PITTSBURGH -- North Carolina State and Pittsburgh don't play often, despite being conference opponents. The Wolfpack met the Panthers on Saturday for the first time since Pitt joined the Atlantic Coast Conference, playing at Heinz Field.

N.C. State had a Hines, too.

And Nyheim Hines was the difference-maker with two electric touchdowns as the Wolfpack overcame a slow start to beat Pittsburgh 35-17.

"I thought Nyheim was exceptional today," N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said.

"He had 137 yards rushing, a big punt return for a touchdown, he downed two punts inside the 10, so without a doubt, he showed up a Heinz Field -- it's a different spelling -- and played his butt off. Really happy about him."

The No. 20 Wolfpack (6-1, 4-0 ACC) failed to score on the opening drive of the game for just the second time this season and went into halftime tied at 14 with the Panthers (2-5, 0-3 ACC). The Wolfpack players were critical of their execution on both sides of the ball in the first half, but came out with a tie thanks to Hines.

After the Panthers started the scoring on a 33-yard pass from Ben DiNucci to receiver Jester Weah, Hines broke free two plays later for an 83-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

"Running backs are pretty good when you can get to the second level and just break one tackle and not have to worry about linebackers and you're one-on-one with the safety," Hines said. "That's really just me breaking a tackle. It's an even better job by the (offensive) line to get me there."

After a Wolfpack defensive stop, Hines then returned a Ryan Winslow punt 92 yards straight up the middle to give N.C. State the lead. Hines finished with 249 all-purpose yards.

"The guys that blocked for him on that punt return deserve gold stars because I've never seen a punt returner have zero people touch him on a vertical punt return like that," Doeren said.

Jaylen Samuels, an all-purpose offensive weapon, added on in the fourth quarter with two touchdown runs, the second of which went 40 yards to ice the game. Samuels rushed for 62 yards on six carries. He also caught four passes for 28 yards.

The Wolfpack head into their bye week alone in first place in the ACC Atlantic Division, ahead of preseason favorites Florida State and Clemson, as well as preseason Top 25 Louisville.

"That's crazy," Hines said.

"It's good to hear, but we're just going to focus on N.C. State. We're not looking at the rankings or the media. It's one game at a time. We didn't start out fast today, so we have to make sure we start out fast every day. I think we can really correct that. Even though we're on top, everybody is going to be coming for us, and we'll get their best shot."

Pitt responded to Hines' second touchdown with a long scoring drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown by running back Darrin Hall. To set up the score, Pitt ran a 10-yard lateral to left tackle Brian O'Neill. O'Neill has gained something of a reputation as an offensive threat. He scored two touchdowns last season.

Late in the third quarter, quarterback Ryan Finley connected with Jakobi Meyers on a 3-yard touchdown pass to give the Wolfpack the lead for good. Finley had a quiet day but finished 14 of 25 for 198 yards and the score.

Pitt replaced DiNucci with true freshman Kenny Pickett in the fourth quarter. DiNucci finished 19 of 32 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Pickett went 5 of 13 for 61 yards.

"We decided to play Kenny Pickett," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. "I think he's a good football player. We are going to need him somewhere. I don't want his first action to be when he has to go in there. We have a lot of confidence in both those guys."

Pitt's starting quarterback, Max Browne, was ruled out for the rest of the season last week because of shoulder surgery. Narduzzi didn't make any determination about playing time going forward at the position.

NOTES: N.C. State star DE Bradley Chubb left the game with a finger injury in the third quarter but later returned. Chubb had two tackles and two quarterback hurries. ... RB Nyheim Hines' first-quarter punt return was the longest by an N.C. State player since 1926. ... Pitt FS Damar Hamlin made his first career start. He finished with a team-high eight tackles. ... WR Jester Weah led all Pitt players with 106 receiving yards and seven catches.