Our side
MoneylinePITT to win
ours 99%
Projected score
4–48
BUCK – PITT
2026-09-26 · 12:00 PM
Acrisure Stadium · Pittsburgh, PA
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Pittsburgh lead
7–2
· 9 meetings since 1902
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Pittsburgh Panthers
156 ranks
Bucknell Bison #168 rush offense
Pittsburgh Panthers #12 run defense
Pass game
even
15 ranks apart
Bucknell Bison #86 pass offense
Pittsburgh Panthers #101 pass defense
Run game
even
2 ranks apart
Pittsburgh Panthers #148 rush offense
Bucknell Bison #150 run defense
Pass game
edge Pittsburgh Panthers
147 ranks
Pittsburgh Panthers #70 pass offense
Bucknell Bison #217 pass defense
Bucknell Bison
Balanced · 57% run
Ball-control
Pittsburgh Panthers
Balanced · 47% run
Ball-control
Pat Narduzzi · 80-61
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Bucknell Bison
WR
Sam Milligan
24 rec · 241 yds · 3 TD
#17 WR
DL
Jack Inserra
15 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL
#194 DL
RB
Michael Cadden
131 rush yds · 1 TD · 12 rec
#86 RB
LB
Nick Hoying
13 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#298 LB
Pittsburgh Panthers
QB
Mason Heintschel
665 pass yds · 7 TD · 0 INT
#23 QB
DL
Isaiah Neal
4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#160 DL
WR
Cataurus Hicks
8 rec · 178 yds · 1 TD
#117 WR
RB
Damon Ferguson Jr.
81 rush yds · 1 TD · 6 rec
#94 RB
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Bucknell offense vs Pittsburgh defense-21.8 pts
Pittsburgh offense vs Bucknell defense+14.5 pts
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.