Pitt has had 10 players catch passes and eight players run the ball through the first three games of the season.

Those numbers don't include quarterback Bill Stull, who has run a few quarterback sneaks and also caught one of his own passes after it was deflected by a defensive lineman.

The Panthers have shown multiple personnel packages, from two backs and two tight ends, to one back, a tight end and three wide receivers to an empty-set package.

Stull has thrown a variety of screens at opposing teams and had thrown to a variety of receivers. He has handed the ball off to tailbacks and receivers and even got fullback Henry Hynoski involved in the act.

It has clearly been a new chapter in Pitt's offense under first-year coordinator Frank Cignetti, but that has as much to do with the players the Panthers have as it does with his schemes.

And he is the first to admit that his job is much easier because the skill position players he has at his fingertips are much better than he imagined.

"Our theme will never change: It is about playmakers," Cignetti said. "So you look at who needs to touch the ball -- obviously the two tailbacks, Dion Lewis and Ray Graham, obviously Jonathan Baldwin, obviously Dorin Dickerson. Is Cam Saddler a guy we need to start getting some touches?

"The other guys will work themselves in the progression of reads. But I know when we talk about playmakers, we always talk about Dion, Jonathan and Dorin, but we have total confidence in all the guys we put on the field."

Cignetti pointed to Hynoski and Nate Byham as examples of two players who, thanks to their performance Saturday in a 27-14 win against Navy, will now give opposing defensive coordinators something else to worry about.

Byham caught two passes for 39 yards, and Hynoski ran three times for 23 tough yards. He also caught two passes for 17 yards.

Ultimately, none of the success would be possible if it weren't for the play of Stull, who has completed 49 of 70 passes for 540 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception. Stull has done a great job of getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers and spreading it around.

"It helps a lot [to have a lot of weapons] because it just spreads it out and nobody can focus on just one player," said Baldwin, who is the Panthers' go-to receiver with 13 receptions for 225 yards. "You never know who it is going to go to and that makes it a lot easier for all of us."

Although the numbers suggest the offense is improved -- it is outscoring and outgaining last year's team -- the level of competition could have a lot to do with that.

Pitt opened last season with Bowling Green, Buffalo and Iowa; this season it has faced I-AA Youngstown State, Buffalo and Navy.

That is about to change Saturday as the Panthers play North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., and their new-look offense will face its first real challenge of the season.

Cignetti said the unit is confident and ready to prove the first three games were neither a fluke nor the product of an easy schedule.

"We need to continue not doing the things that lose games," Cignetti said. "As long as we do that, we'll be successful. I expect N.C. State to be very much like our own defense. They'll show us multiple fronts and coverages, it will be a great challenge."

NOTES -- Cignetti recruited N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson when he was an assistant at North Carolina. But the staff was fired so he called his brother, Curt, who was an assistant at N.C. State and told them about Wilson. "He's an outstanding human being," Cignetti said. "He reminded me of Jeff Blake, who I had in New Orleans. He is a good athlete who is a quarterback." ... Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is still listing starting linebacker Adam Gunn as "day to day" with an ankle injury. ... Wannstedt said Chris Burns' move from running back to safety was caused by freshmen Dion Lewis and Ray Graham earning the top two spots on the depth chart and injuries in the defensive backfield. "He's got athletic ability, he's a tough guy and he's accountable," Wannstedt said of Burns. "We're trying to find out where he might be able to help us the quickest. It's not a definite move, but it is a little experiment."