The Wolfpacker Show: Previewing NC State at Pitt

NC State finishes its two-game road swing with the fair in town as it makes the trek north to face off with Pitt at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., ACCN), looking for the Wolfpack’s fifth win of the season.

This episode of The Wolfpacker Show previews the matchup between the Panthers and Wolfpack as The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Stephen Thompson joins to give his perspective on the game.

On this episode:

– Thompson opened his guest appearance on the show with his overall vibes around the program at Pittsburgh after the Panthers have won their last three games, including a 34-31 road win at Florida State. 

– Once the initial takeaways were off Thompson’s shoulders, he broke down freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel. Pitt inserted Heintschel, an 18-year-old first-year signal-caller, as its starter three weeks ago and it has won every game since. Thompson talked about how Heintschel has found success and why the Pitt offense has taken to his play so far this fall. 

– Pitt running back Desmond Reid, who has 556 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns this season, has battled an ankle injury recently. Thompson gave his take on Reid, what makes him so good and if he expects the former Western Carolina standout to play on Saturday.

– Who else stands out on Pitt’s offense? Thompson broke down a few more names to keep an eye on this weekend.

– Pitt owns the ACC’s best run defense with just 82.4 yards allowed per game. It’s only conceding 2.2 yards per attempt, which is the second-best mark in all of college football. Thompson talked about why Pitt has found success against the run and if he thinks it can slow down NC State redshirt sophomore Hollywood Smothers, the ACC’s leading rusher with 739 yards on the ground through his first seven games.

– Before Thompson’s segment ended, he gave the key to the game for Pitt to find a way to beat NC State for the first time since Dave Doeren took over the Wolfpack program in 2013.

– After the guest appearance, Noah gave his score prediction for the clash at Pitt. NC State is currently a one-score underdog, according to BetMGM. Will the Wolfpack cover that spread?

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