PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel is out for the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in a victory over Virginia Tech on Friday night.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made the announcement in a post on X on Saturday, about 24 hours after Heintschel was injured in the second half of what became a 35-33 win that boosted the Panthers' record to 5-0.
“We're heartbroken for Mason, but he's a resilient young man,” Narduzzi wrote. “We know he'll attack his recovery with the same determination he brings to our building every day.”
Heintschel was scrambling for yardage when he was tackled and fell to the ground with his right leg pinned behind him while simultaneously being hit by another Virginia Tech defender. He was in visible pain while being tended to by trainers and returned to the sideline later in the game on crutches.
Heintschel was off to an electric start for Pitt, throwing for 14 touchdowns against just one pick at the time of the injury.
Holden Gernier, a transfer from Auburn, came on for Heintschel and played well, throwing for 78 yards and a touchdown. Gernier figures to be the starter when Pitt (5-0, 2-0 ACC) hosts North Carolina (2-2, 0-1) at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 10.
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
FILE - Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Heintschel (6) during the Military Bowl NCAA college football game, on Dec. 27, 2025, in Annapolis, Md.(AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)
VANDALIA, Ohio (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday defended data centers that power artificial intelligence projects but have become a contentious campaign issue nationwide, as he took his midterm tour to Ohio to insist his party will keep their majorities in Congress despite steep political headwinds.
Trump took several minutes during his campaign rally in southwestern Ohio to promote his administration's action on data centers, saying he was seeking to ensure they “benefit local communities" and praised Republican Sen. Jon Husted for an ill-fated attempt this week to push forward legislation on the issue.
“Look, there’s so much money to be made for Ohio. You can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China," Trump said, repeating his defense of data centers that he had made before. The crowd, which had reacted enthusiastically as the president talked about other policies, was far more muted during the data centers remark.
Trump is embarking on what he says will be a 32-day blitz ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, hitting the deep red states of Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama this week before pivoting to Ohio, a battleground state that’s home to one of the top-tier Senate races this cycle.
Husted — who was appointed to fill the Senate vacancy left by now-Vice President JD Vance — is running to win the seat outright. There is likely no path to a Senate majority for Democrats without flipping Ohio, where former three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown is trying to return to the Senate after losing to Republican Bernie Moreno two years ago.
Since last year, Democrats have listed Ohio, along with states such as North Carolina and Maine, as key races to win control of the Senate. And this week, the head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm said Ohio is among 10 battleground races that are “within striking distance.”
“The good news for us is that Jon Husted is a closer,” Sen. Tim Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told reporters. “We’re seeing the gap that was there between the two candidates, which was just a few points, now it is right at a dead-even race. So this is as tight as ticks, as we say in South Carolina.”
At his rallies, Trump has been trying to convince voters that the economy is better than they feel it is, even though polls show Americans are frustrated with the way he's handled it. The high cost of living, including gas prices elevated by Trump's war on Iran, is a top issue in the Dayton area, too. And just days before Trump's rally, nearly 1,400 people were laid off from a truck factory in nearby Springfield.
Trump's rally comes as Republicans worry that Husted’s campaign has failed to adequately catch fire with voters in the Republican-dominated state. Brown and allied groups have hammered Husted for his role in attracting data centers to the state when he was lieutenant governor, and the NRSC has pinpointed it as a political vulnerability.
The massive warehouse campuses powering artificial intelligence projects have become a toxic political issue, drawing bipartisan opposition in races across the country, with voters concerned about their impact on electricity prices, farmland and water supplies.
The GOP-controlled Senate tried to advance legislation this week sponsored by Husted that would ask utility regulators to effectively charge large power users more, as consumers struggle with high energy costs. But it was blocked by nearly all Democrats.
“You got to remember, Sherrod Brown was for data centers, and Jon Husted is for data centers being responsible,” Scott told reporters this week. “If a community doesn’t want them, he doesn’t want them either.”
But Trump has become one of data centers’ most vocal proponents, shrugging aside voter concerns and arguing that the U.S. cannot cede advancements in AI to China.
“Senator Jon Husted gave billions in tax breaks to Big Tech to make sure they would build their data centers in Ohio,” Brown wrote on X on Friday, ahead of Trump’s visit. “Now, he’s making Ohioans foot the bill.”
Brown’s campaign also has hammered Husted for donations he’s received from retail magnate Les Wexner, who once employed the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Husted has donated remaining Wexner contributions to an anti-human trafficking charity.
There were several Epstein-themed signs outside the Vandalia school where the rally was being held, as more than a hundred protesters lined the road with a slew of anti-Trump and anti-Husted signs.
But inside the school's gymnasium, the boisterous crowd — decked out in red “Make America Great Again” hats and “Trump 47” jerseys — greeted each Republican candidate enthusiastically as they awaited the president's arrival.
From the stage, Husted said the state had been through “hard times,” noting his dad had worked at a factory that closed down. But he said Republicans in the state had turned it around.
“We now have the most jobs and the lowest unemployment rate we’ve ever had in the history of Ohio," he said.
Meanwhile, in the governor’s race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy faces Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s former COVID-era health director.
A wealthy biotech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate, Ramaswamy’s star appeal among conservatives led to quick backing by Ohio Republicans and hopes of an easy victory in the Republican-dominated state. However, despite a massive fundraising lead and more than $12 million spent in campaign advertising, he is now locked in a close fight with Acton with weeks to go until Election Day.
“I’m so grateful to this state and to this country for giving a kid like me opportunities that would not have been available to my family in any other country on planet earth,” Ramaswamy said at the rally ahead of Trump’s arrival, as he underscored the American dream for his Indian immigrant family.
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro in Washington and AP writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
Supporters cheer before President Donald Trump arrives to speak at an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, left, greets attendees before President Donald Trump arrives to speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump listens as a reporter asks a question, before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
FILE - President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks while holding up a signed resolution in the Oval Office of the White House, May 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
