Mason Heintschel, Pittsburgh Football News: Draft Scout Player News

Draft Scout College Football Player News

09/18/26 - QB Mason Heintschel, So/2029, Pittsburgh, (DS#12 QB)

Damon Ferguson Jr., La'Vell Wright and Mason Heintschel ran for touchdowns, and Pittsburgh continued its perfect start with a 27-13 win over Syracuse on Thursday night. The Panthers (3-0, 1-0 ACC) piled up 245 yards rushing against the Orange (1-2, 0-1) to make Pat Narduzzi a winner in his school-record 144th game as head coach. Pitt's running game had struggled a bit coming in, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. The Panthers nearly doubled that total in its conference opener. Ferguson finished with 102 yards on the ground, including a 32-yard sprint to the end zone early in the second quarter that gave Pitt a 14-point lead.

Syracuse kept Heintschel under wraps as a passer. The sophomore completed just 10 of 23 for 123 yards but made up for it with his legs. Heintschel ran for 41 yards, the highlight coming on a 9-yard touchdown scramble in the third quarter that featured a pretty juke past diving Orange linebacker Gary Bryant III. He capped the win with a spin move on third-and-9 that produced a 10-yard gain and a first down that allowed the Panthers to drain the rest of the clock. Syracuse began the night as the most penalized team in the country and was flagged nine times for 90 yards, including a sequence in the second quarter in which the Orange were called for pass interference on third down, leading head coach Fran Brown to get called for unsportsmanlike conduct when he protested. Two plays later, Ferguson bounced outside and down the sideline to the end zone to give the Panthers control. Steve Angeli had for 167 yards passing for Syracuse before being benched in favor of Amari Odom in the fourth quarter after throwing interceptions on back-to-back drives to thwart any chance of a rally. Odom was 7 for 7 against a Pitt defense protecting a three-score lead. - AP College Football

(DS#12 QB) So/2029