an area we needed to improve."
"Defensively, I thought we improved in the run defense, hold them to less than three yards a carry. There were four times our defense was put on the field after a turnover, after the onside kick, after getting stopped on a fourth-and-one (and) the defense all four times held them to a field goal or less. It was a great response by our defense. I thought we were good on third down on defensively from third-and-three up. Did a nice job getting the ball back and putting pressure on their quarterback."
"I thought our special teams were exceptional. Trent Gill, six of seven on his touchbacks, punted the football well, flipped the field position, we covered his kicks well. The blocked punt by Max Fisher, the scoop and return down to the red zone by Malik (Dunlap), the return by Thayer for the touchdown were huge momentum plays for us and something we've been waiting on."
"On the bad side, third and short, fourth and short, both sides of the ball need to get better. I thought we dropped layup catches that are easy plays for us. You hate to see two interceptions, both were tipped balls. The onside kick is a play we obviously want to recover to put the game away, too many completions on us for over 15 yards that weren't touchdowns, but too many chunk plays that affect your field position. ... Creating more takeaways is a huge area of emphasis for us."
"From a health standpoint, Dylan Autenreith is out for the season unfortunately. On a positive, James Smith-Williams is back in action this week. Not sure how much (he'll play). We'll see how he responds to practice, but he's really excited to get back on the field with his teammates."
After discussing last week's game, Doeren turned his attention to Saturday's ACC opener against Florida State in Tallahassee ...
"We get to play in a great venue against a football team that has great. They're outscoring their opponents in the first quarter by an alarming rate. For us, starting fast, particularly on the road, would be a huge point of emphasis for us. More importantly, playing four quarters of football."
"Offensively, their quarterback got dinged up in the last game, so I'm not sure what his status is. But (graduate transfer Alex) Hornibrook came in and he's completing 70 percent of his passes. Their tailback is really the guy. Not to take anything away from their receiving corps, because they're outstanding, but Cam Akers is a really good football player and all-purpose back. ... Really good football player."
"Just building on what we did last week on defense is going to be key in this football game, being better than we were the week before and learning from our last road trip."
"They've got a really, really good defensive line. They're impressive. Their big, (with) three starters 300 pounds. So you've got some mass that you've got to deal with. Their linebackers are quick guys that are long. Their safety (Hamsah Nasirildeen) is a North Carolina native and a really good football player, their leading tackler. They've got an active defense, a good staff. They do a lot."
