Of course NC State football just scraped by against its G5 opponent to start the season. We’ve seen this movie a million times.
For the eighth year in a row, the Wolfpack opened the season with a win. In seven of those seasons, it has faced a G5 opponent in the opener — and looked decent. But if you’ve watched enough Pack football, you know what comes next.
Head coach Dave Doeren always seems to find his level. A slow start will be followed by a hot streak. A hot start will be followed by a collapse to finish the season. And most certainly, the Pack will lose in whatever mid-tier bowl game it participates in.
Facing East Carolina to open the 2025 season, it was much of the same for the Pack. It looked good at parts, okay at others. Defensive miscues brought the Pirates back into the game. In a 24-17 victory, the Pack once again hung on.
This story ended in similar fashion to the clash in 2022, where it barely escaped on two missed ECU kicks in the final three minutes. In that contest, the Pack held a 21-7 lead heading into the second half, but gave up 13 unanswered and was bailed out by the Pirates’ missed opportunities to win 21-20.
In the 2024 opener against Western Carolina, the Pack was down 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter. The Catamounts, a member of the FCS, had the Pack sweating.
Opening the season vs UConn in 2023, the Huskies gave the Pack a run for its money before NC State amassed and sat on a 10-point lead to finish the fourth quarter.
You get the idea. But no matter what, Doeren manages to escape.
Against unranked opponents, NC State is 80-36 under Doeren. In recent times, those wins have rarely been convincing. And they seem to be a canary in the coal mine for the rest of the season. This tells us one thing: Another year of ‘Decent Dave’ is in the future.
Versus the Pirates, the Wolfpack came out guns blazing in the first quarter, holding them to just eight yards of total offense while putting up 144 of its own. Instead of keeping its foot on the gas and proving its might, the Pack got complacent and let ECU back into the game. Allowing 10 unanswered in the fourth quarter, the tension in the building rose.
But the game still ended with the Pack finishing on top. That is what we’ve come to expect from Wolfpack football. It’s a different story against good competition.
Against ranked opponents in his tenure, Doeren is just 8-29. Every now and then, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by a meaningful win, but you’ll never have the chance to play for something more than the Victory Barrel or a giant Pop-Tart.
‘Decent Dave’ is your guy if you enjoy being just outside of the top 25. If you like a lukewarm glass of iced tea. If you crave Raisin Bran. But if you strive for relevancy, to do more than just beat Carolina, to compete for a championship — it’s time for a change.
