Key Observations From NC State's Loss to Pitt
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RALEIGH — NC State head coach Dave Doeren truly believed his team improved throughout the bye week. He spent the days leading up to Saturday's 53-34 loss to Pitt discussing the Wolfpack's adjustments and learning experiences during the off week. Clearly, those adjustments didn't sink in.
Pitt's offense thoroughly outclassed Doeren's team the entire game. NC State's defense, still ailing and loaded with missing players, faltered at every possible chance. In addition to playing poorly, the unit lost yet another member of the secondary.
The Wolfpack was hoping to get a win and jump-start a late-season push. Now, bowl eligibility is looking like a longer shot than ever.
Bailey's Struggles
While he still loaded up the stat sheet with three touchdowns and 225 yards, sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey's struggles continued. The Pitt defense went into the game with one goal: to make Bailey a passer. While sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers did break a 65-yard touchdown in the first half, the Wolfpack never consistently established the run.
Bailey wasn't sacked, but he was throwing under duress throughout the game. On a fourth-down play late in the game, the sophomore ran out of bounds rather than continuing to attack.
"Disappointed in that. I told him after the game, 'You can run, man. Things aren't there, run the football. Go get us a first down with your legs. It's fourth-and-2,'" Doeren said. "He's still a young quarterback. As far as where he's at mentally, he does a lot of things at an elite level."
Doeren added that the team didn't prepare for the way Pitt played defense after it stretched its lead to two or more touchdowns. He believed that affected Bailey throughout the second half.
"CJ is going to continue to get better. He's a really good football player," Doeren said.
Never-Ending Injuries
Even after the bye week, the injury bug continued to haunt the Wolfpack. The team entered the game without both of its starting guards on the offensive line, as Spike Sowells and Anthony Carter Jr. were held out of the game with injuries.
Tight end Justin Joly caught a pass from freshman wide receiver Teddy Hoffmann and took it for a 59-yard touchdown. At around the 20-yard line, Joly began to limp and barely made his way into the end zone before being helped off the field after his second touchdown of the day.
A trick and a treat!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 25, 2025
Justin Joly gives it his all for his second touchdown of the game and is over 100 yards for the first time in his career. #1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/j83rRzqyjZ
Joly didn't catch a pass the rest of the game despite trying to return to the game. Losing the tight end further hindered the already struggling Wolfpack offense. But the injuries didn't stop with Joly for NC State.
Redshirt freshman safety Ronnie Royal III, one of the few healthy members of the safety group, laid an enormous hit on Pitt wide receiver Kenny Johnson while he leaped for the end zone. Royal took the worst of the hit and stayed down on the field before being helped to the locker room.
While it's unclear whether Royal and Joly will miss extended periods of time, the injuries continue to mount up for the Wolfpack, especially defensively. With back-to-back ranked opponents on deck, it's a bad time to be without key contributors.
No Pressure Applied
In their win over Syracuse, Pitt allowed freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel to be sacked seven times. It turned out to be a Jekyll and Hyde set of performances for the Panther offensive line, as NC State didn't sack the freshman signal caller once in the loss on Saturday.
Instead, Heintschel threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns, eviscerating the middle of the NC State defense and taking the top off on a handful of occasions.
"They were able to beat guys one on one, and there were times we did that tonight, and the coverage wasn't tight enough to allow the pressure to get there," Doeren said. "And then there were times where the quarterback evaded the pressure and got out of the pocket."
I promise you, no matter how high you think of him, you are NOT overrating Mason Heintschel
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 25, 2025
He IS the truthpic.twitter.com/Ii060vP3p7
Backs Against the Wall
NC State has reached a nearly terminal point of the season. While the four losses are already more than many would've hoped for, that number is likely to grow with the next pair of matchups against Georgia Tech and Miami.
While the final games against Florida State and North Carolina remain winnable, the urgency increased significantly following the ugly loss to Pitt. The larger problem is that Doeren seems to be at a loss for answers at this point in the season.
"If I had the answer, we would've played a lot better," Doeren said. "It's not what I expected to see. It's not the team that I expected to see on the field. And I'm not blaming them. I'm the one that got them ready."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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