:: Notre Dame Football: Irish Game Day ::
Irish Season at Turning-Point: Notre Dame vs. Pitt Preview
Leprechaun Express: Notre Dame Football Intel Update Oct. 8, 2010
Notre Dame comes off a decisive road win at Boston College, in position to get back to .500 with a home win over Pitt.
If Notre Dame finishes its 6-game, murderer's row opening stretch with a victory, the Irish would be half-done with their regular season schedule while also being halfway to bowl eligibility at 3-3.
And Notre Dame would tee themselves up for a strong finish, with at least three opponents coming later the Irish are expected to beat if they work hard and take care of business. Seven wins bring bowl eligibility, while six wins put the Irish on the bowl bubble, but with so many bowls that six is likely enough. In addition to later games against Western Michigan, Tulsa and Army, Notre Dame also has recent nemesis Navy, national title contender Utah and disgraced but potent Southern Cal.
Hopefully in the course of the week the Irish have recovered from the sleep deprivation of taking a red-eye flight back from Boston. The travel plans apparently would have kept them up to near 4 AM after a hard-fought football game. One recalls the problems last year after a late night in west Texas was followed by a sluggish performance against Navy.
Pitt is similar to BC in some respects, such as with a balanced, somewhat traditional offense that is stronger on the ground, with a comparatively less-developed passing game that exists but moves in fits and starts. Pitt also has a top-15 rushing defense. The Panthers are #1 in the country in net punting, but are weak on punt or kick returns.
Thus far Pitt is 2-2, with wins over New Hampshire and Florida Atlantic, an opening 3-point overtime loss to national title contender Utah, and a 31-3 shutout loss to top-15 Miami of Florida two weeks ago.
Last week Notre Dame's defense all but shut down BC's rushing offense, limiting the Eagles to 5 yards net rushing and limiting their key running back. But Pitt has at least two key running backs, and must have a strong overall ground game, including their offensive line, to produce the results those two running backs have created.
Pitt's running game includes a top rusher from last year, Dion Lewis, who had a Heisman-caliber campaign last year of nearly 1800 yards, then tapered off a bit this year, more recently having it revealed that he was nursing a shoulder injury. In the meantime, Ray Graham has emerged as the #3 rusher in the country, averaging 164 yards per game.
Interestingly, Graham did not have a single carry in that opening game against Utah. Meanwhile, Lewis did not have a single carry in Pitt's most recent game against Florida International, a game in which Graham had 277 yards on 29 rushes, around 6 yards per carry.
Pitt insists that Lewis is back against Notre Dame, even listed as the "probable" starter. So the Irish defense will have its work cut out for it.
One added wrinkle is that, at some point coming after that red-eye flight, Manti Te'o came down with the flu. Te'o was the #1 tackler in college football heading into the BC game, and is now the #2 tackler in Div. I-A/FBS. Notre Dame has had a good deal of rotation on defense, at least among linebackers and lineman, and perhaps moreso with the secondary once injury started healing. The entire cast will have to step up, though, if Te'o is not 100%.
Pitt sophomore quarterback Tino Sunseri is a rookie starter who saw limited action last year. Sunseri is somewhat efficient, but not prolific with either yards or scoring, perhaps to the frustration of Pitt star receiver Jonathan Baldwin. Baldwin had a 1000-yard receiving year last year, but barely has a few hundreds heading into the Notre Dame game.
Two games ago, against Miami, Pitt only threw for around 100 yards, playing two quarterbacks.
Unless Pitt can develop a more consistent and prolific passing game, a balanced Notre Dame defense that executes well and hits hard might be able to contain Pitt and at least limit their scoring.
On offense, Notre Dame is top-20 in passing, top-50 in total offense. The Irish also have a quarterback in his first year of extensive play, in starter Dayne Crist.
Crist has shown flashes of greatness and leadership even while battling inconsistency at times. He seemingly hits seven receivers in every game, with wide-out Michael Floyd being a bit more workmanlike in this year's context, and tight-end Kyle Rudolph limited a bit the past few games. It eventually came out that Rudolph has been coming off a minor hamstring injury, but Rudolph did snag a touchdown in his only catch against Boston College. Younger receivers Theo Riddick and T.J. Jones have stepped up, with John Goodman coming on stronger in recent games and moving into a co-#1 spot in one of the three wide-receiver positions in the base formation.
Like Boston College, Pitt has been stronger against the run, currently in the top-15 in rushing defense.
Notre Dame continues to have Armando Allen, a fast strong runner, as its starter, but is working big Robert Hughes in more. Against Pitt, the issue might be consistency in the passing game and making the most of whatever rushes Notre Dame goes for.
There's a lot of institution memory, and a lot of personal memory, at stake in the Notre Dame-Pitt game. Pitt has beaten Notre Dame in nail-biters two years in a row, including a 4-overtime win at Notre Dame in 2008 that was the longest game in the history of both schools.
Yet Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was blown out in his Pitt coaching debut by Charlie Weis, in Weis's first game with the Irish.
And, with Cincinnati of the BIG EAST, Brian Kelly just faced Pitt the past three years. In the past two years, leading the Bearcats to BIG EAST titles and BCS bowls, Kelly had his season come down to late-season de facto conference title games against Pitt. Kelly won those battles the last two years, including having to battle from a deep first-half deficit last year in snowfall at Pitt.
Pittsburgh the city stands at a spot where two rivers merge to form a third river. Pitt the football team stands at a spot where Notre Dame football history and Brian Kelly football history converge, with both paths going right through Pitt, at least this weekend.
This is the 66th game in a memorable series that started 101 years ago in 1909 and has featured national championships, Heisman-winners and classic games. Pitt, also a BIG EAST rival of Notre Dame's in basketball, is a good opponent for the Irish, and we can expect a hard-fought game requiring maximum effort from the players and coaches to pull out a win.
Notre Dame leads the overall series 44-20-1, but Pitt has won 3 of the last 5 years.
Judging from last week's Boston College game, the key for Notre Dame is not just how they stack up, but how they compete. Against Boston College, Notre Dame came hard out of the gates, then took care of business, then nailed down a final touchdown to close it out.
Against Pitt, if Notre Dame has recovered from the red-eye flight and had a strong week of preparation, and comes at Pitt hard, or fights back hard if need be, the Irish might secure a good win. But if Notre Dame is content to slug out a close one, Pitt, who already has been fearless against top opponents in recent years, undoubtedly will be emboldened to try to tee up their own momentum-builder.
So the flow of the game, the consistency of play to sustain drives on offense or shut down drives on defense, or dial up a big effort on singular plays like returns or sacks or big passes, might be even more key than how the teams stack up.
If Notre Dame does win, they tee themselves up well for the remainder of the year on all counts, in what could be a turning point that the success of the season pivots upon. Momentum, bowl eligibility, and closing out that first six-game stretch all amplify the significance of the Pitt contest.
:: Notre Dame 2010 schedule/statistical summary - NCAA database
:: Notre Dame Football official site - UND.com
:: Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh Game Day - ND.edu
:: Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh 2010 Game Notes [PDF]
:: Notre Dame Returns Home As Pittsburgh Comes Calling - UND.com
:: Pitt Football official site
:: Pitt 2010 statistical summary - NCAA database
Keywords: Notre Dame Football, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Notre Dame Depth Chart, Notre Dame Offense, Notre Dame Defense, Notre Dame Special Teams, Brian Kelly, University of Notre Dame
Leprechaun Express Site Map Main Divisions
Home | Newswire | Game Day | Depth Chart | Schedule | Irish Lore | Recruiting |
© 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
While founded and directed by a Notre Dame alumnus, this site itself has no official affiliation with, or licensure from, the University of Notre Dame du Lac. It does recommend you also visit the official Notre Dame Athletics site at www.und.com. Go Irish!
Steven C. Welsh, Editor and Contributor
Steven C. Welsh, Web Design and Graphic Design
