Author : college football/basketball writer @MattZemek, Editor at @TrojansWire .
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“If not us, who? If not now, when?” That familiar pair of questions sums up the moment facing North Carolina State football and its head coach, Dave Doeren.
North Carolina State should have beaten Clemson in 2016, and to be fair, Dave Doeren outcoached Dabo Swinney that day in Death Valley. However, much as Mike Zimmer has not been able to figure out the kicking game with the Minnesota Vikings, Dave Doeren suffered from Kyle Bambard missing a 33-yard field goal under pressure against Clemson.
We can all speculate on how different N.C. State football might have been under Doeren if Bambard had made that kick. We can all wonder about how different the trajectory of ACC football might have been if Bambard made that kick. We will never know… but the bottom line is this: Syracuse defeated Clemson. Pittsburgh defeated Clemson. No other ACC member program has defeated Clemson (we obviously don’t count Notre Dame last year) since Deshaun Watson began the dynastic run in 2015, leading the Tigers to the first of six straight ACC championships and College Football Playoff berths.
If Dave Doeren is going to join the small, select list of ACC coaches to beat Dabo and Clemson in the Tigers’ dynastic period, he better get it done on Saturday.
N.C. State is at home in Raleigh at Carter-Finley Stadium. Clemson is in a major offensive rut, having scored just two touchdowns in games against Georgia and Georgia Tech… and just 14 points against Tech. The Clemson offensive line isn’t even average right now. It is below-average.
Yes, one should expect Clemson to play better this week. The Tigers were not expected to be a 9-3 or 8-4 team this year. One would have to think Dabo will get better results from his players as the year goes along. That said, Clemson is far from its best right now. The Tigers are vulnerable to a degree they haven’t been since Kelly Bryant quarterbacked them a few years ago. That’s when Syracuse ambushed them in the Carrier Dome.
This is North Carolina State’s big chance. The meaning of this moment is obvious for Doeren: If he can’t beat Dabo when Clemson is uniquely vulnerable, will he ever do it? If he can’t, that is a defining moment for State football, and not in a good way.
North Carolina State is a low-ceiling program — if not in identity, certainly in results. The Wolfpack haven’t ever played in a New Year’s Six (formerly BCS/Bowl Alliance/Bowl Coalition) bowl game. Reaching that goal is central to any coach who takes over the program. Maybe State would be happy with seven- or eight-win seasons in future years, but if Doeren loses to THIS Clemson team, you know that the Wolfpack fan base will think the program will never reach a signature bowl game under Doeren. The air will go out of the balloon. It would be supremely deflating for everyone in Raleigh.
The loss to Mississippi State might have already cemented the belief that North Carolina State won’t reach a higher tier in college football under Dave Doeren, but for anyone still on the fence, this Clemson game will prove decisive. State will either win back the skeptics for at least a little while longer, or the door will be slammed shut.
If Doeren loses this game decisively, it will be hard for the Pack to be emotionally enthused about the rest of their season. It will be hard for Wolfpack fans to think they have a real future under their current head coach.
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