NC State report card: Quarterback, a few others get A’s. But not everyone was perfect.

N.C. State went on the road and won an ACC game for the first time since 2018, 30-29 over Pittsburgh, behind a big day from quarterback Devin Leary.

The Wolfpack trailed by five with 1:44 remaining and went 80 yards to shock No. 24 Pittsburgh. It was Dave Doeren’s first win over a ranked opponent since the 2017 season. N.C. State (2-1, 2-1) also snapped a six-game road losing streak.

The Wolfpack jumped out to a 10-point lead and trailed late, but Leary saved the day with his heroics on the final drive.

Passing offense: A

Leary threw four touchdown passes, including a dime to Emeka Emezie with 23 seconds remaining in the game in his first start. He finished with 336 yards and was 6 of 8 on the last drive, taking the team 80 yards with 1:44 remaining. Leary led the team to three straight scoring drives to start the game.

Rushing offense: C

The running game had been the bright spot in the first two games, but wasn’t a factor against Pittsburgh. That’s not much of a shocker since the Panthers have the top defense in the ACC, but the lack of a consistent running game made the Wolfpack too predictable in the second half. The one-two punch of Ricky Person Jr. and Bam Knight combined for just 68 yards. N.C. State’s longest run came from Leary on a scramble in the first half.

Passing defense: D

The secondary is thin, coming into the game down one starter, Tyler Baker-Williams, and it showed on the first drive. Pittsburgh threw for a 75-yard touchdown, on a play where the coverage was completely blown, on the second play from scrimmage. Panthers’ quarterback Kenny Pickett went over 300 yards passing and threw to wide open receivers most of the day. Even with junior safety Tanner Ingle back in the lineup, the youth of the Wolfpack secondary was too much for the defense to overcome. Pittsburgh averaged more than 20 yards per passing play. The Panthers had three plays that went for 40 yards or more.

N.C. State also failed to generate any kind of pass rush on Pickett, who had all day to throw.

Rushing defense: A

Not much was going right for the Panthers in the ground game early. It helped that linebacker Payton Wilson and Ingle were back for N.C. State. The real star, however, was nose guard Alim McNeill, who stuffed several short run plays. The Wolfpack, however, wore down in the second half as Pittsburgh was able to break a few runs on the ground when it counted. Overall, though, the N.C. State run game was solid, especially coming off last week’s game when they gave up more than 300 yards.

The Wolfpack came up with a huge goal-line stand on Pittsburgh’s first drive of the second half.

Special teams: A

A: Chris Dunn was his normal consistent self, connecting on his only field goal attempt from 39 yards out. Dunn was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points. Trenton Gill punted six times for 266 yards, averaging 44.3 yards per punt and pinned the Panthers inside the 20 three times.

Coaching: A

Starting Leary was the move everyone expected, so credit there for getting the right guy into the lineup and calling plays that allowed him to succeed early. The Wolfpack had success letting Leary sling it in the first half, keeping Pitts’ defense off guard.

This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 4:25 PM.