After 157 games, the Dave Doeren era at NC State feels finished. Though Doeren is still on the sidelines with seven games left this season, the conclusion is hard to ignore — Wolfpack football looks lifeless in 2025.
In a year when the ACC is wide open and NC State boasts plenty of offensive firepower, the team sits at just 3-2 after an embarrassing 23-21 defeat to Virginia Tech — a program that had already given up on the season and fired Brent Pry. The Hokies had shown nothing but dysfunction through their first four games, including blowout home losses to Old Dominion and Vanderbilt. Yet, they had little trouble coming into Carter-Finley and leaving with a win.
Excuses for poor results have been plentiful over the years — from injuries to tough venues and questionable calls. But there’s no excuse here. A home night game in year 13 under Doeren should have been a routine win against a struggling team with an interim coach. Instead, it became another black mark on his record.
Doeren’s tenure hasn’t been without merit. He raised NC State’s baseline, going 8-4 against rival UNC and producing seven eight-win seasons. Still, higher standards come with those achievements, and consistently winning beatable games is one of them — a standard the Pack has failed to meet.
Losing to Virginia Tech fits a troubling pattern of falling to opponents who look like they’re going nowhere. Past examples include a 2022 senior day collapse to Boston College and a 2016 loss at ECU, both 3-9 teams. The Hokies seem destined for a similar record, but this setback is worse — it came at home and without any injury excuses.
The road ahead looks grim. NC State has yet to face a truly elite opponent, but Miami, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Florida State all loom. Given the Pack’s struggles, there’s little reason to expect wins against any of them.
The program’s deeper issues run beyond the field. NC State is slipping in the NIL and transfer portal era. Doeren thrived under the old system, putting together winning records from 2014–2018 and staying steady in the early portal years with multiple eight-win campaigns from 2020–2023. But as college football has evolved, his approach has not.
Recruiting reflects the slide. Since 2022, NC State has landed just one top-40 class per 247Sports, failing to secure the talent needed to compete. Earlier in his tenure, Doeren reeled in stars like Payton Wilson, Alim McNeill, and Nyheim Hines, with five top-40 classes between 2014 and 2021. That pipeline has dried up, leaving the roster thin.
Once, Carter-Finley Stadium was an intimidating trip for ACC foes. Now, even struggling teams see opportunity there. College football success still comes down to talent acquisition, and Doeren is no longer delivering. The result: a stagnant, faltering NC State program.
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