PITTSBURGH — Mason Heintschel set a freshman school record by passing for 423 yards and Pittsburgh pushed its winning streak to four by racing past North Carolina State 53-34 on Saturday night.

The Panthers (6-2, 4-1 ACC) are unbeaten since Heintschel replaced Eli Holstein following a loss to Louisville in late September. Heintschel completed 28 of 48 for three scores, including an 84-yard strike to Blue Hicks in the third quarter that blew it open.

Hicks finished with four receptions for 120 yards. Kenny Johnson added seven catches for 112 yards and a 10-yard score late in the second quarter in which he shook off a tackle, spun, and then fended off a Wolfpack defender while diving across the pylon.

The victory kept Pitt in the thick of a wide-open ACC but also came at a potentially high cost. Panther running back Desmond Reid, an all-conference player a year ago, exited late in the third quarter with an apparent left leg injury. Reid missed two games earlier this season with an injury to the same leg.

Hollywood Smothers, the ACC's leading rusher, darted for a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter but finished with just 86 yards on eight carries as the Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3) spent most of the afternoon trying and failing to keep pace with the Panthers. CJ Bailey passed for 225 yards and three scores for N.C. State and wide receiver Teddy Hoffmann lobbed a 59-yard touchdown to tight end Justin Joly — who limped the last 20 yards after tweaking his left leg — on a double-pass, but the Wolfpack lacked the firepower to keep up.

Pitt scored on four of its first six possessions of the first half and its first four of the second half with Heintschel looking perfectly comfortable running offensive coordinator Kade Bell's up-tempo attack. Trey Butkowski kicked four field goals for the Panthers.

The Takeaway

N.C. State: The defense remains a problem, particularly the secondary, which didn't look any better a week after giving up 342 yards in a loss to Notre Dame. Smothers has been one of the ACC's biggest surprises, but he's not much of a weapon if the Wolfpack are constantly chasing the game because the defense can't consistently get stops.

Pitt: A Panther-centric podcast started giving away hoodies with the phrase “Heintschel for Heisman” on them last week. While that's a non-starter this season, Heintschel's precocious play has given the Panthers a Kenny Pickett-like jolt, and Pickett ended his college career by earning a trip to the Heisman ceremony after a record-setting final season in 2021.

Up next

N.C. State: welcomes No. 7 Georgia Tech next Saturday.

Pitt: travels to Stanford next Saturday.