Dave Doeren acknowledged the importance of NC State being ranked in the top 10 ahead of Week 5.

“It’s significant for our team and university and alumni. It’s great,” Doeren told reporters on Monday. “We’ve worked hard to move ourselves up in the national footprint of this sport.”

NC State moved to a 4-0 record with a 41-10 home win over UConn on Saturday. The undefeated record propelled NC State into the top 10 in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll.

Being a top 10 team comes with some challenges and NC State is getting ready for a top 10 matchup with No. 5 Clemson. This will be a road game for the Wolfpack and will have severe implications on the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

In September 2021, NC State took down Clemson by 6 points, 27-21, in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State stopped an 8-game losing streak in the series that went back to 2012. Clemson holds a massive 59-29-1 series lead over NC State.

NC State will take on Clemson at 7:30 p.m. ET.