Before Pitt dives into another ACC grind, the Panthers get a Saturday tune-up against an FCS opponent breaking in a brand-new coaching staff.
Bush’s Picks
BUCKPITT
BUCKPITT
OverUnder
Best BetPittsburgh
This is about as clean a talent mismatch as the schedule offers Pitt all year, and the Panthers should win comfortably regardless of how sloppy their bowl performance looked to close 2025. Bucknell is a Patriot League team playing its first road trip to a Power-conference stadium under a brand-new coaching staff, which is a tough combination against a roster with this much more speed and depth. Backing Pittsburgh here is about as low-variance as a moneyline play gets on this slate.
Bucknell
+New coach Behrman brings a proven winning track record
+Chance to build early-season momentum vs stiff test
−Finished 5-7, 2-5 in Patriot League last season
−Massive class jump vs a Power-conference roster
Pittsburgh
+Heintschel now entrenched as full-time starter
+O-line durability addressed, right side back intact
−Bowl loss to East Carolina came with five turnovers
−Losing top two tacklers from last year's defense
This is the last non-conference test before Pitt's ACC schedule tightens up, and it comes with sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel further along than he was a year ago. He didn't take over the starting job until midseason as a true freshman, went 6-3 once he did, and now walks into 2026 as the unquestioned guy. Bucknell, meanwhile, is closing its own non-conference slate under first-year head coach Jeff Behrman, hired away from Union in January after building a program there.
Behrman inherits a Bucknell team that finished 5-7 overall and 2-5 in Patriot League play last season, and this trip to Pittsburgh is about as tough a gut-check as a first-year staff can schedule. Pitt closed 2025 at 8-5 and 6-2 in the ACC before dropping the Military Bowl to East Carolina in a game defined by five turnovers — a reminder that even a talented Panthers roster can beat itself. The gap in overall talent between a Power-conference roster and a Patriot League team rebuilding its identity is still the headline story here.
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BUCK Bucknell
PITT Pittsburgh
Pitt spent the offseason specifically targeting offensive line durability after two straight years of injuries up front, bringing back both starters on the right side in Ryan Baer and BJ Williams as preseason All-ACC picks. Defensively the Panthers have to replace their top two tacklers from a year ago, but senior linebacker Braylan Lovelace — who posted 80 tackles, 5.5 for loss and two picks in 2025 — is back to anchor things. None of that instability figures to matter much against an FCS offense still finding its footing under a new staff.
