Ten Initial Thoughts: Notre Dame Rolls To 45-3 Win At Pitt
1. Winning One-On-Ones
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly highlighted the importance of downfield plays heading into in the game, because Pitt’s defense bottles up running games and plays a lot of man coverage. Kevin Austin’s season-ending foot re-injury revealed Saturday and Notre Dame’s struggles to win downfield made that a scarier task.
The Irish needed somebody, and grad student Bennett Skowronek raised his hand. His two touchdown catches totaled 107 yards, and on both, he adjusted to haul in a contested throw. His season has quickly turned from wayward to valuable in a span of two games. He demonstrated the downfield ability he showed in three years at Northwestern.
2. Ian Book's Productive Day
Quarterback Ian Book’s 53 percent completion rate isn’t eye-popping, but it’s offset in part by the explosive gains Notre Dame found in the air all day. Receivers had room to run after the catch. Shot plays were available.
Book averaged 19.5 yards per completion and had six throws of at least 20 yards, though only one traveled more than 20 yards downfield. A couple more completed shots would have been good to see, but Notre Dame’s pass-catchers are skilled runners too. That can’t be discounted as a source of yards.
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