What we learned from NC State football’s ACC loss at Pittsburgh

Winning against a hot Pittsburgh team on the road was likely going to be difficult, but N.C. State never expected to give up more than 50 points.

The Panthers did that and more against the Wolfpack on Saturday, winning 53-34 at Acrisure Stadium.

Pitt took a lead after its first drive. The Panthers have scored on the first drive in five straight games, including a touchdown in four consecutive matchups. They added a 34-yard field goal on its second drive, taking a 10-point lead.

N.C. State responded with a touchdown on the third drive when quarterback CJ Bailey found tight end Justin Joly for a 25-yard scoring play. Bailey went 6 of 6 passing, including three explosives. The Wolfpack became the first team this season to find the end zone against the Pitt defense in the first quarter and trailed by three points.

The teams combined for 35 points in the second quarter, with N.C. State trailing by 10 at the half. There were hiccups on offense, but the Wolfpack was down by three at three different times in the first half and appeared competitive.

The Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3 ACC) added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one from freshman receiver Teddy Hoffmann — the first of his career — and the other by Noah Rogers. But the offense couldn’t keep up with the defensive issues.

“It’s not what I expected to see, and it’s not the team that I expected to see on the field,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said. “I’m not blaming them. I’m the one that got them ready, so it starts with me, and I told them that in the locker room. We gotta coach better. They gotta play better.”

Mason Heintschel, in his third career start, was a catalyst for the Panthers (6-2, 4-1), finishing 28 of 48 for 423 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Pitt finished with 529 total yards, including 319 in the first half, and 29 first downs.

Bailey went 24 of 40 for 225 yards and a trio of passing scores. As a team, N.C. State recorded 445 yards of total offense but only 15 first downs.

“We gotta get into a rhythm,” running back Hollywood Smothers said. “With defense out there struggling, we just gotta figure out how to make plays. That’s all it comes down to at the end of the day. Who can make more plays?”

Joly, Smothers make major plays

It felt like few things went right, again, for N.C. State, but Joly and Smothers were bright spots during a disappointing game.

The Wolfpack recorded one rushing attempt for zero yards in the first quarter. On just the second attempt of the game, Smothers blew up the Pitt defense with a career-best 65-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Smothers found a seam and outran four Panthers — he was several steps ahead of the closest defensive back, Shadarian Harrison — to score the second touchdown of the day.

In addition to Joly’s 25-yard touchdown, the senior tight end found the end zone again in the second quarter. He caught a pass from wide receiver Teddy Hoffmann on a double-pass play and ran the ball in for a 59-yard touchdown, cutting Pitt’s lead to 27-24.

Joly caught the ball at the 38-yard line and ran about four steps before he began limping. The tight end showed visible pain in his left leg for approximately 20 yards as he hopped into the end zone. Hoffmann, Smothers and Teague Anderson helped Joly off the field.

He had six receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

After being evaluated by the training staff and performing minor rehab activities on the sideline, Joly returned to the game in the second half but was limited in his action.

CJ Bailey lacks pop in second consecutive game

The sophomore looked like one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks at the start of the season. He played with composure, found his targets with relative ease and limited mistakes. That wasn’t the performance he put on the field in South Bend, and it wasn’t what he showed Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Bailey went 6 for 6 on the third drive of the game, following two three-and-outs, and looked like himself. The offense had pace and made consistent gains. In addition to those six passes, he ended the second drive with a completion. That seven-pass streak was the only stretch of more than three consecutive completions in the game.

With the rushing game mostly neutralized — Smothers’ explosive touchdown run skewed the averages — the offense relied on a streaky passing game.

Bailey and the N.C. State offense made gains in the fourth, but it was too late.

N.C. State’s opportunities are dwindling, and the ones that are left aren’t against easy opponents. Bailey needs to find his groove with more regularity again if the Wolfpack wants a chance to win in the final four games. The defense hasn’t been reliable for most of the season.

Defense still struggling in coverage

N.C. State’s defense continued to struggle in coverage against Pitt on Saturday, notably allowing the Panthers to make plays in the middle of the field.

The Wolfpack defense gave up nine explosive plays in the first half alone, including five on passes up the middle. It allowed Pitt to convert on a third-and-13 opportunity in the first quarter with a 22-yard pass thrown down the center of the field. The Panthers scored a field goal on the drive. Even on unsuccessful plays, Pitt favored passes down the middle of the field and finished the first half with three passes to the middle on third down opportunities.

Freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel went 21 of 31 for 280 yards and a pair of scores in the first two periods. Of that yardage, the receivers recorded 122 after the catch. Kenny Johnson led the Panthers with 112 receiving yards and 48 after the reception.

The Panthers finished with 189 yards after the catch and a sixth explosive play down the middle, when Heintschel found Blue Hicks for an 84-yard scoring catch.

“That wasn’t what we practiced,” Doeren said. “We worked a lot on some of those concepts and they just didn’t get executed. The players got to do what they’re coached to do.”

This has been an issue all season, with the coverage experiencing some of the most irregularity. According to Pro Football Focus, the Wolfpack coverage graded out at 42.7 against Duke and 45.1 versus Notre Dame. The team surpassed 80 in the games with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

“Some of it has been coverage related,” Doeren said on Monday. “We’re too deep in the back end and too shallow in the front end.”

Doeren reiterated that on Saturday. He could live with some of the down-the-middle plays if they fit the specific defensive scheme and doesn’t care if the team gets beat on some deep plays. He just wants the team to play “tough, contested, hard-nosed defense.”

N.C. State’s secondary has been a “Rolodex of players,” because of injuries, Doeren said. Unfortunately, results aren’t weighted by who is or isn’t available and the defense isn’t getting things done.

Duke Scott shows high ceiling

When asked during the preseason which teammate they were most excited about, N.C. State players said Duke Scott. Overwhelmingly.

“I tell him every day he should be trying to take my spot,” Smothers said at the end of July. “That’s for everybody in the room, man, everybody behind him should try to take his spot. That’s just the standard for our room. The more confident he gets, the more he knows how good he can be, and the better for us.”

The redshirt freshman gained muscle and studied the game behind Smothers and former Wolfpack rushers Jordan Waters and Kendrick Raphael. He’s shown it at various times all season, but the young tailback looked like a veteran as the kickoff returner.

Scott recorded 136 yards on kickoff returns, including a career-high 38 yards in the third quarter after dragging two defenders to the ground. The return put N.C. State past midfield and gave the offense good field position.

Almost all of his returns started inside the 5-yard line and averaged 23 yards for his efforts.

Scott did what he could to put N.C. State at a positive starting position after Pitt’s touchdown drives, but the offense did not have the rhythm or the juice to get things done.

This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM.

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer