NC State Football: 3 takeaways from Week 7 victory over Pittsburgh
3. Nyheim Hines ran wild at his namesake field.
Pittsburgh may need to change the name of their stadium, because I’m pretty sure Nyheim Hines now owns it following his monster performance against the Panthers in Week 7.
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In the NC State Wolfpack’s first ever game at Heinz Field, and first game against Pitt since the 1987 season, Hines was by far the best player on the field.
After averaging only 85.5 yards per game over the Wolfpack’s first six games of the season, Hines exploded for 135 rushing yards on 16 carries, a new high-water mark for Hines this season, and his third consecutive 100-yard performance of the 2017 season.
And that wasn’t Hines only contribution to the team.
In addition to being an absolute force in the offensive backfield, Hine was also absolutely deadly as a punt returner, scoring a 92-yard touchdown as a returner on with a minute left to go in the first quarter, and finished the game with 249 all purpose yards an two touchdowns.
Simply put, this was a statement performance by the Wolfpack’s junior tailback, and put the rest of the ACC on notice as to just how dangerous NC State’s lead back can be.
He may even be the conference’s best running back.
With the Wolfpack now taking a week off for their bye to relax and recharge before taking the show on the road for three of their final five games of the season, they will need Hines to continue to deliver consistent performances and dynamic runs if they are going to be able to finish the season atop of ACC, and make their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.