NC State head coach Dave Doeren on Wake Forest
At one point trailing 21-3 to a bottom-of-the-ACC Virginia Tech team, NC State turned to freshman quarterback MJ Morris, who led the team back to a 22-21 victory with 295 passing yards and three touchdowns. Regardless, head coach Dave Doeren did not commit to Morris as the starter for this week’s game against Wake Forest.
Your ACC Rookie of the Week: MJ Morris!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 31, 2022
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“We settled in with MJ as our starter at quarterback,” Doeren said in his weekly press conference. “We haven’t talked about [whether he will start] yet. Obviously, we have the ability to play both [Morris and previous starter Jack Chambers].”
READ: Wake Forest's PFF Grades from the loss to Louisville
With an anemic Chambers going 6 of 13 with 31 passing yards, Doeren turned to Morris, a former third-stringer who had yet to register a touchdown pass in college. That decision proved to be a game changer; Morris immediately hit star receiver Thayer Thomas with a beautiful 35-yard pass that led him into the right corner of the end zone.
MJ Morris got his opportunity & BALLED OUT in the second half of a huge comeback win! 🐺 #ACCFootball @PackFootball | @mj_morris7
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 28, 2022
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With a glimpse of hope, the defense stepped up too, getting Morris right back on the field, where he would find Terrell Timmons with a deep ball to get in the red zone. Then, Trent Pinnix was wide open for Morris’ second score to close the deficit to five. On the final touchdown, Thomas was the true star, taking a Morris pass on a screen and sifting his way through the defense to find pay dirt.
In a game that could’ve ended in embarrassment for the Wolfpack, Doeren made a change — the right one — and may have just found the quarterback he needs to fill in for Devin Leary against Wake Forest.
READ: NC State Football Overview
Looking at the Deacs, Doeren sees a team that wasn’t themselves in Saturday’s 48-21 collapse against Louisville.
“[It’s] a great team that we’re playing,” Doeren said. “[They’re] coming off a tough loss. [It was an] uncharacteristic game for them turning the ball over.”
The way Wake Forest played doesn’t change how Doeren and the Wolfpack perceive their opponent though.
“Hartman is a tremendous player,” Doeren said. “He makes that thing go. The receivers are big guys and they catch the ball very well. They use their bodies and Sam gives them a chance to make plays or earn PI's when he throws it up. They’re scoring a lot of points. Sam is a gutsy competitor.”
Looking at the Wake Forest offense on a yearly basis, it’s hard to identify one player or position group to devote the most preparation. They can beat you just about anywhere if you let them.
“That's the hardest part of it,” Doeren said. “If it would just be ‘take away this receiver and they're one dimensional’ [that would be great]. They've got a lot of good receivers, and they rotate guys in their running games differently. It's [hard] because of the timing of it.”
As an in-state rivalry with 115 consecutive games, there’s a lot of mutual respect between both programs.
“It’s a historical event,” Doeren said. “Both Coach Clawson and I have built programs from the ground up. Two long-standing programs with long-standing head coaches. Both of us have done it the right way. I have a lot of respect for him.”
While the respect is there, the game will be a war between programs that don’t care for each other too much. This one means a lot to both teams.
“There's a lot to play for,” Doeren said. “You got two 6-2 teams that are really good — that fight and are competitive. We’re here, we’re fighting and doing everything we can to win football games. It's a game that comes down to one possession almost every year. It’s going to be a good football game.”
Kickoff is set for 8pm on the ACC Network.
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Essex is the lead football writer and a managing editor for Deacons Daily. Essex served as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black for two years, in addition to roles as a beat and feature writer.