N.C. State is coming off two straight wins going into this weekend’s game against Florida State. Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien says it is important that his player look forward and not to the success they’ve had the past couple of weeks.

QUESTION: You’ve won two in a row now. Is there anything you were particularly pleased with from last week’s game that you’re telling the kids, all right, this is exactly what I want, keep it up for this week?

COACH TOM O’BRIEN: Well, I think it’s a
combination that we started — we were so
devastated injury-wise and we started to get some
guys back by the first game, and certainly the
off-week allowed — we had a lot of guys just beat
up in themselves, and then getting (J.R.) Sweezy
back and a couple others for Virginia, after being
able to try to put a defense back together for a
couple weeks, I think that was the biggest thing
that happened. It was people and the players.

They played with a lot of enthusiasm, knew that
they were going up a really good Virginia football
team, coming off a great win against Georgia Tech,
and it was a very good victory for us to go on the
road and win a game.

QUESTION: Each year’s team is a new thing, and prior to the Virginia game your three wins had been at home where people would have perceived you as the favorite. How important is it, and how much morale boost do you think your players got from beating an ACC team on the road?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, it should be a good
boost for them to understand how difficult it is.

This league is very difficult to go on the road and to
win, especially when you go play a good team and
a team like Virginia who was 4-2 at that point and
coming off a great win the week before. It caught
their attention being the NC State football team
and what a great team Virginia was and how great
they were playing.

But that one is by us, and we have to look
forward to Florida State. We can’t be looking in the
rear view mirror. We have to get focused on
Florida State or you can get run out of the ballpark
down there.