Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1037156
36 OCT. 15, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Junior cornerback Julian Love ranked second in the country with 10 passes broken up, giving him 30 in his last 18 games. Against Stanford, he established a new Notre Dame career record (33). Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. PITT RUN DEFENSE Despite returning nine starters on defense, the Panthers have struggled mightily to slow down opposing ground attacks. Three of Pitt's first five opponents rushed for at least 211 yards, and its four Football Bowl Subdivision foes averaged 236.0 yards per game and rushed for 11 touchdowns. Fifth-year seniors Quintin Wirginis (33 tackles and six stops for loss) and Oluwaseun Idowu (25 tackles and five tackles for loss) led a quality line- backing corps, but struggles to get much produc- tion from the front four has served as a major problem for the unit. Notre Dame's ground game stumbled out of the gate to start the 2018 season, rushing for a com- bined 249 yards while averaging 2.8 yards per rush in its first two outings. Over the next three games, though, the Irish averaged 252.7 rushing yards and went for 5.3 yards per attempt. A different player led the offense in rushing in each of those three contests, but the big impact came when senior Dexter Williams returned for the Stanford game and finished with a career-high 161 yards on 21 attempts. To be determined is how the Irish fare minus left guard and captain Alex Bars. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PITT PASS DEFENSE Pitt also has had its fair share of issues slow- Fifth-year senior linebacker Oluwaseun Idowu was second on the Panthers in tackles (25) and tackles for loss (five) through five contests. PHOTO COURTESY PITT ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 228 Sr. 4 Kevin Austin 6-2 210 Fr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 308 Jr. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 290 Fr. LG 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 295 Sr. 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 319 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 306 5th-Sr. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 280 So. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 316 Jr. 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 313 So. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 So. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 314 So. TE 86 Alizé Mack 6-5 247 Sr. 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 258 So. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-2 185 Fr. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 227 Jr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 192 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. 7 Brandon Wimbush 6-2 222 Sr. RB 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 220 Jr. 2 Dexter Williams 5-11 215 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Jr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 255 Jr. DT 99 Jerry Tillery 6-7 305 Sr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 284 Fr. NT 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-4 295 5th-Sr. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 So. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 241 Jr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 265 Jr. Mike 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 240 Sr. 45 Jonathan Jones 5-11½ 227 Jr. Buck 23 Drue Tranquill 6-2 235 5th-Sr. 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 225 So. ROV 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 Sr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 222 Fr. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 190 Jr. 35 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 Fr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 205 Jr. 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 200 Jr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 202 Jr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 205 Fr. CB 27 Julian Love 5-11 193 Jr. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 211 Jr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 214 5th-Sr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-11 181 Sr. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. H 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 235 Jr. 46 Matt Bushland 6-2 210 Jr. KR 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So. 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 220 Jr. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So. Special Teams