RALEIGH, N.C. -- The rain fell steadily in the second half of the Pitt-North Carolina State game yesterday, but there is no truth to the rumor that members of the Panthers' defense did a little "anti-rain" dance at halftime to try and make it stop.

It would not have surprised anyone if the Panthers had tried something like that and it didn't work. Pitt's defense wasn't able to stop anything in the second half yesterday, particularly Russell Wilson and North Carolina State's offense.

Pitt held a 14-point lead late in the third quarter but the offense stood and watched helplessly as the Wolfpack scored 21 consecutive points in the final 18 minutes to hand the Panthers a 38-31 loss in front of 57,583 fans at Carter-Finley Stadium.

"There are a lot of things we need to improve on," said Pitt defensive end Greg Romeus in what had to rank as one of the understatements of this young season. "It starts with the front four. We have to get more pressure and everybody has their assignment and we can't do too much and you saw what happened when guys try to do too much."

Despite the defense's putrid performance -- the unit was shredded for 530 yards (208 rushing) -- the offense had two chances to at least tie the score and send it into overtime but couldn't convert, even after the Wolfpack handed Pitt a late-game gift.

Trailing, 38-31, the Panthers (3-1) took possession at their own 32, but three plays netted minus-3 yards and they were forced to punt. Pitt punter Dan Hutchins, however, pinned the Wolfpack at their own 10 and gave the Panthers some life.

The Wolfpack then faced a third-and-4 to clinch the game, but a snap in the shotgun formation sailed over Wilson's head and linebacker Max Gruder recovered at the 8.

The Panthers took possession once again but could not move the ball and turned it over on downs when quarterback Bill Stull's fourth-down pass sailed harmlessly over the head of intended receiver Oderick Turner in the end zone.

"I had pressure there, I had to get it up and didn't get it around his area, but I put that on myself," Stull said. "I need to make a better throw. The third-down play, where Dorin [Dickerson] almost came down with that one, we have to execute the play.

"That was one of our top play calls down there. I could have made a better throw. I put it on myself, I make those throws blindfolded in practice every day."

Give Stull credit for being a stand-up guy. While it is true the offense could have executed better down the stretch, this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of a once-vaunted defense.

Stull, who was 12-of-23 passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns, helped his team build a 14-point lead with two impressive third-quarter touchdown drives.

He completed three passes for a total of 58 yards, including a 13-yard screen pass to Cameron Saddler for a touchdown, on a six-play, 68-yard drive that gave the Panthers, who led, 17-10, at the half, a 24-17 advantage with 9:56 to play in the third quarter.

Then, after the defense made a rare stop and blocked a field-goal attempt, Stull connected with Jonathan Baldwin on a 79-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 31-17.

At that point, however, the Panthers defense had a meltdown. It allowed the Wolfpack (3-1) to drive down the field in five plays to pull to within seven points. North Carolina State tied the score with an eight-play drive early in the fourth quarter.

And both drives were marked by big plays in the passing game by Wilson.

Pitt did appear to have the tying drive stopped. North Carolina State faced a fourth-and-14 from its 28, but Wilson scrambled for 21 yards to keep the drive alive and one play later hit tight end George Bryan with a 7-yard touchdown pass.

As bad as the tying drive was for the Panthers, the game-winning drive was even worse. It was aided by two pass interference penalties and both came on third down. The Second one, on Aaron Berry, came in the end zone, setting the Wolfpack up with a first-and-goal from the 2.

"Honestly, I can't tell you [what went wrong in the secondary]," Berry said.

"We're in position to make plays, we're just not making them. [The interference call], I don't even think I touched him, I don't even know what I did and the one on [Jared Holley], I thought that was a horrible penalty, too.

"That's part of the game, we can't dwell on that, that did not lose the game."

NOTES -- Wilson, who completed 21 of 35 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 91 yards on 10 carries as well, extended his NCAA-record streak to 364 consecutive passes without throwing an interception. ... Pitt middle linebacker Adam Gunn [ankle] missed his second consecutive game and freshman Dan Mason made his second consecutive start in his place. ... The two teams combined for 20 penalties.

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