Pat Narduzzi must have felt major confidence in Mason Heintschel to turn to the freshman quarterback Saturday versus Boston College.
With Pitt riding a two-game losing streak and Eli Holstein looking lost, Narduzzi went with Heintschel to stabilize a season that was on the verge of slipping away.
Heintschel, listed as Pitt’s No. 3 quarterback heading into Saturday, performed his task masterfully, throwing four touchdown passes in leading the Panthers to a 48-7 blowout win over the Eagles.
He completed 30 of 41 (73%) of his passes for 323 yards, connecting with four receivers for scores in Pitt’s first ACC win of the season.
“Mason, week by week, you saw improvement with special reps,” Narduzzi said after the game. “You saw him getting the ball out of his hand and knowing where to go with it. He prepared his tail off.
“ … We wouldn’t have put him in there at that spot as a starting quarterback if we didn’t think he could throw it 41 times and complete whatever he completed. We knew what we were doing. Great job by (offensive coordinator Kade) Bell and the offensive staff.”
Pitt, missing All-American tailback Desmond Reid for the second straight week, set a season-high in total yards (503) and shut down Boston College’s (1-4, 0-3) offense (216).
The Eagles’ lone touchdown came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
Pitt generated three turnovers, with Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles forcing fumbles. Cornerback Shadarian Harrison recorded an interception in the third quarter, with Pitt scoring 14 points off the turnovers.
Pitt demonstrated noticeable improvement across multiple key departments Saturday, going 9 of 17 (53%) on third down, 7 for 7 in the red zone and dominating time of possession, 39:08 to 20:52.
“Just proud of our kids for bouncing back,” Narduzzi said. “It’s a good football team in that other locker room over there, and our guys went out and executed like we needed to. It comes down to a game of execution. I thought the coaches did a great job, (and) players did a great job in all three phases.”
It didn’t take long for Heintschel to make Narduzzi’s decision look like the right move.
On Pitt’s opening drive, Heintschel converted a pair of third downs (the Panthers were 0 for 9 with Holstein versus Louisville) and threw his first collegiate touchdown to tight end Justin Holmes from 14 yards.
Heintschel’s first third-down conversion of the day featured a 7-yard completion to Kenny Johnson, starting a fruitful partnership.
Johnson was targeted 11 times Saturday, finishing with a career-high nine grabs, 115 yards and a score.
“My expectations (of Heintschel) were very high,” Johnson said. “Just because Mason dominated in the spring game. I was going off of practice, the spring game, scrimmages and just the confidence that the guy has, I love it.”
After the Panthers took a 7-0 lead about midway through the first quarter, Heintschel stayed sharp.
He dropped a beauty of an over-the-shoulder pass to Blue Hicks for a 37-yard touchdown, but a holding call on Holmes negated the score.
Plus, Hicks and fellow wideout Poppi Williams were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, creating a first-and-35 for Pitt at its own 38.
But Heintschel chipped away, setting up a fourth-and-11 try from the Boston College 38 that was good, with Johnson making a nice sideline grab.
Though the Panthers stalled out at the Eagles’ 13-yard line, Trey Butkowski made it 10-0 with less than a minute left in the quarter, hitting a 31-yard field goal.
Kyle Louis imploded the Eagles’ next drive, forcing and recovering a fumble after Jeremiah Franklin made a 32-yard catch into field goal range.
Louis finished with a team-high five tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Biles posted three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
“We’re definitely both high-level, Sunday linebackers,” Louis said of himself and Biles. “It’s only going to go one way: If you go left, you’re going to see (Biles). If you go right, you’re going to see me. And then (middle linebacker Braylan Lovelace) is right in between, so he’s going to be everywhere, too.”
Pitt’s short-handed defense, missing defensive end Blaine Spires and Zach Crothers, as well as cornerback Tamon Lynum, kept Boston College off the scoreboard.
That allowed Heintschel and the offense got back to work, embarking on a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive to make it a 17-0 game with 6:25 left in the half.
Lining up with two tight ends to show a rush on fourth-and-one from the Boston College 12, Heintschel instead flipped the ball out to Johnson on the perimeter, with the junior receiver doing the rest and scoring on his seventh catch of the day.
Pitt added 14 more points to go up 31-0 at halftime.
“Stepping out on the field, I was just trying to calm myself down,” Heintschel said. “There were a lot of nerves. It’s exciting, and this is what I’ve been working for my whole life. I know my teammates have my back the whole way. I had all the faith in my preparation throughout the past couple days.”
On a 12-play, 65-yard drive that featured strong runs by Goff and Turner, as well as a 22-yard grab by Holmes, Goff punched it in from 3 yards to put Pitt up 24-0.
A 16-yard Goff rush and Turner fighting for a 25-yard reception got the Panthers inside the 10-yard line, with Turner then scoring on a 6-yard rush to make it 31-0.
Goff ran 12 times for 67 yards, and Turner added 59 yards on 17 carries.
Boston College began the second half with a bit of momentum on offense, but Biles, fresh off a 75-yard pick-6 versus Louisville, sacked Eagles quarterback Dylan Lonergan and forced a fumble, recovered by Jimmy Scott.
Seven plays and 39 yards later, Heintschel scrambled on second down and anthem Deuce Spann for the latter’s first touchdown at Pitt, a 10-yard catch.
Heintschel’s third touchdown of the afternoon made it 38-0 Panthers with 9:08 remaining in the third quarter.
Boston College then made a change at quarterback, turning to Grayson James, but he threw an interception to Harrison on his first series at the 7:11 mark of the third quarter.
Heintschel and Pitt made the Eagles pay for their third turnover of the day, as Zion Fowler-El caught an 18-yard touchdown that made it 45-0 Panthers with a bit less than two minutes left before the final quarter.
Fowler-El’s first career touchdown was Heintschel’s fourth of the afternoon and made him the sixth Panthers player to score.
About midway through the fourth quarter, Butkowski drilled a career-long 47-yard field goal, making it 48-0.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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