Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 28, 2023 43 GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH which was Oct. 9, but he said the team will "see how the week goes." Much of the blame for the signal- caller situation this season falls on Cignetti, who was the offensive coordi- nator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College when Jurkovec was there. Per- haps the most troubling aspect of this season for the Panthers is the success of former Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis at BYU. Slovis, a former USC signal-caller, was Pitt's replacement for Pickett in 2022. He threw 10 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions the entire season in Pittsburgh last year, but with the Cou- gars he had 10 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions through five games this season. Cignetti actively pursued Jurkovec, hoping to create a competition with Slovis. The former Trojan did not want that, left the Steel City and led BYU to a 4-1 start. The personnel in Pittsburgh was bet- ter in 2021, not only with Pickett, but with Addison. His transfer to USC was met with speculations of tampering on the part of Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and a large sum of NIL money as incentive to go west. Addison's rela- tionship with Caleb Williams — with both being from the Washington, D.C., area — helped as well. "We helped him win a Biletnikoff and be the player he is," Narduzzi said that offseason about Addison, per USA Today's Trojans Wire. "He had one of the best quarterbacks in the country throwing the ball every day. I think sometimes people forget how they got where they are." But throughout this season, many have speculated that Addison did not want to be a part of Narduzzi's shift in Pitt's offensive philosophy. "I was looking for a great coach and a good football opportunity," Addison said in May 2022, according to ESPN. "I'm still figuring myself out and what I want to do, and I feel like I have a great oppor- tunity to do that where I'm at now." Addison would be gone by now any- way, now playing (and playing well) for the Minnesota Vikings as a first-round pick. Regardless of how the Panthers got here — and the evidence points to an inexplicable desire to move away from modern offensive football — they sit at a crossroads with a trip to Notre Dame on the schedule. The Irish played four consecutive games from Weeks 4-7 against teams who were undefeated entering the matchup. Coming off a bye week, Notre Dame will be recharged and ready to go in its home stadium. Pitt represents not a reprieve, but an opportunity to jump-start the home stretch of the 2023 season. ✦ 2023 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 26 vs. Navy* W, 42-3 Sept. 2 Tennessee State W, 56-3 Sept. 9 at NC State W, 45-24 Sept. 16 Central Michigan W, 41-17 Sept. 23 Ohio State L, 17-14 Sept. 30 at Duke W, 21-14 Oct. 7 at Louisville L, 33-20 Oct. 14 USC W, 48-20 Oct. 28 Pittsburgh (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Clemson (ABC) TBA Nov. 18 Wake Forest (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at Stanford TBA * at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland Junior wide receiver Konata Mumpfield was the leading pass catcher for a scuffling Pitts pass attack, reeling in 20 receptions for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns through five games. PHOTO COURTESY PITT ATHLETICS 2023 PITTSBURGH SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 Wofford W, 45-7 Sept. 9 Cincinnati L, 27-21 Sept. 16 at West Virginia L, 17-6 Sept. 23 North Carolina L, 41-24 Sept. 30 at Virginia Tech L, 38-21 Oct. 14 Louisville W, 38-21 Oct. 21 at Wake Forest (ACCN) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at Notre Dame (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 4 Florida State TBA Nov. 11 vs. Syracuse* 3:30 p.m. Nov. 16 Boston College (ESPN) 7 p.m. Nov. 25 at Duke TBA * at Yankees Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y.