Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 NOV. 15, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH averaging 3.5 per game after the first two losses of the season. Redshirt sophomore defensive end Boubacar Traore, who tallied 6.5 sacks through the first eight games, doesn't have to be the main pass rush pres- ence for Notre Dame. The linebackers have been a critical part of the pass rush since late September. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. PITT RUN DEFENSE The last time Pitt played, it wrecked Stanford's offense for a net total of minus-10 rushing yards on 27 carries. That total was influenced by 5 sacks for a loss of 46 yards, but a 36-yard rushing perfor- mance was still a bad look for Stanford. The Pan- thers have been dominant with their run defense all season long. They've held six opponents to less than 80 rushing yards this season. The three teams who have surpassed that total each doubled it: West Virginia (174), Florida State (170) and North Carolina State (161). Can Notre Dame join those three teams in reach- ing at least 150 rushing yards? On a good day for Notre Dame running backs Jeremiyah Love, a junior, and Jadarian Price, a redshirt junior, that might not require more than a handful of runs each. But Pitt will almost certainly try to stack the box and invite redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr to try to beat the Panthers with his arm. That could cause problems for Notre Dame's run game. That's what Boston College did, and the Irish averaged 2.32 yards per carry outside of the 94-yard touchdown run by Love. Notre Dame can't guarantee a breakaway run like that for Love or Price, but it will always be a possibility if they can get to the second level against a stacked box. Notre Dame should try to get a body on junior linebacker Braylan Lovelace, who leads Pitt with 55 tackles, to give its running backs more chances to break free. Though it's certainly possible that the Irish can win this matchup, Notre Dame's offensive line might not be trending in the right direction with redshirt sophomore Sullivan Absher playing left guard while redshirt junior captain Billy Schrauth is sidelined. The Irish need to eliminate mistakes up front to meet the challenge of Pittsburgh's defensive line. Advantage: Pitt NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PITT PASS DEFENSE The best way to beat Pitt's defense is through the air. The Panthers have allowed 237.4 passing yards per game, which is comfortably in the bottom third of the FBS. Five teams have thrown for more yards than that average against Pitt: Louisville (339), Stanford (336), North Carolina State (284), West Virginia (260) and Florida State (240). Pitt tries to cover up for a vulnerable secondary with a strong pass rush. The Panthers totaled 24 sacks in their first nine games. That average of 2.67 per game was tied for 22nd in the FBS heading into Week 11. Notre Dame's offensive line, which only allowed 1.25 sacks per game through eight games, will OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 0 Malachi Fields 6-4 222 R-Sr. 5 Cam Williams 6-2 200 R-Fr. WR 1 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 215 Jr. or 2 Will Pauling 5-10 190 R-Sr. LT 54 Anthonie Knapp 6-4 300 So. 71 Styles Prescod 6-6 292 R-Fr. LG 75 Sullivan Absher 6-8 327 R-So. 55 Chris Terek 6-6 322 R-So. C 64 Joe Otting 6-4 308 R-So. 57 Cam Herron 6-2 285 Fr. RG 76 Guerby Lambert 6-7 335 R-Fr. or 75 Sullivan Absher 6-8 327 R-So. RT 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 300 R-Jr. 76 Guerby Lambert 6-7 335 R-Fr. TE 9 Eli Raridon 6-7 252 Sr. 7 Ty Washington 6-4 248 R-Jr. or 85 Jack Larsen 6-3 250 R-Fr. WR 6 Jordan Faison 5-10 185 Jr. 11 KK Smith 6-0 176 R-So. QB 13 CJ Carr 6-3 210 R-Fr. 8 Kenny Minchey 6-2 208 R-So. RB 4 Jeremiyah Love 6-0 214 Jr. 24 Jadarian Price 5-11 210 R-Jr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 5 Boubacar Traore 6-4 250 R-So. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-2 255 Sr. or 12 Jordan Botelho 6-3 260 R-Sr. DT 47 Jason Onye 6-5 302 R-Sr. 42 Cole Mullins 6-5 275 Fr. DT 41 Donovan Hinish 6-2 277 R-Jr. 93 Jared Dawson 6-1 288 R-Sr. DE 95 Bryce Young 6-7 271 So. 40 Joshua Burnham 6-4 260 R-Jr. WILL 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-2 230 R-Jr. 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-2 228 R-So. MIKE 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 235 Jr. 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6-3 230 So. CB 15 Leonard Moore 6-2 195 So. 18 Chance Tucker 6-0 183 R-Sr. BS 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 205 R-So. 28 Luke Talich 6-4 210 Jr. FS 9 Tae Johnson 6-2 192 R-Fr. 7 Jalen Stroman 6-1 201 R-Sr. CB 6 Christian Gray 6-0 190 Jr. 24 Mark Zackery IV 5-11 175 Fr. NIC 0 DeVonta Smith 5-11 195 R-Sr. 14 Dallas Golden 6-0 187 Fr. SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 210 Fr. PK 98 Noah Burnette 5-10 185 R-Sr. P 16 James Rendell 6-6 225 Sr. 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 210 Fr. LS 96 Joseph Vinci 6-4 232 Fr. 49 Andrew Kros 6-4 225 Jr. H 10 Tyler Buchner 6-1 206 Sr. 16 Anthony Rezac 6-3 201 So. PR 6 Jordan Faison 5-10 185 Jr. or 2 Will Pauling 5-10 190 R-Sr. KR 4 Jeremiyah Love 6-0 214 Jr. or 24 Jadarian Price 5-11 210 R-Jr. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART Redshirt senior wide receiver Raphael "Poppi" Williams Jr. hauled in 36 receptions for 525 yards and a team-high 6 touchdowns during the Panthers' 7-2 start. PHOTO COURTESY PITTSBURGH ATHLETICS