Previewing NC State’s Opponent: Pittsburgh

Today at noon NC State will kickoff against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Heinz Field. In this piece we will break down the Wolfpack’s opponent.

Overview

Pitt enters this game with a 2-4 record. The opened up the season winning a game they were expected to win against Youngstown State (28-21) They then ran into two Top-10 opponents in a row, and as expected, they fell to Penn State (33-14) and Oklahoma State (59-21). Pitt then opened up ACC play against the always dangerous Georgia Tech, and fell 17-35 to the Yellow Jackets. In the last two games, the Panthers beat Rice (42-10) as expected, but then fell in their second ACC game of the season, losing to Syracuse 24-27.

The Panthers rank 12th in the ACC in scoring offense (24.3 points per game), and rank 13th in scoring defense (they give up 30.8 points per game). The Wolfpack likes to put points on the board (35.5 points per game – 4th in the ACC), and if they execute well today, they should continue to do more of the same against Pitt.

Pitt basically has no rushing attack, ranking last in the ACC, averaging 116.8 yards on the ground per game. Let this sink in:Their second leading rusher is their starting Safety Jordan Whitehead (10 carries, 132 yards, 1 touchdown). They aren’t much better at stopping the run either, ranking 11th in the conference, giving up 164.2 yards per game. Wolfpack running back Nyheim Hines could be set up for his 3rd straight 100-yard performance, and NC State’s front seven should be more than up for the challenge of stopping the Panthers’ rushing attack.

The Panthers aren’t much better at stopping opponents through the air. They rank 13th in the ACC in stopping the pass (280.3 yards per game). With that being said, NC State ranks last in the ACC in stopping the pass, allowing 296.3 yards per game. The strength of the Panthers offense has been in their passing game, but their primary starting Quarterback Max Browne was injured last week, and will miss the rest of the season after having shoulder surgery. Pitt will roll out Ben Dinucci at Quarterback today, and he is a little bit more mobile than Browne, and might try to attack the Wolfpack with his legs. Dinucci isn’t without weapons to throw to, but they have been a dissapointment in many ways this year, dropping a lot of the passes that have been thrown their way. Senior Jester Weah led the ACC in yards per catch last season, and racked up 10 touchdown receptions. Rafael Araujo-Lope, who only had 3 receptions all of last year, has really emerged in over the last couple of games, almost averaging 6 catches per game and 70 yards in the past 4 games. At the end of the day, both teams could have success against one another through the air, but Pitt is giving up 3 sacks per game, and against NC State’s front 7, that number will probably be much higher.

To NC State’s jealousy, Pitt’s Special Teams are pretty solid. They have a field goal kicker who has connected ona 56-yard field goal this season. Their punter averages 46 yards per punt, which leads the ACC. Quadree Henderson has returned 4 career kicks for touchdowns, returning a punt for a touchdown against Georgia Tech this year.

At the end of the day, NC State is better than Pitt in nearly every statistical category, and should win this game, but as we saw in the Clemson vs. Syracuse game last night, anything can happen. That’s why you play the game.