Add NC State coach Dave Doeren vs. former Utah and Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith Sr. to the list of unlikely college football feuds that have developed this season. Smith was part of ESPN’s pregame show as a guest picker where he said NC State was “waiting for basketball to start.” Just minutes after the Wolfpack knocked off Clemson 24-17, Doeren called Smith out in his postgame sideline inverview.
“Tell Steve Smith in the studio this ain’t a basketball school,” Doeren said in the postgame interview on the CW Network. “He can kiss my ass.”
Doeren continued his tirade against Smith during the postgame press conference.
“For a guy that lives in Charlotte, he clearly has got his head faced west to Utah all the time,” Doeren said. “Which, you know, I understand. No disrespect to him but he disrespected our program and I’m not gonna let people do that. These kids have worked their butt off. We’ve won a lot of football games here in my tenure. I think we’re second or third in the ACC in wins in football. So he can take that and put it where it belongs.
“But this is not a basketball school. This is a great, great school. It has great sports and football’s one of them. So, yeah, if he wants to come see me we can talk about that. But do your homework before you start talking shit.”
Smith, who was a two-time All Pro selection for the Panthers, was not in the studio to hear it since the game aired on a different network.
NC State never trailed in the win over Clemson. Quarterback MJ Morris tossed two touchdown passes to Kevin Concepcion, and star linebacker Payton Wilson had a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown to build a 24-7 lead after three quarters. Morris finished the game 11 of 20 for 138 yards and the two touchdown strikes. The defense, which was stellar all game, held on late and stopped Clemson on a fourth-and-19 near midfield with 14 seconds to go to seal the game away.
The Wolfpack defense had nine tackles for loss and gave up just 3.4 yards per rush to the Tigers. Clemson tumbles to 4-4 on the season after starting the year ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25. Tiger quarterback Cade Klubnik went 33 of 50 for 263 yards, zero touchdown passes and two interceptions in a game that saw the Tigers lose star running back Will Shipley for the game in the second quarter after a scary hit near the goal line.
