Notre Dame Prepares For Another Pitt Upsurge
Rain isn’t in the forecast for Saturday’s clash at Notre Dame Stadium between the 6-0 and No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish against 3-3 Pitt, but the Panthers did receive some chills in the air this week.
During Tuesday’s practice, a knee injury to middle linebacker Quintin Wirginis that will sideline him the rest of the year “took the breath out of a lot of guys,” according to Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi.
The defense had been having problems as is this year, ranking 95th total (420.8 yards per game), 99th in scoring (32.8 points per game) and 105th against the run (196.8 yards per game). Minus top playmaker Wirginis, those deficiencies could get exacerbated because he led the team in tackles (41), tackles for loss (seven), sacks (three) and tied in forced fumbles (two).
That same day, starting tight end Tyler Sear, an important component as a blocker for a quality running attack (203.8 yards per game, 5.2 yards per carry), and Narduzzi agreed to a mutual parting of the ways.
A 44-37 overtime victory last weekend against ACC rival Syracuse has provided some uptick, but now the issue is how much it can be sustained against Notre Dame. For the Irish, it's really not about "avoiding a letdown," but about building to the next level.
"Just remembering what our goals are, what we're working to be, and love for the game," said Notre Dame junior safety Alohi Gilman. "Can't get too excited, can't get too low, and just manage yourself each day.
"Every opportunity is another opportunity to get better, and that starts with our strength staff, Coach [Matt] Balis. He always tells us to embrace every opportunity and challenge and adversity. Coach [Brian] Kelly and the coaches all embrace the same thing, and it feeds off into the players."
Added senior receiver Miles Boykin: "Coach Kelly always tells us it's never about the opponent. It's about, 'Are we playing the right football?' I truly believe that and I truly take that to heart every time I step on the field. If we're not playing up to our standard, we can get beat by anybody in the country, it doesn't matter who ... If we go out and play Notre Dame Football, I'm never worried about it."
The Panthers have thrived in the giant-slaying role the past two years under Narduzzi, first in 2016 by toppling Big Ten champ Penn State and then stunning No. 2 Clemson (the eventual national champ), in Death Valley no less. Then last year as a reeling 4-7 outfit with seemingly nothing to play for it defeated 10-0 and No. 2 Miami.
This background seems less pertinent given that the two “big ones” so far this year for the Panthers resulted in a 51-6 demolition to Penn State and then a 45-14 beatdown to Central Florida.
Nevertheless, Pitt through the years has consistently demonstrated a proclivity, much like a Boston College or Purdue, of achieving peak performance against the Irish. Since the 1950s, Pitt joins USC, Purdue and Michigan State as the lone football teams to defeat Notre Dame every decade.
From shocking a Frank Leahy team in 1952 (22-19) that would finish No. 3 in the country, to knocking out Kelly's Fighting Irish from major bowl contention in 2013 (28‑21), the Panthers have a lineage of playing a spoiler role.
In the 11 meetings between the Fighting Irish and Pitt since 2002, all but two were determined by one score, with one of them a 42-30 Irish victory in the most recent encounter (2015).
• In 2008, the longest game in Notre Dame history (in actual time played on the field) resulted in a four-overtime 36-33 conquest by the Panthers.
• A year later in 2009, Pitt won for the fourth time in the last eight meetings between the two schools, 27-22.
• In Kelly’s first season at Notre Dame in 2010, the Irish fended off Pitt for a 23-17 victory.
• A late drive at Heinz Field in 2011 that featured the Tommy Rees to Tyler Eifert passing combination enabled Notre Dame to emerge with a 15-12 victory.
• Following an upset win at No. 8 Oklahoma in 2012, the 8-0 Irish went through a classic letdown while falling behind the 4-4- Panthers 20-6 entering the fourth quarter, and needed an officiating snafu in one overtime to survive a three-overtime 29-26 conquest.
While the 45-23 victory versus Virginia Tech last week might not have caught the nation’s attention like the one at OU in 2012, it did reinforce to many nationally that the Irish are a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
And like with the Sooners six years, a .500 Pitt team is next on the docket.
“Whatever I did, I probably didn't do a very good job,” said Kelly of the Pitt game in 2012 after the win at Oklahoma. “I'm not pulling anything that I did that week. I'm sticking with what our preparation has been, and the guys have done a really good job because it's really how you reach the group you have in front of you right now more so than thinking about what the group was about back in 2012. We're going to stick with the group we have and keep working on what we're doing now.”
• After losing at Navy in 2013, Pitt responded two weeks later with a 28‑21 win at home versus Notre Dame.
The one-score margins in this series ended at Heinz Field on Nov. 7, 2015, when Notre Dame built a 42-17 lead before Pitt tallied two touchdowns in the final five minutes to make the final score a more respectable looking 42-30.
Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer was 19-of-26 passing for 262 yards with five touchdowns, and he ran for the sixth. Three of his scoring tosses were to Will Fuller (seven catches for 152 yards), while freshman Josh Adams’ 20 carries netted 147 yards.
Similar production likely will be anticipated by the Irish on Saturday, but overall history still demonstrates the need to be wary of the Panthers.
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