Pat Narduzzi and Dave Doeren have been coaching in the ACC concurrently since 2015, but this week marks only the third time they’ve gone up against each other—all three times in Pittsburgh, incidentally.
Dave’s going to need to push his record against Narduzzi to 3-0 to breathe some life back into NC State’s season.
The Panthers are off to a 5-2 start this year, following one of the more bizarro campaigns you’ll see: they began last year 7-0, then finished 0-6. It feels like Narduzzi’s tenure has been defined by his teams doing something wild or inexplicable at least half of the time, so actually that 7-6 campaign squares. What a bunch of zany characters, those Pittsburgh Panthers. They had a +7 turnover margin and went 3-0 in one-score games during the 7-0 start, then had a -9 margin and went 0-3 in one-score games to close things out. Someone swung the lever from GOOD LUCK all the way to BAD LUCK at midseason.
Still there was plenty to build on, and Pitt returned an above-average amount of production for 2025, with a reasonable expectation for improvement on both sides of the ball. The Panthers very easily could have started this season 7-0 but instead endured a baffling loss at West Virginia (still WVU’s only FBS win) followed by a 34-27 loss to Louisville in which they squandered a 17-0 lead. Louisville’s rally, which was made possible by a scoreless second half from Pitt’s offense, prompted Narduzzi to insert freshman Mason Heintschel at quarterback.
Heintschel threw for over 300 yards in his first two starts, including a road win at Florida State, though as you’d expect from a young player, he’s been a little chaotic at times. He has thrown three interceptions and fumbled twice, and had a rough overall outing at Syracuse last week. But he’s not heading back to the bench any time soon, especially since he is more of a threat to use his legs, and that’s something Pitt’s offense needs.
They need it because they’re averaging a meager 115 rushing yards on 3.3 per carry against FBS opponents. No wonder they’ve already had five 300-yard passing games—the run support has not been there. Pittsburgh ranks No. 131 in rushing success rate and they’re popping off explosive runs at a below-average rate as well.
Part of the problem has been the health of Desmond Reid, who has missed a couple of games. And the team’s other primary ball-carriers are freshmen. Reid is one of the league’s most dynamic backs when he is on the field, more than capable of delivering big plays whether he’s running the ball or catching it. He finished 2024 with 966 rushing yards and 579 receiving yards, but his impact in 2025 has been limited—his touches have been cut almost in half. Keeping him under wraps remains very important, even so.
While the offense has been stagnant in some key ways, Pitt’s defense has made strides behind a front that is both disruptive and quite good at stopping the run. The Panthers are prone to some explosives in the pass game, which is partly just a function of how Narduzzi likes to play, but their defensive radar tells an impressive story.
The Panthers stuff a lot of runs, and NC State is prone to getting stuffed on run plays. The Panthers rate really well in havoc rate, and NC State is prone to surrendering plenty of them. I can’t think of anything that could go wrong.
Assuming there isn’t a whole lot to be found by either team running the ball, the question is whether or not CJ Bailey can outplay Heintschel—a debatable matter after that rough performance in South Bend. This matchup doesn’t stack up well at all for State’s offense, particularly with a couple of important receivers banged up, but stranger things have happened, and if Pitt gets cavalier with the ball, this game could be messy in a helpful way.
Pitt has been kind to Dave Doeren and NC State in the past, after all. We’ll need another healthy dose of that hospitality.
