PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He wasn’t even needed much in the fourth quarter, Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel climbed the ladder of great games by a Pitt quarterback in a 53-34 win over North Carolina State.
The freshman was just making his fourth career start.
Heintschel threw for 423 yards, which is the sixth most passing yards ever by a Pitt quarterback in a game. He finished one yard short of Tom Savage for firth. The all-time record is Kenny Pickett with 519 yards passing against Miami in 2021. The final numbers are 28-48 for 423 yards, three touchdowns.
“It’s funny,” Heintschel said. “I was talking to one of the quarterbacks about that. That’s great, but there were a lot of plays we left on the field. There were a lot of things we need to clean up. A lot of mistakes that I made personally. It’s got to be fixed.”
“It’s great the accolades, but I just want to win. Coming out with the dub, that’s all that matters.”
“Mason played great,” Narduzzi said. “He’s in the locker room upset that he missed some throws, miss that, could have done that better. That’s kind of how he is, he’s not worried about what he did well. He’s worried about what he can fix. You got to love that.”
“Man, he’s just a baller,” said Pitt center and offensive captain Lyndon Cooper. “We kind of seen it through fall camp and low-key spring ball too. He’s a baller every week. As long as we keep him protected and give him time, we got playmakers on that field.”
Receiver Kenny Johnson had seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Blue Hicks had four catches for 120 yards including an 84-yard touchdown.
Panthers improved to 6-2 on the season after a fourth consecutive win and will play at Stanford at 3:30p next Saturday with Panthers pregame starting at 12:30p on 93.7 The Fan.