After a disappointing start, the Pittsburgh Panthers football team is now 5-2 and riding a three-game winning streak.
This winning streak is mainly caused by the excellent play of true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel. Heintschel started his first game this season on Oct. 4, playing a near-perfect game against Boston College that led to a 48-7 Panthers victory.
Heintschel had another impressive performance against a ranked Florida State team on the road, and then an average performance against Syracuse – but he did enough to get them the win.
The new look on offense is not the only cause of this winning streak. The Panthers have one of the best run defenses in the country, and that is caused by their linebackers, who are arguably the best in the country. Opposing teams average 2.4 yards per carry against Pitt, which is the third best in the country.
The secondary also showed signs of improvement in the Syracuse game, picking off quarterback Rickie Collins three times.
Despite all of these bright spots, Pitt will face a lot of adversity in the remainder of the season.
The Panthers dug themselves a hole early in the season, blowing double-digit leads in the second half of games first against Louisville and then against West Virginia, which has not come close to winning a game since the Backyard Brawl. Former Pitt starting quarterback Eli Holstein was in charge for those games, and he struggled with his decision-making and accuracy, turning the ball over multiple times against Louisville and struggling to hit receivers against West Virginia.
Pitt has also struggled with staying healthy. They are very thin on the defensive line, with Zach Carothers being out for the season and Blaine Spires missing the last two games. This has forced Jimmy Scott and Joey Zelinsky to step up. This has also caused defensive tackle Isaiah Neal to take snaps at defensive end.
Another position group where the Panthers are missing some players is the linebacker room. Rasheem Biles missed their last game against Syracuse, and All-American Kyle Louis missed the majority of that game as well with an injury. But Nick Lapi and Cameron Lindsey stepped up in their roles and recorded a combined 13 total tackles and two tackles for loss.
Pitt will look to improve their win streak to four games this week against a tough NC State team.
Some keys to this game for Pitt are getting Biles and Louis back, because NC State will have the best rushing attack the Panthers have seen all season. NC State has running back Hollywood Smothers, who is seventh in the country in rushing yards, and their quarterback C.J. Bailey has the ability to get out of the pocket and scramble.
Finally, the offensive line for Pitt will have to give Heintschel time to go through his progressions to get the ball out to his receivers.
