PITTSBURGH — Pitt’s season appears headed in the wrong direction, with an upset loss to NC State on Saturday after the Panthers entered the game as two-touchdown favorites.

The team’s success, at least in some part, followed that of the team’s offense, as Mark Whipple’s unit was plagued on Saturday by the football equivalent of a faulty transmission.

For far too much of the game, Pitt was either stuck in neutral or even worse, in reverse.