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FACTS & STATS: Site: Carter-Finley Stadium (57,583) -- Raleigh, North Carolina. Television: ESPN U. Home Record: Pitt 2-0, NC State 2-1. Away Record: Pitt 1-0, NC State 0-0. Neutral Record: Pitt 0-0, NC State 0-0. Conference Record: Pitt 0-0, NC State 0-0. Series Record: Pittsburgh leads, 5-2-1.

GAME NOTES: The Pittsburgh Panthers will try to get some respect from the pollsters when they head to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack in a non-conference bout this weekend.

Pitt is off to a perfect 3-0 start, with impressive play on both sides of the ball. After beating up on Youngstown State and Buffalo in the first two weeks, the Panthers grinded out a 27-14 win over Navy last weekend. This game marks the first of three of the next four that Pitt will play on the road. The Panthers open Big East Conference play next week at Louisville.

On the other sideline, NC State has coasted to consecutive wins over two FCS schools since a season-opening 7-3 loss to South Carolina. Last weekend, the Wolfpack notched a 45-14 win over Gardner Webb. This marks the final leg of the team's four-game homestand to start the season.

Pitt has won five of the eight all-time meetings with NC State, although the two teams haven't met since the Panthers' 34-19 victory in the 2001 Tangerine Bowl.

After three games, Pitt ranks third in the Big East and 16th nationally in scoring offense (39.67). However, quarterback Bill Stull did a fine job last week of taking what the Navy defense was gave him. He opened the game by leading the Panthers on a 12-play, 89-yard drive touchdown drive in which he completed 6-of-6 passes for 66 yards. Stull finished the game 17-of-24 for 245 yards and a touchdown. Jonathan Baldwin paced the receiving corps with 111 yards on six catches, while running back Dion Lewis finished with 79 hard- fought rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. On the season, he is averaging 133 rushing yards per game and has scored six times.

Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt said during his weekly press conference that the biggest thing he took away from last week's game was the play of his defense. One area of concern was tempered with the strong outing by freshman linebacker Dan Mason, who was replacing injured starter Adam Gunn (team-high 19 tackles, five sacks). Mason was all over the field in his first collegiate start, posting 11 tackles and two sacks. Gunn's status likely won't be known until just prior to kickoff, but Wannstedt expressed confidence in Mason to continue to get the job done, should Gunn not be able to suit up. Thanks in part to Mason, the Panthers pushed their season sack total to 16 after just three games, which ranks second in the nation. They held Navy to just 218 total yards, while limiting the Midshipmen's vaunted option game to just 2.8 yards per carry.

Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson has thrown 329 consecutive passes without an interception, breaking the previous NCAA record of 325 attempts set two years ago by Kentucky's Andre Wilson. He has also thrown eight touchdown passes over his last two games, tying a school record by former standout and now San Diego Chargers starting quarterback Phillip Rivers. Given the early returns on Wilson, it appears the learning curve has been accelerated for the redshirt sophomore. Though Wilson doesn't have an abundance of playmakers at his disposal, he has done a good job of distributing the wealth. Keep in mind, however, that his success over the last two games have come against FCS defenses. Against South Carolina in the season opener, Wilson went 12-of-23 for 74 yards and was sacked six times.

NC State head coach Tom O'Brien knows his defense will be tested by a big, experienced Pitt offensive line that acts as road graders for the Panthers' running game. And he believes his defense is up to the challenge. Again, taking into account a soft early-season schedule, the Wolfpack currently rank second in the nation in total defense (168.33) and seventh in scoring defense (9.33). It certainly wasn't by accident that they held SC to a mere seven points in the opener. Defensive end Willie Young has been the biggest playmaker thus far, posting 15 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. One area that needs to improve is the takeaway department, as NC State has registered just two interceptions on the season.

Don't expect the Panthers to alter their game plan for this matchup. They'll line up and run right at the throat of the NC State defense and try to wear down the Wolfpack front seven. As long as Stull is able to complete a few key passes here and there, they should be able to do just that.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Pittsburgh 23, NC State 17