Redshirt sophomore Cataurus “Blue” Hicks caught an 84-yard touchdown from Heintschel, setting the record for the longest touchdown pass since Pitt started playing at Acrisure Stadium. Hicks’ catch highlighted the Panthers’ beatdown on NC State by a score of 53-34.
Kenny Johnson shines in first half
Senior wide receiver Kenny Johnson continues to be first-year quarterback Mason Heintschel’s number one target. Johnson led the team in receptions and was a consistent option for Heintschel.
Johnson is always open to short plays and especially when the play breaks down. During the first half, Johnson had seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers had to battle after giving up three touchdowns in the first half. NC State had most of its success on short tosses that got its receivers in space.
Late in the first quarter, Pitt led NC State 17-10 when the Wolfpack would come back with a 65-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers. Pitt would answer back with a rushing touchdown of its own.
The very next drive, NC State got tricky with a 59-yard touchdown to their senior tight end Justin Joly, who hit his best Greg Jennings impression and pulled his hamstring mid-play. It was handed off, then pitched to first-year receiver No.12 Teddy Hoffman, who threw to Joly. The Panthers allowed NC State to stay in the game by not playing any defense at all.
Right before the end of the half, Johnson would receive his last catch — a touchdown to put Pitt up 31-21. During the play, Johnson grabbed his wrist after receiving a booming hit that left both players injured.
Halftime adjustments
The first half was a scoring festival due to some soft defense. Pitt would give up 100 yards rushing and 257 yards in the first half. The Panthers’ defense is banged up, and it shows — NC State was in this game for way too long.
The Pittsburgh defense must have had quite the halftime speech, because during the second half, Pitt would force a fumble on NC State’s second drive. Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey scrambled out wide and lost the ball, creating defensive momentum for Pitt.
After this, the Pitt defense would go on to force three turnovers on downs, shutting down the Wolfpack in the 4th quarter. Overall, it wasn’t the best game defensively, but they shut them down when Pitt needed a stop. This created a nice lead for Pitt and led to the blowout late in the game.
Heintschel makes history
Heintchel finished the day with 28-for-48 passing with 423 with three touchdowns. This is a career day for Heintschel and is the fifth most passing yards in a game by a Pitt quarterback. But more importantly, this sets the first-year record for passing yards in a game at Pitt. Heintschel looked calm and stayed within the pocket for most of the game. This was his best performance by far, and it was all with his arm.
What about the other side?
Coming into the game, NC State had the leading ACC rusher in Smothers. He cracked the news again when he took a 65-yard touchdown rush to the house. NC State leaves with another ugly loss here in Pittsburgh — 53 points is not a good showing after getting blown out by Notre Dame. They drop to 4-4 on the season and will look to bounce back against No. 7 Georgia Tech.
What’s next for the Panthers
The Panthers will go on the road to play in Stanford Stadium next Saturday against Stanford at 3:30 p.m. Stanford is 3-5 on the season and 2-3 in ACC conference play. Stanford is coming off a tough loss to No. 9 Miami, so they should be hungry to get back into the win column.
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