Mason Heintschel threw for 403 yards and six touchdowns to lead Pitt to a 59-0 victory over FCS opponent Bucknell in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Heintschel completed 29 of 37 passes to nine different receivers and led the Panthers (4-0) to a touchdown on six of their seven drives before being relieved midway through the third quarter. Backup quarterback Holden Geriner completed 8 of 11 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Censere Lee had three touchdown receptions and Demetrice McCray caught two scores. Carson Kent, Bryan Hamilton and Tyreek Robinson each pulled down scores for Pitt, which racked up a 766-136 advantage in total yards. The Panthers held a 35-10 edge in first downs and converted 9 of 14 third downs while holding Bucknell (1-4) to 2 of 13.
Starting quarterback Emmett Dowling was 10 of 21 for 49 yards for Bucknell. Christopher Dietrich came in and had 56 passing yards and TJ Cadden had four catches for 33 yards for the Bison as the Pitt defense posted its first shutout of the season.
Pitt opened the scoring at the 11:26 mark of the first quarter when Heintschel floated a 19-yard touchdown pass to Lee on fourth-and-3.
The Panthers took a 14-0 lead when Heintschel rolled out and hit Kent for a 3-yard score with 2:52 left in the first quarter.
Five minutes into the second, McCray hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Heintschel to give Pitt a 21-0 lead. Just before the first half’s two-minute timeout, Lee broke two tackles and scurried into the end zone from 10 yards out on a short swing pass from Heintschel, and the Panthers’ advantage grew to 28-0.
Heintschel aired it out 52 seconds before halftime, finding McCray for a 48-yard touchdown that gave Pitt a 35-0 lead.
A five-play, 79-yard drive capped Heintschel’s afternoon when he hit Lee for a 7-yard touchdown and a 42-0 Pitt lead with 9:35 left in the third quarter.
Pitt took a 52-0 lead with 9:04 to play in the game when Geriner lofted a 36-yard touchdown pass to Hamilton. Third-string quarterback Corey Dailey tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Robinson with 25 seconds left.