Mason Heintschel almost didn’t get a chance to tie the Pitt record — and set an ACC standard — for touchdown passes in a game Saturday.
Heintschel punctuated Pitt’s
59-14 victory against Miami (Ohio) by throwing his seventh touchdown pass with 9 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Coach Pat Narduzzi said he nearly removed the sophomore quarterback from the game before he got a chance to tie Pete Gonzalez’s school benchmark.
“I thought about taking him out,” Narduzzi said. “The last drive he was in there from the third quarter to the fourth. I decided to let him finish that drive, but I almost yanked him out in the middle of it.”
Gonzalez threw seven touchdown passes in an October 1997 game at Rutgers, needing a second overtime period to make history. Heintschel didn’t face nearly as much adversity in leading the Panthers to a 45-point victory.
With the score out of hand, Heintschel never got a chance to hold the single-game touchdown record outright. Narduzzi inserted backup Holden Geriner on the next offensive series.
“I’m not worried about records,” Narduzzi said. “I’m worried about winning football games and coming out of the game healthy. We came out healthy.”
Heintschel distributed his touchdown passes to seven players, and he completed 31 of 41 attempts for 453 yards and no interceptions. His performance was witnessed by 43,929 at Acrisure Stadium, including another record-setting quarterback.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and Miami (Ohio) alum Ben Roethlisberger watched the game after visiting the RedHawks sideline beforehand. Not even his presence could spark his alma mater to an upset as Miami (Ohio) trailed 21-0 in the first quarter and never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
Heintschel threw three touchdown passes in the first half and four in the second. On the receiving end of his touchdowns were Cataurus “Blue” Hicks, Censere “C.J.” Lee, Malik Knight, Bryce Yates, tight end Elijah Lagg and running backs Ja’Kyrian “Boosie” Turner and Damon Ferguson Jr. Pitt finished with 646 yards of total offense.
“That’s never really by design,” Heintschel said, “but I’m glad that we were able to kind of share the wealth throughout the day. I think we had at least eight different guys score touchdowns today. Can’t complain about that.”
The eighth touchdown was produced by running back Justin Cook, who took his only handoff of the game and raced 50 yards for a score to give Pitt a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Cook wasn’t listed on the three-deep depth chart provided by Narduzzi before the opener.
“It tells you you’d better cover them all,” Narduzzi said about the diverse scoring. “They’re all making plays.”
Heintschel was adept at stepping up in the pocket and eluding pressure. He bought time to go through his progressions and check down to his running backs when needed. Such was the case on his short pass that Turner turned into a 45-yard score in the second quarter.
“He’s like the little magician back there,” Narduzzi said. “Not only can he throw it, he has that knack to make people miss and get out of trouble when trouble arises. He’s got great awareness and visuals.”
Narduzzi’s concern about Miami (Ohio) adding another tomahawk — a symbol of a victory against a higher-level Division I opponent — were unfounded, although the RedHawks threw an early scare into the Panthers.
Woodland Hills product Scoop Smith took the opening kickoff 55 yards to the Pitt 45. But on fourth-and-4 from the 39, RedHawks coach Chuck Martin opted to punt. The Panthers then drove 80 yards in eight plays to score the first of their three touchdowns in the opening quarter.
Knight, a Western Carolina transfer, took a short pass and scored from 17 yards. The long touchdown run by Cook, an East Stroudsburg transfer, pushed the lead to double digits.
After Pitt got the ball back at midfield following a 17-yard punt, Heintschel completed a seven-play, 50-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Lagg for a 21-0 lead.
“I know we’re better than this,” Martin said. “They’re really good. Pitt imposed its will on us, so I’m giving 1,000% credit to Pitt, but I know we’re better than we played today.”
RedHawks quarterback David McComb, a Kansas transfer, faced constant pressure and completed 16 of 33 attempts for 240 yards and one touchdown. He hooked up with Damarion Witten on a 75-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that cut Pitt’s lead to 28-14.
From that point, however, the RedHawks gained just 96 total yards on their final six series. Pitt also forced a turnover in the fourth quarter with a Rashan Murray interception.
For good measure, kicker Antonio Chadha’s first field goal attempt for the Panthers was a memorable one. On the final play of the first half, he lined a 58-yard try through the uprights for a 31-14 lead.
It represented another sign of the Panthers’ fortunes Saturday.
“I’ve watched some sloppy football in openers,” Narduzzi said. “I thought this was a pretty clean opener, maybe the cleanest opener that we’ve had here at Pitt.”