Pitt Hosts North Carolina State at Noon Saturday


PITTSBURGH – No. 20 North Carolina State makes a trip to Pittsburgh to take on Pitt at Noon Saturday at Heinz Field.

(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

The Wolfpack are 5-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in ACC play, while the Panthers, after falling to Syracuse last week, are 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference. The game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet as well as the Pitt IMG Sports Radio Network.

Pitt Game Notes

Watch Pat Narduzzi’s weekly media conference. Video courtesy of UPMC Pitt LiveWire.


GAME STORYLINES

• Pitt and NC State meet for the first time in eight years when the Panthers host the Wolfpack. The Panthers and NC State have played nine prior times. The 2017 encounter will be the first ACC game between the two schools.

• The Panthers will anticipate being without starting quarterback Max Browne, who was injured in last week’s Syracuse game. Browne is the ACC’s leader in completion percentage (.711) and has thrown for 997 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions through six games.

• Sophomore Ben DiNucci came on in relief of Browne in the third quarter and completed 6-of-10 passes for 55 yards. DiNucci led Pitt to 11 fourth-quarter points but the Panthers’ rally fell just shy, 27-24, in the Carrier Dome.

• DiNucci has played in five games this year with one start (at Georgia Tech). He has thrown for 442 yards with two TDs and two INTs.

• Pitt’s rushing attack has received an unlikely spark from junior safety Jordan Whitehead. Pulling double duty in last week’s Syracuse contest, Whitehead rushed seven times for 73 yards (10.4 avg.), including a 35-yard touchdown, and also ran for a 2-point conversion. On defense, he collected nine tackles.

• Redshirt freshman placekicker Alex Kessman has displayed a powerful leg in his debut season. He has made four consecutive field goals covering 55, 49, 42 and a school record-tying 56 yards.

• Only two seniors—cornerback Avonte Maddox and end Allen Edwards—have appeared in the starting lineup for Pitt’s youthful defense this season.

• Pitt is 7-2 all-time against the ACC’s Atlantic Division. The two losses came last week against Syracuse and in Pitt’s very first ACC game, a 41-13 setback to eventual national champion Florida State in 2013.

SERIES NOTES
Pitt holds a 5-3-1 advantage over NC State in a series that dates back to 1952…this will be the first ACC meeting between the two schools…the last time the teams played, in 2009, the Panthers were members of the Big East…NC State won that ’09 encounter, 38-31, as quarterback Russell Wilson rallied the Wolfpack from a 14-point deficit…this will be NC State’s first visit to Pittsburgh since a 34-0 Pitt victory in 1987…Pitt is undefeated at home against NC State (4-0) and winless on the road (0-2-1)…the teams have split two bowl matchups…Pitt and NC State twice played in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla. (1978 and 2001)…NC State, along with starting linebacker Bill Cowher, won the ’78 meeting, 30-17…the Panthers triumphed in the 2001 Tangerine Bowl, 34-19, behind receiver Antonio Bryant’s MVP performance.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television • RSN (AT&T SportsNet in Pittsburgh)
Evan Lepler, play-by-play
Takeo Spikes, analyst
Amanda Kuhl, reporter

Pitt Radio • 93.7 The Fan & the Pitt IMG Sports Network
Bill Hillgrove, play-by-play
Bill Osborn, analyst
Larry Richert, reporter

SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Sirius Channel 108, XM Channel 193, Internet Channel 955

WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) • 92.1 FM

Pitt IMG Sports Network Online Audio Options
PittsburghPanthers.com
Pitt Panthers Gameday App
TuneIn (free live and on-demand content)


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