Dave Doeren didn’t need a podium to find the right metaphor for NC State’s place in the ACC race. A steak dinner did the trick.
Before speaking at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, Doeren and his players ate at The Crunkleton, and the Wolfpack coach used that meal to frame where his program stands after nearly 50 years without an ACC title. NC State’s last conference championship came in 1979, and Doeren said the program still has work left to do.
“Great steakhouse. They have tomahawk steak, big bone.
You pick it up right at the end, take the knife and clean it off. That's the best part of the steak if you didn't know that.
It's the same. Being second, there's meat on the bone,” said Doeren, who pointed out that N.C.
State has the second-most wins in the ACC in the last six years.
That kind of edge is what has kept Doeren pushing through his 14th season in Raleigh. He said the goal is bigger than staying competitive; it’s about reaching a level the program has been chasing for decades.
“. … Every school I've worked at, even as a player, won a championship, a conference championship.
I was part of a national championship. It's what I came here to do.
“I know that this school can reach that goal and those heights, so it drives me. I want to put this place, always wanted to leave NC State better than I found it, for sure.
But I want to put it at a place where it's special for everybody for a long, long time. That's what this is about.
It's definitely a driving force for me.”
The numbers show a program that has been steady, if still waiting for the breakthrough. NC State has won at least eight games in five of the last six seasons, but it has not reached the ACC championship game in Charlotte and has not posted a double-digit win season since 2002.
Doeren said the consistency matters, especially in a college football landscape that has shifted sharply during his tenure.
“I came in really excited about running this program, and still am. Since that time the landscape of college football has changed a lot just within our own state.
I think each school I go up against has had a minimum of three different head coaches at each university, and some of them more than that. I think that says a lot about what we've built,” Doeren said.
He also made clear that NC State’s recent success is not enough to satisfy him.
“As media, a lot of times your job is to talk about what we don't do well. Today I get to talk about what we do well.
I think having staying power, being a consistent winner. Won the second most number of games in the ACC in the last six years.
… With that being said, I'm sick of being second. These guys know that.
We're here to do more. That's what drives us.
It's the competitive spirit of winning, the brotherhood that comes along with that that's so special.
NC State opens the 2026 season at Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 29 (3:30 p.m., ESPN).
In Other News...
NC State Legend T.J. Warren Begins A Surprising New Career Chapter
T.J. Warren is taking a new path after nine NBA seasons and two more in the G League, signing a one-year deal for the 2026/2027 season that will send the former NC State star into his first professional year outside the United States. For a player long known around Raleigh as one of the most gifted scorers to wear the Wolfpack uniform, the move marks a notable shift in both role and setting.
Warren chose the opportunity because he wanted a bigger role and liked the location, even after drawing interest from other European teams. There is also a familiar NC State thread in the mix, with former Wolfpack forward Mohamed Diarra already in France, giving this next chapter a little extra relevance for Pack fans tracking where the programs alumni are landing. [Read more 🡒]
ACC Forced To Rewrite Title Race Rules After Last Seasons Chaos
The ACC spent media days doing more than previewing the season. It also rewrote the rules for how its title game field gets sorted out, a move aimed at cleaning up a system that drew plenty of scrutiny after last seasons chaos. The conference said the overhaul is designed to better handle the scheduling mess created by expansion and to make sure the two best teams are the ones playing for the championship.
The new approach also reflects how the College Football Playoff has changed the stakes for conference races, with league champions now carrying even more weight in the postseason picture. One key tweak is a clearer definition of what it means for teams to be tied in the standings, and the ACC is also preparing for a future schedule that will feature uneven game totals across the league. For programs like NC State, it is another reminder that the path to Charlotte is no longer just about winning games, but about navigating a tiebreaker system built to survive the sports new reality. [Read more 🡒]