In all three phases of the game, the Fighting Irish dominated what was expected to be a frisky Pittsburgh Panther team, winning 45-3.
Below are offensive and defensive observations, utilizing Pro Football Focus' advanced statistics, from Notre Dame’s performance on Saturday.
Offense
Offense Allows Season-High 17 Pressures
For the first time all season, the Notre Dame offense allowed more than 15 quarterback pressures, surrendering 17 against Pittsburgh's defense. Yet this is still an impressive performance by the Notre Dame offensive line given how stout the Panther front seven is.
Even after producing just two sacks against the Fighting Irish on Saturday, the Panthers are still first in the nation in terms of sacks per contest amongst teams that have played more than one game. Clemson, Notre Dame's Nov. 7 opponent the No. 1 ranked team in the country, is second with four sacks per game.
Against Pittsburgh, 11 out of the 17 pressures were credited to the Notre Dame offensive line, but the only player I would say struggled in pass protection was right tackle Robert Hainsey, who gave up four pressures including a quarterback hit.
While Liam Eichenberg, the current ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week, was beat on a few occasions against the Panther, allowing two pressures, he more than held his own against Patrick Jones II (who currently is tied for the lead in college football with seven sacks) and the other Pittsburgh defensive ends. At one point, he even blocked two players at once:
