Pitt Rolls Over Boston College as Heintschel Shines in First Start
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt football staff made an uncharacteristic change by starting its true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel over second-year starter Eli Holstein against Boston College.
That decision paid dividends as Heintschel put a charge into the Pitt offense to lead the Panthers to a 48-7 win over Boston College in his first-career start.
It was a first-career start for the ages for Heintschel as he completed 30-of-41 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers with no interceptions. He added 28 yards on the ground in 10 attempts.
Heintschel became the first true freshman quarterback to start a game since Kenny Pickett did so in November of 2017 when the Panthers upset No. 2 Miami.
The Panthers (3-2, 1-1) hung 31 points in the first half – the most since a win over Syracuse last October, which happens to be the last ACC win for the Panthers before Saturday, thus breaking a six-game conference skid.
Pitt’s offense looked vastly different with Heintschel under center, who completed his first 10 passes of the game.
Heintschel drove Pitt down the field on its opening drive and capped it off with a 14-yard pass to tight end Justin Holmes, who slipped a tackler before reaching the end zone.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback showed poised and made several key plays in the first half for the Panthers, including a clutch fourth-down pass that kept a drive alive that was once staring down a first-and-35.
With Pitt leading by 10 in the second quarter, Heintschel and the Panthers once again moved the ball downfield with the help of an improved running game. On fourth-and-1, Pitt showed a 12-personnel look, but Heintschel pulled the ball out on the play fake and hit Kenny Johnson for a 12-yard touchdown play.
Johnson put together a career day with nine receptions for 115 yards and the score, all coming in the first half of play.
With Heintschel dealing in his first start, the Pitt defense complemented the offense. A stout run defense held the Eagles to -3 yards in the first half and a forced fumble recovered by Kyle Louis gave the ball back to the offense.
Boston College (1-4, 0-3) ranked fourth nationally in terms of passing offense coming into the contest with redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan Lonegran, an Alabama transfer, leading the way. However, Pitt chased him in the third quarter after a rough outing as he went 9-of-18 for 89 yards and no touchdowns. Grayson James came in for relief and proved no different.
Before the first half was said and done, Pitt added two more scores, this time coming on the ground with a 3-yarder from Juelz Goff and a 6-yard score by Ja’Kyrian Turner.
Pitt continued to pour it on in the second half as Heintschel turned it loose some more with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Deuce Spann and an 18-yarder for Zion Fowler-El.
Boston College totaled 216 yards of offense with just 27 yards coming on the ground.
Up next, Pitt will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on currently-ranked No. 18 Florida State. The contest will kick off at noon.
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