It’s a good thing Dave Doeren does not allow his NC State football team to listen to the outside distractions and conversations that come with playing third-ranked Clemson.

In Wednesday’s ACC Coaches Teleconference he was hit with one question after another that basically told him how good the Tigers were and if his team had any chance at winning the game.

“You guys are making them out to be like the Green Bay Packers,” he said. “I mean they are a really good football team, but we have played a lot of good football teams. We played Florida State when they won the national championship. At Wisconsin, we played Ohio State and beat them when they were undefeated and ranked No. 1.

“They’re good. They have good players. They have good coaches and they make plays, but, like I have been saying, it is going to come down to execution, not beating ourselves and making plays. If you learned anything this year when watching college football, anybody can win any game.”

The Wolfpack’s best opportunity to beat the Tigers (7-0, 4-0 ACC) might come on special teams. Clemson has very few, if any, weaknesses on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, but on special teams is where the game can be evened out a bit.

“On special teams they are sixth in the country on punts, tenth in the country on kickoff returns and eleventh in the country on punt returns so this is a complete football team that is playing with confidence,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.

NC State (5-2, 1-2 ACC) ranks third in the ACC on kick returns (26.5 ypr) and third on punt returns (15.8 ypr).  Punt returner Bra’Lon Cherry is second in the ACC with a 16.4 yard average, including one touchdown. His longest return has been 52 yards.

Kick returner Nyheim Hines, a true freshman Clemson recruited, ranks second in the ACC as well at 27.4 yards per return. His has a kick return of 90 yards. The Tigers gave up a 100-yard kickoff return at Louisville earlier this season.

“Statistically, on special teams, we are playing really well,” Doeren said. “Those are the only stats you are going to look at and see that we have an advantage. Now, does that mean we will out execute them on Saturday? That’s what we have to do.

“But on paper those are the phases you look at, other than our field goal kicker. Our coverage units and our return units are all ranked higher.”

However, Clemson’s punt coverage has been solid for much of the season as punter Andy Teasdall has held opponents to only 4.0 yards per return, and after Ammon Lakip took over the kickoff duties following his three-game suspension to start the season, opponents are averaging just 18.0 yards per kick return.

Lakip has 13 touchbacks in his 27 kicks, and 16 have gone to the goal line.

As for placekickers, the Tigers seem to have the edge with Greg Huegel. The freshman has made 9 of his 11 kicks this year, including a long of 47 yards. NC State’s Kyle Bambard, also a freshman, has made just 3 of 8 kicks this year. He is 0-for-2 from 40-plus yards and just 3-of-6 from 30-39 yards.