University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Heintschel Earns Two National Honors, ACC Quarterback of the Week
9/8/2026 2:00:00 PM | Football
Pitt quarterback selected among Manning Award Eight Stars of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8; named ACC Quarterback of the Week
PITTSBURGH—Following a record-setting season-opening performance, quarterback Mason Heintschel has been named one of the Manning Award's Eight Stars of the Week, selected to the Davey O'Brien Great 8 for Week 1 and recognized as the ACC Quarterback of the Week.
Heintschel completed 31-of-41 passes (75.6) for 453 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception in Pitt's 59-14 victory over Miami (Ohio). He also led the Panthers with 476 yards of total offense, accounting for nearly 74 percent of Pitt's 646 total yards.
His seven touchdown passes tied Pitt's single-game record and established an ACC single-game record. Heintschel became the first FBS quarterback since LSU's Joe Burrow in 2019 to throw for at least 450 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception.
Heintschel led all ACC quarterbacks during Week 1 in passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense. His 453 passing yards were 23 more than the conference's next-highest total, while his seven touchdown passes and seven total touchdowns responsible for led the ACC by two. He also paced the conference with 31 completions and posted a 224.76 passer-efficiency rating.
The Pitt quarterback distributed his seven touchdown passes among seven different receivers, making the Panthers the first FBS team since Western Kentucky in 2022 to have seven different players catch a touchdown pass in the same game.
Behind Heintschel, Pitt led the ACC during Week 1 with 646 yards of total offense and 480 passing yards. The Panthers also recorded conference highs with seven touchdown passes, 34 completions and 21 passing first downs.
Heintschel's selection to the Davey O'Brien Great 8 officially places him on the award's Midseason Watch List. The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week will be selected from the eight honorees and announced Wednesday.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, first presented in 1981, annually recognizes the nation's top college quarterback. The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, is presented annually to the nation's outstanding quarterback and is the only major quarterback award that considers postseason bowl performance in its voting.
