Heintschel passes for 6 touchdowns as Pitt improves to 4-0 with 59-0 win over Bucknell

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mason Heintschel passed for 403 yards and six touchdowns, and Pittsburgh remained perfect by rolling past Bucknell 59-0 on Saturday.

The Panthers (4-0) reached the end zone on each of their first five drives, as Heintschel spread the ball around on an afternoon that Pitt tried to fine-tune some things before heading into the teeth of its ACC schedule.

Heintschel completed 29 of 37 in just over two quarters of work. The sophomore connected with nine different receivers. His six scoring throws fell one short of the ACC and program record of seven he set in a season-opening romp over Miami (Ohio) earlier this month. Backups Holden Geriner and Corey Dailey also threw for touchdowns. The eight touchdown passes combined marked a program record on a day Pitt gained 766 total yards.

Censere Lee caught five passes for 47 yards and three touchdowns, the most by a Panther wide receiver since Jared Wayne had three at Miami (Fla.) in 2022. Freshman wideout Demetrice McCray hauled in three passes for 72 yards, including a 48-yard rainbow from Heintschel in the final minute of the first half that put Pitt up 35-0 at the break.

A week after piling up 245 yards rushing while slugging its way past Syracuse in its ACC opener, the Panthers focused on getting Heintschel going against the FCS-level Bison.

Bucknell (1-3) mustered little offensively. The Bison didn't cross 100 total yards until the fourth quarter. Quarterback Emmett Dowling completed 10 of 21 for 49 yards but Bucknell converted just 2 of 13 third downs, putting its defense in a tight spot against the deeper, more talented Panthers.

The only real blemish for Pitt in the final day of a comfy September in which the Panthers played four times at Acrisure Stadium was penalties.

The Panthers were flagged 16 times for 165 yards, disrupting an otherwise dominant performance. The miscues hardly hurt against the Bison, but Pitt will need to be much crisper over the next two months if it wants to be a factor in an ACC that looks wide open behind the Hurricanes.

Bucknell: The Bison will welcome the week off after being overpowered the Panthers in the first meeting between the two Pennsylvania schools — Bucknell is in Lewisburg, about a 3 1/2-hour drive east from Pittsburgh — since 1945.

Pitt: The Panthers won their first four games in 2024 on their way to a 7-0 start. The good vibes didn't last that season, as Pitt dropped its final six games. The pieces are in place for the Panthers to avoid that kind of collapse this time around. So is the schedule, which is largely favorable outside of a late-October visit to Miami.

Bucknell: visits Georgetown on Oct. 10.

Pitt: travels to Virginia Tech on Friday night as coach Pat Narduzzi renews his friendly rivalry with former Penn State coach James Franklin, now in his first season with the Hokies.

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