Dave Doeren’s 14th season at NC State needed just one game to become another referendum on his future. Virginia turned Saturday’s opener into a 34-8 rout, while the reaction around the Wolfpack became increasingly unforgiving.
NC State trailed 17-0 at halftime after CJ Bailey threw an interception and lost a fumble, then watched Virginia squeeze more than 12 minutes off the clock on a 23-play fourth-quarter touchdown drive. By then, the frustration had moved well beyond one ugly possession.
Calls for NC State HC Dave Doeren’s Job Pour In
One user didn’t mince words in an X post: “The Wolfpack better go ahead and just fire head coach Dave Doeren. Start the search now and try again next year.”
I was DEAD WRONG about this NC State vs Virgina game. The Wolfpack better go ahead and just fire head coach Dave Doeren. Start the search now and try again next year. 😂
— Coop (@TheCoachCoop) August 29, 2026
Todd Bryant chimed in as well. After joking through months of missing college football, he ended his post with, “Dave Doeren is a joke , I hate watching him on the sidelines for @PackFootball.”
May: I miss college football
June : I miss college football
July: I miss college football
Aug 29: Dave Doeren is a joke , I hate watching him on the sidelines for @PackFootball— Todd Bryant (@toddupdog) August 29, 2026
CBS Sports college football analyst Brad Crawford noted that NC State entered with “the easiest schedule in Dave Doeren’s 13 seasons,” only to get “blown off the field in the opener.” In another post, Crawford summed up the Doeren experience more simply: “Watching NC State under Dave Doeren just makes you bang your head against the wall.”
One fan called the afternoon “the all-time speed run of the Dave Doeren Cycle” in his post, while another predicted “another long and disappointing season in Raleigh” and called Doeren “a mook” in another reaction.
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WRAL’s Patrick Welter wasn’t surprised by NC State’s struggles.
“One of the recurring issues with Dave Doeren is he’s only good when his back is against the wall,” he wrote in an X post. “Well he is now. All the haters got all the fuel they needed to make this another week to week referendum type season for NC State”
Virginia’s Long Drive Adds to NC State Frustration
The most painful sequence arrived in the fourth quarter. Virginia put together a 23-play, 75-yard possession that lasted 12:15 and ended with Xay Davis’ 1-yard touchdown, stretching the margin to 31-8.
Joe Ovies saw enough. “23 play drive with multiple 4th down conversions that ate 12 minutes?” one influencer wrote in on X. “NC State fans probably want Doeren left behind at Bodo’s.”
23 play drive with multiple 4th down conversions that ate 12 minutes? NC State fans probably want Doeren left behind at Bodo’s pic.twitter.com/tHmudxe9j3
— Joe Ovies (@joeovies) August 29, 2026
The anger is sharpened by how much continuity NC State appeared to have entering the 2026 season. The Wolfpack went 8-5 last season and finished No. 19 nationally with an 83.5 PFN Offense Impact Score, while Bailey returned as an established starter.
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Doeren entered Saturday with a 95-70 record at NC State and remains under contract through 2029. That longevity has brought stability, but it also means ugly performances are judged against more than one afternoon.
Virginia gave fans several hours of ammunition in the opener. By the fourth quarter, the conversation was no longer about whether NC State could rally. It was about how much longer Doeren should be the one trying to right the ship.
