Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541365
18 NOV. 22, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER JAMES AND JACK SOBLE E ven the good moments for No. 22 Pitt in its 37-15 loss to No. 9 Notre Dame led to bad moments for the Panthers. What appeared to be Pitt's first touch- down of the game didn't stand upon re- play when officials ruled wide receiver Raphael "Poppi" Williams Jr.'s diving touchdown came after his knee forced him down inside the 1-yard line. The yel- low seats in Pitt's student section started to empty following the replay ruling. Those who left Acrisure Stadium, the shared home of the Panthers and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, missed Pitt's actual first touchdown five plays later. Pitt junior linebacker Rasheem Biles picked off Notre Dame redshirt fresh- man quarterback CJ Carr and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown. But even then, disaster followed for Pitt. Notre Dame redshirt sophomore safety Adon Shuler intercepted a two- point conversion attempt and returned it more than 100 yards to give the Irish (8-2) a 30-9 lead. More student section seats in the north end zone of Acrisure Stadium emptied. Repeatedly, Notre Dame's superior athletes came up with big plays to prevent Pitt (7-3) from making the game compet- itive. Junior running back Jeremiyah Love ripped off a magnificent 56-yard touch- down run to open the scoring for Notre Dame in the first quarter. A brilliant spin move allowed Love to avoid safety Kavir Bains-Marquez and run away from the rest of the Pitt defenders. Love finished with 23 carries for 147 yards and 1 touchdown on a day the Irish collectively totaled 198 yards and 2 touchdowns on 36 carries. Notre Dame rushed for 4.9 yards per carry against a Pitt team that led the nation in fewest yards allowed per carry (2.39) entering the game. "It was like we had to fight and grit for every yard," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "Then all of a sudden, Jeremiyah's gonna break one. That's what he does. He's gonna break a tackle. He's gonna make a play." Redshirt freshman safety Tae Johnson doubled Notre Dame's lead on the first play of Pitt's ensuing drive. He antici- pated a throw by true freshman quar- terback Mason Heintschel, intercepted it and returned it 49 yards to give the Irish a 14-0 lead with 7:59 left in the first quarter. "It's always big for the defense if we can help the offense out by putting points on the board," Johnson said. "That's our main thing is just to help the offense by stopping the other offense. If we get opportunities to get points our- selves to do that." Notre Dame caused problems for Heintschel repeatedly throughout the day. The Irish sacked him three times in the first half — twice by redshirt junior defensive end Joshua Burnham and once by Shuler — and forced him to leave the pocket throughout the game. Notre Dame forced 11 quarterback hurries by game's end and another sack in second half. Redshirt senior wide receiver Malachi Fields provided multiple big moments for Notre Dame's passing game. He helped the Irish convert a third-and-15 on the last play of the first quarter with a leaping catch that required nearly ev- ery inch of his extended left arm. "I don't even think Malachi thought he was going to catch that ball," Love said of his teammate. "It was a crazy catch. I love to see stuff like that. I love to see guys make spectacular plays on offense and defense. "Malachi made a great play. Just crazy play. It was the best play of the game in my opinion." Fields made another leaping catch on a 25-yard touchdown late in the second quarter when Carr took advantage of Pitt's defense jumping offside prior to the snap. Fields added a second touch- down on Notre Dame's first drive of the second half with a 6-yard reception on third-and-goal. He finished with a game-high 7 catches for 99 yards. Pitt tried to mount a rally with a 14- play, 74-yard drive that ended with Williams' near touchdown on fourth- and-goal, but the Panthers failed to score on offense until the final play of the game. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi INFLICTING PAIN ON PITT Big Notre Dame plays carry the Irish to a 37-15 victory over the Panthers Junior running back Jeremiyah Love ripped off a magnificent 56-yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame a 7-0 lead over the Panthers midway through the first quarter. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT