Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 OCT. 28, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH question is, are the Panthers talented enough to make it matter? Analytics say absolutely. Pitt had the 12th-best points saved per rushing play against in the FBS through Week 6 according to SIS. The Panthers averaged 0.537 of a point saved per rushing play against. Utah led the coun- try in that regard at 0.716 of a point saved per rushing play against. Pitt held West Virginia, North Carolina and Vir- ginia Tech to less than 4.0 yards per carry. The goal is to do the same to the Irish. It's definitely pos- sible, but Notre Dame has the personnel to figure things out and have a good day on the ground at home in late October. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PITT PASS DEFENSE From Week 0 through Week 3, Notre Dame had the eighth-best points earned per passing play mark in the FBS according to SIS. From Week 4 through Week 6, the Irish dropped all the way down to No. 49 in the same statistic. The pass- ing game completely fell apart, and it's going to be tough to fix it within the confines of the 2023 season, even with sixth-year graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman at the controls. The problem is, Notre Dame does not have a wide receiving corps that has shown it can get open against quality FBS opponents. On top of that, two of the most productive receivers in the early going, junior Jayden Thomas and freshman Jaden Great- house, were both battling hamstring injuries once the grueling stretch of the Notre Dame schedule came around. Notre Dame played the entire Duke game with the same three wideouts. Nobody is throwing a pity party for Notre Dame. The Pitt defense is going to go right after the Fight- ing Irish's passing game. The Panthers actually had success doing that against their first five oppo- nents, holding them all to fewer than 300 passing yards. The advanced analytics aren't as in love with Pitt's passing defense. Through Week 6, Pitt posted the No. 132 points saved per passing play against figure in the FBS. Every time opponents passed the ball, the Pitt defense lost an average of 0.098 points per play. Only one FBS team had a worse average than that; Central Michigan lost 0.114 of a point every time opponents passed the ball against the Chippewas through Week 6. Notre Dame had one of its best passing perfor- mances of the season against Central Michigan Sept. 16. Hartman looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate in completing 16 of 26 throws (61.5 percent) for 330 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The Notre Dame wide receivers were able to run right by the Chippewa defensive backs that day. If the Panthers pose a comparable pass defense, even this group of Irish pass catchers should be able to have a field day. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Notre Dame has the nation's No. 8 ranking in the Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI) ratings. Pitt is down at No. 21. In the kicking game, Pitt's Ben Sauls was 4 of 7 on field goal attempts and 14 of 14 on extra points through Week 6. Notre Dame's Spencer Shrader was 7 of 12 on field goals and 29 of 29 on extra points, but four of those seven makes were from beyond 50 yards out. Two of those boots were 54-yarders, which set a school record. He also made a 53-yarder against Louisville. Shrader definitely has the edge in the kicking game, but Pitt punter Caleb Junko has an edge over Notre Dame's Bryce McFerson. Junko aver- aged 47.15 yards per punt through Week 6, which ranked No. 8 in the FBS. McFerson averaged 44.68. Both teams only had one kickoff return of more than 30 yards through Week 6. Neither team had a punt return go for more than 20 yards through Week 6. Notre Dame and Pitt don't do a whole lot to wow you in special teams, so it's safe to resort to the FEI when assigning an edge in this department. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has lost the benefit of the doubt in these debates based on what happened in the final seconds against Ohio State and even with him saying Estimé should not have scored his 30-yard touchdown versus Duke in the final minute of that nail-biter. Freeman is a second-year head coach who shows how green he is by the week. Pitt's Pat Narduzzi, on the other hand, is in his ninth year at the helm OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 83 Jayden Thomas 6-1½ 221 Jr. 17 Rico Flores Jr. 6-0⅛ 205 Fr. WR 4 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 192 Sr. 19 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 204 Fr. LT 76 Joe Alt 6-8 322 Jr. 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 317 Sr. LG 78 Pat Coogan 6-5⅛ 303 Jr. 74 Billy Schrauth 6-4½ 311 So. C 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 306 Gr. 70 Ashton Craig 6-4¼ 307 So. RG 50 Rocco Spindler 6-4⅝ 314 Jr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5¼ 305 Gr. RT 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 312 Jr. 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 288 So. TE 88 Mitchell Evans 6-5⅛ 251 Jr. 13 Holden Staes 6-4¼ 242 So. 38 Davis Sherwood 6-3 238 Jr. WR 5 Tobias Merriweather 6-4 204 So. 17 Rico Flores Jr. 6-0⅛ 205 Fr. QB 10 Sam Hartman 6-1⅛ 212 Gr. 18 Steve Angeli 6-2⅜ 211 So. RB 7 Audric Estimé 5-11½ 227 Jr. 3 Gi'Bran Payne 5-9⅛ 208 So. or 24 Jadarian Price 5-10⅜ 206 So. or 22 Devyn Ford 5-11 200 Gr. or 12 Jeremiyah Love 5-11⅞ 197 Fr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Vyper 12 Jordan Botelho 6-2½ 264 Sr. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-1⅞ 254 So. 40 Joshua Burnham 6-3½ 248 So. DT 99 Rylie Mills 6-5⅛ 306 Sr. 47 Jason Onye 6-5 294 Jr. 41 Donovan Hinish 6-1⅝ 280 So. NT 56 Howard Cross III 6-0⅞ 288 Gr. 97 Gabe Rubio 6-5¼ 306 Jr. SDE 1 Javontae Jean-Baptiste 6-4½ 260 Gr. or 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah 6-3⅛ 264 Sr. Will 8 Marist Liufau 6-2¼ 239 Gr. 23 Jaiden Ausberry 6-0⅛ 224 Fr. Mike 27 JD Bertrand 6-1 233 Gr. 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 234 Fr. Rover 24 Jack Kiser 6-1⅝ 232 Gr. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-2 223 So. CB 5 Cam Hart 6-2½ 207 Gr. 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 181 So. LS 2 DJ Brown 6-1¼ 202 Gr. or 9 Antonio Carter II 5-11¾ 207 Gr. or 13 Thomas Harper 5-10⅝ 195 Gr. RS 0 Xavier Watts 5-11¾ 204 Sr. or 11 Ramon Henderson 6-1 196 Sr. CB 20 Benjamin Morrison 6-0¼ 185 So. 29 Christian Gray 5-11¾ 189 Fr. or 6 Clarence Lewis 5-11½ 202 Sr. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Depth Chart Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 32 Spencer Shrader 6-1⅜ 200 Gr. 92 Zac Yoakam 5-8 188 So. K 32 Spencer Shrader 6-1⅜ 200 Gr. 92 Zac Yoakam 5-8 188 So. P 14 Bryce McFerson 6-1½ 197 So. 43 Ben Krimm 6-1⅛ 204 Gr. LS 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 242 Gr. 51 Rino Monteforte 5-7 195 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. H 14 Bryce McFerson 6-1½ 197 So. PR 4 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 192 Sr. 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 181 So. KR 22 Devyn Ford 5-11 200 Gr. 24 Jadarian Price 5-10⅜ 206 So. SPECIAL TEAMS