​Dave Doeren says there’s “meat on the bone” for N.C. State football, which is approaching 50 years since its last ACC championship in 1979.Entering his 14th season as leader of the Wolfpack, Doeren feels that driving force as the chase for a title continues in Raleigh. Doeren was reminded of that journey as he and his players enjoyed a steak at The Crunkleton before speaking to media members at ACC Kickoff for the league’s preseason media days in Charlotte.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“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.“. … 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.”WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH: NC State QB CJ Bailey says Wolfpack fans need to know these 4 players in 2026 seasonAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSTATE’S TOUGHEST OPPONENTS: Ranking NC State football’s opponents from easiest to toughest ahead of 2026 seasonNOT IN BRAZIL: ACC commissioner Jim Phillips explains why NC State vs Virginia won’t be in BrazilThe Wolfpack has won at least eight games in five of the last six seasons, but N.C. State is still aiming for its first appearance at the ACC championship game in Charlotte and its first double-digit win season since 2002.“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.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“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.N.C. State opens the 2026 season at Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 29 (3:30 p.m., ESPN).Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY