NC State head coach Dave Doeren took a shot at Florida State following Saturday’s defeat to the top-ranked team in the nation. Doeren made the accusation Florida State players were faking injuries in an attempt to slow down the tempo of the game, which saw the Wolfpack give Florida State’s defense all it could handle. Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher took exception to those remarks and responded by suggesting took exception to those remarks and responded by suggesting Doeren had no clue what he was talking about, and that he should worry about coaching NC State instead.
On Tuesday Doeren issued a public statement saying he has apologized to Fisher for his remarks. The statement was released via Twitter.From @StateCoachD: “I have apologized to Jimbo Fisher & want to apologize to his staff, players & FSU fans for my comments ...”
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 30, 2014
“that took away from from a tremendous football game. I left an emotional locker room & took those emotions w/ me to the press conference.”
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 30, 2014
“It was a great college football game with tremendous plays made by both teams. That is where the focus deserves to be.”
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 30, 2014
As suggested yesterday, it is rare to see one of the top teams in the country accused of faking injuries to slow down the opponent’s momentum. Florida State was already facing some injury depth concerns on the defensive line, so it is reasonable to expect some players slowing down at some point, but there is not much evidence to suggest Florida State was faking any injuries along the way.