Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 15, 2025 35 GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH BY TYLER JAMES PITT RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Pittsburgh hasn't really been able to rely on its running game all season. Senior running back Des- mon Reid, who rushed for 962 yards last season, has been limited due to injury throughout the season. That opened the door for freshman run- ning back Ja'Kyrian Turner, who became the first 100-yard rusher of the season for Pittsburgh in the 35-20 victory over Stanford Nov. 1. Turner, who rushed for 127 yards against the Car- dinal, accounted for nearly one-third of his season total of rushing yards in the Stanford game alone. Turner became Pittsburgh's top running threat in October and upped his per-carry average to 4.5 in the Stanford game. If Reid, who reached 266 rushing yards on 55 carries in six games, can play against Notre Dame, maybe it will give the Panthers a better chance of breaking through against a tough Irish run defense. Pittsburgh needs all the help it can get after aver- aging 124.2 yards per game, which ranks outside the top 100 in the FBS in rushing offense. Notre Dame's run defense started tightening up in October. Boise State reached 100 yards Oct. 4, but North Carolina State (51 yards), Southern Cal (68) and Boston College (12) all rushed for fewer than 2.5 yards per carry against the Irish. The dominant performance against the Eagles lifted Notre Dame to No. 12 in the country in rushing defense (89.6 rushing yards allowed per game). Notre Dame hasn't missed redshirt senior de- fensive tackle Gabriel Rubio as an anchor on the defensive interior. Redshirt seniors Jason Onye and Jared Dawson, redshirt junior Donovan Hinish and junior Elijah Hughes have all stepped up to play quality roles in preventing offensive lines from controlling the line of scrimmage. Junior linebacker Drayk Bowen and sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa really settled into their roles and have shut down running plays in a hurry. Both set career highs in tackles against Boston College Nov. 1, with Bowen making 14 solo tackles and Viliamu-Asa totaling 9 stops. Advantage: Notre Dame PITT PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Despite a terrible start to the season, Notre Dame's pass defense has surged into the top third of the FBS in passing efficiency defense. That's in large part due to the Irish grabbing the national lead for total interceptions (16) through the first 10 weeks of the season. Notre Dame ended Sep- tember with a passing efficiency defense rating of 132.66, which ranked No. 79 in the country. In the first week of November, Notre Dame had climbed up to 30th with a rating of 118.74. The Irish defense will be tasked with slowing down the driving force behind Pittsburgh winning five straight games after consecutive losses to West Virginia and Louisville. After those losses, head coach Pat Narduzzi put freshman quarter- back Mason Heintschel into the starting lineup, and the success was immediate. In his first five starts, Heintschel threw for 1,511 yards and 12 touchdowns on 115-of-180 passing (63.9 percent) with 5 interceptions. Heintschel's top two wide receivers are junior Kenny Johnson (37 catches for 573 yards and 4 touchdowns) and redshirt senior Raphael "Poppi" Williams Jr. (36-525-6). Johnson lines up mostly to the boundary, so he'll likely be matched up against star sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore. That means Williams may be targeted more frequently in the slot. The combination of redshirt senior DeVonta Smith and freshman Dallas Golden will have to account for Williams with possible help from the safeties. Where Notre Dame can turn this matchup into an advantage is by exposing Pitt's shaky pass pro- tection. The Panthers have allowed nearly 3 sacks per game, and Notre Dame's defense has been On PaPer Senior running back Desmond Reid, who rushed for 962 yards last season, has been limited this year due to injury and had just 266 yards on 55 carries in six games played. PHOTO COURTESY PITTSBURGH ATHLETICS