Kevin Keatts not overlooking Florida State despite Seminoles' record

You can’t afford to overlook anyone on your schedule, especially in the ACC. That’s exactly what NC State’s Kevin Keatts is trying to get across to his team ahead of their game tomorrow against Florida State.

Ahead of their matchup with the Seminoles, Keatts said during his pregame press conference that he wants the Wolfpack focused on the team rather than the record. He is well aware that, although they sit eight games under .500, FSU is as capable as any team in the league of coming into PNC Arena and getting a win.

“They’re good. I think if anybody in this league looked at their record and said we’re playing against a team that’s 7-15? I think that’s a huge mistake,” said Keatts. “All you’ve got to do is look at the Clemson game, them going on the road and winning at Pitt. They’re really good.”

“It’s unfortunate. Because, obviously, they’re going to get heavily penalized for what happened in November and December with a lot of injuries and then not having one of their better players for 16 games. But this team is as talented as any team that we’re going to play in this league,” Keatts said. “They can beat anybody on any given night…They’re really good. And Leonard has done a really good job for a lot of years.”

Florida State currently sits at 7-15 overall on the season. However, the Seminoles have found much better success in ACC play at 5-6 against the league. That includes their win over Pittsburgh but also features narrow misses at Virginia and against Clemson.

If the Wolfpack wants to remain in the Top-5 of the ACC, they have to enter each game, including Wednesday night’s, with the same amount of respect for their opponent. If not, Keatts is worried Florida State could catch them by surprise and hand them their fifth conference loss.