Dave Doeren: ‘It’s been my most challenging year as a head coach’

Dave Doeren opened his Monday press conference with a few words about the 2016 season as a whole, and he offered up a little pep talk as well. Maybe as much for him as for the fans.

And these are nice sentiments, but the thing about sports is they’ll always test the merits of whatever you assert about your team. Ball don’t lie, as it were. Nor does effort. So we’ll see on Friday.

I hope he’s right, that everybody has hung together throughout the year, and I hope that NC State plays well in Chapel Hill. But the question for Doeren’s teams is always this one: if the Pack does play well, will positive results follow good performance? That’s been an iffy proposition to say the least.

It’s defined his stint here, and it may well end it, too.