SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 14 Notre Dame ran away from Pitt with ease after its idle week, beating the Panthers 58-7 on Saturday to improve to 7-2. Here are some initial takeaways:
Irish defense causes havoc
Pittsburgh started its sixth offensive line combined in eight games, which gave quarterback Christian Veilleux almost no shot from the opening kickoff. The Irish harassed the replacement for former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec all game, sacking him twice and picking him off four times via Xavier Watts (twice), Jaden Mickey and Christian Gray. The picks by Mickey and Gray were the first of their careers. And while Notre Dame might not have needed all those disruptions, they were a huge plus with Benjamin Morrison sidelined by a quad strain.
HE DID IT AGAIN.#GoIrish☘️ | @xavierwatts6 pic.twitter.com/l8Va2B76tV
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 28, 2023
The Panthers didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter after the Irish had already built a 51-0 lead and emptied the bench.
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The afternoon wasn’t a surprise for Notre Dame’s defense, considering its run of play that has basically extended from Dublin to South Bend and everywhere in between. Notre Dame ended the Heisman repeat campaign for Caleb Williams, effectively sideswiped Duke quarterback Riley Leonard’s season and led to Brennan Armstrong’s eventual benching at NC State.
Next up?
Clemson and sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik, who’s struggling to make a mark for Dabo Swinney’s program, which has dropped two straight and sputtered offensively. Klubnik went 33-of-50 for 263 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 24-17 loss at NC State on Saturday. If Notre Dame’s pass defense travels to Clemson next weekend and gets Morrison back, the Irish could notch the kind of road win that gets Marcus Freeman back to a New Year’s Six Bowl.
GO DEEPER
Sampson: Notre Dame must capitalize on chance to make a statement at Clemson
Scoring in all three phases … again
Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi was pressed on Notre Dame’s punt coverage of USC star freshman Zachariah Branch last week, asked to explain how the Irish could surround the punt returner with six men in coverage and still give up a 60-yard return. Take a screenshot of how Notre Dame penned in Branch and it’s hard to understand how he got loose.
“Oh, I have. I’ve taken the still. Don’t worry,” Biagi said, laughing. “Plenty of the pause and un-pause button for a good bit.”
Now the remote is in the other hand, so to speak, for Biagi after Chris Tyree’s 82-yard punt return in the first quarter that startled Notre Dame Stadium awake. Tyree broke one tackle, ducked around a second, darted by a third and fourth, then cut past a sixth en route to the end zone. It was the first punt return touchdown for Notre Dame since 2015 but the team’s third special teams touchdown in two games.
THERE GOES CHRIS TYREE#GoIrish☘️ | @chris_tyree4 pic.twitter.com/4cRKy2gTIr
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 28, 2023
Jadarian Price broke off a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown against USC, and the Irish capitalized on a Panthers muffed punt in the second half when Devyn Ford helped force a fumble that Ramon Henderson fell on in the end zone. Combined with Mickey’s pick six in the third quarter, Notre Dame has now scored on offense, defense and special teams in back-to-back games.
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Tyree’s punt return — his kickoff return score against Wisconsin two years ago broke open that game — continued the senior’s banner season in which he’s been a big play waiting to happen. Tyree also caught a 47-yard bomb from Sam Hartman in the first half. On a team with which the receiver position has struggled to make a mark, Tyree has made them in multiple ways.
Mixed results on offense
It’s hard to know what to make of Notre Dame’s offense, which was at least present for an afternoon when the team exploded for eight touchdowns. Yet the offense scored only five of those, Hartman tossed two interceptions without a touchdown and the run game sputtered for much of the game before the Pittsburgh defense simply gave out.
The good news for offensive coordinator Gerad Parker is Hartman hit a few deep shots, including that 47-yard completion to Tyree, a 60-yard catch-and-run for Rico Flores Jr. and a 42-yard deep shot to Tobias Merriweather. The bad was losing tight end Mitchell Evans to what looked like a potentially serious left knee injury. Freeman did not the know the severity of the injury postgame.
So, did Notre Dame find itself offensively during the idle week?
It’s hard to say. It’s also hard to know if where the offense is heading into November is still good enough anyway to get the Irish over the line, with Clemson, Wake Forest and Stanford remaining.
The Irish run game was adequate against the Panthers, which at least had held up on the ground for most of the season. Audric Estime led Notre Dame with 19 carries for 114 yards and three touchdowns. His 33-yard bowling ball of a run in the first half helped the Irish put daylight between themselves and the Panthers. His 15-yard touchdown run around right tackle Blake Fisher was untouched.
Overall, it was a fine afternoon for Notre Dame’s offense. It wasn’t a rebirth, explosion or reimagination of Parker’s playbook. Maybe that’s just not in the cards this season, even with Hartman at the controls. The Irish are now finding ways to augment the offense. If that’s sustainable, Notre Dame can make a true New Year’s Six push.
(Photo: Joseph Weiser / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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