University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
4-0 , 1-0
Bucknell
1-4 , 0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pitt | 14 | 21 | 7 | 17 | 59 |
Panthers Blank the Bison, 59-0
9/26/2026 3:41:00 PM | Football
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.
"We were able to work on our passing game today, which was big for us," Heintschel said. "Everybody saw we struggled with it a little last week and we were able to get back on the same page for the most part today."
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.
Up Next
Pitt will travel to Blacksburg, VA to play Virginia Tech on Friday night at 7 PM on ESPN.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
BUC 0, PGH 7
PGH - Lee,Censere 19 yd pass from Heintschel,Mason (Chadha,Antonio kick) 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 01:41
BUC 0, PGH 14
PGH - Kent,Carson 3 yd pass from Heintschel,Mason (Chadha,Antonio kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:24
BUC 0, PGH 21
PGH - McCray,Demetrice 8 yd pass from Heintschel,Mason (Chadha,Antonio kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:04
BUC 0, PGH 28
PGH - Lee,Censere 10 yd pass from Heintschel,Mason (Chadha,Antonio kick) 11 plays, 83 yards, TOP 04:32
BUC 0, PGH 35
PGH - McCray,Demetrice 48 yd pass from Heintschel,Mason (Chadha,Antonio kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 00:49
BUC 0, PGH 42
PGH - Lee,Censere 7 yd pass from Heintschel,Mason (Chadha,Antonio kick) 5 plays, 79 yards, TOP 02:57
BUC 0, PGH 45
PGH - Chadha,Antonio 24 yd field goal 13 plays, 66 yards, TOP 05:18
BUC 0, PGH 52
PGH - Hamilton,Bryan 36 yd pass from Geriner,Holden (Chadha,Antonio kick) 5 plays, 58 yards, TOP 01:20
BUC 0, PGH 59
PGH - Robinson,Tyreek 18 yd pass from Dailey,Corey (Hunsaker,Sam kick) 7 plays, 84 yards, TOP 01:54