RAPID REVIEW: Notre Dame 45, Pitt 3

BOX SCORE

When it came to pass, No. 3-ranked Notre Dame (5-0) showed it could during a 45-3 romp at upset-minded Pitt (3-4), which dropped its fourth straight contest in the ACC.

Romping to a 28-3 halftime lead, Notre Dame followed with 17 more points in the third quarter in the blowout.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book completed 34- and 73-yard touchdown passes to wideout classmate Ben Skowronek for the first two scores, sophomore running back Kyren Williams expanded the lead to 21-3 with a two-yard run, and sophomore defensive end Isaiah Foskey capped the first half with a blocked punt that he recovered in the end zone with 11 seconds remaining to basically seal the outcome in the opening 30 minutes.

Book finished 16 of 30 passing for 312 yards and three touchdowns, and added eight carries for 40 yards.

Ranked No. 1 nationally in run defense with a 61.5 average per game, the Panthers limited Notre Dame to 115 on the ground for the game after having averaged 261.0 this year (7th nationally), but the Irish passing attack more than compensated.

Meanwhile, after recording only one interception the first four games, the Irish defense picked off three — by linebackers Bo Bauer and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and cornerback Nick McCloud — that resulted in 21 points after starting in Pitt territory.

• Pitt starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, sidelined the previous week in the 31-19 loss against Miami with a bad ankle, also was unavailable versus Notre Dame. Without his mobility, the Panthers were rendered completely one-dimensional with sophomore quarterback Joey Yellen, a transfer from Arizona State. The Panthers had two yards rushing in the first half and were mostly horizontal with their passing game.

Pitt finished with 162 yards total offense to Notre Dame's 434, and the Irish dominated time of possession 40:59 to 19:01. The Panthers finished with more penalties (12) than first downs (11).

• Ranked No. 2 in the country in third-down percentage defense (.208), Notre Dame allowed Pitt to convert its first two, but repeated third-and-long situations resulted in finishing 3 of 13 overall, or 1 of 11 after the initial success.

• Prior to the game, Notre Dame announced that junior wide receiver Kevin Austin, junior cornerback TaRiq Bracy and senior reserve offensive lineman Josh Lugg would not be available for the game.

Head coach Brian Kelly had indicated in his Thursday meeting with the media that Lugg would not be able to play because of an ankle injury. Austin, who had foot surgery on Aug. 3 and missed the first two games, reinjured his foot, and The Athletic reported he would miss the remainder of the season..

Late in the game, junior wideout Braden Lenzy appeared to pull his hamstring, which bothered him also earlier in the year.

With about 10:45 left in the first half and Notre Dame facing third-and-14 at its 27 with a 7-3 lead, Book unleashed a deep pass to Skowronek, whose 6-3, 220-pound frame shielded 5-9, 175-pound cornerback Marquis Williams for the jump ball and it resulted in a 73-yard score to make it 14-3.

With Pitt's offense having no chance to run and already in a catch-up situation, this two-score advantage when it seemed the Panthers had the Irish bottled up provided a significant turn of events.

In the first four games, Notre Dame had only eight pass plays that gained at least 20 yards. Versus the Panthers they had six, highlighted by the early touchdowns to Skowronek.

And speaking of the pass, freshman tight end Michael Mayer snared five for 73 yards and a touchdown. His five catches tied the freshman tight end school record Kyle Rudolph had in 2008 versus Stanford — five for 70 yards. The most receiving yards by a Notre Dame freshman tight end in a game was when Dean Masztak had 82 yards on four grabs versus USC in 1978, while Rudolph had 78 yards on four catches in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl.

Book's two long touchdown passes to Skowronek were highlights among his 312 yards passing through the first three quarter before getting taken out. Overshadowed was his elusiveness against Pitt's strong pass rush (second in the country with 29 sacks coming into the game) that consistently brought him extra time, and also enabled him to record 40 yards rushing while helping demoralize the Pitt unit..

This was Notre Dame’s 29th consecutive victory against an unranked team, tying the school record set from 1990-94 under head coach Lou Holtz. Only Alabama, which has not lost to an unranked team since 2007, has a longer current such streak.

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