Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/204831
Game Preview: pittsburgh receivers such as Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, the Irish trailed 20-3 entering the fourth quarter at Pitt. In 2011, Notre Dame had only seven points going into the final quarter, but managed eight in the final frame to eke out a 15-12 win. Last year, Notre Dame had six points and zero touchdowns when it entered the final quarter versus Pitt. Led by senior defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who entered this November as the career sacks leader (26.5) among current Football Bowl Subdivision players, the Panthers defense will be expected to hold their own again versus an up-and-down Irish offense. In his first season as Pitt's defensive end/linebackers coach is 61-year-old John Palermo, who held the same post at Notre Dame in 1988-89 during the program's school record 23-game winning streak. In Notre Dame's national title season in 1988, Palermo molded two green sophomores — Chris Zorich and George Williams — plus a junior who also had zero career starts, Jeff Alm, into one of the nation's most dominant fronts. ✦ Predictions Tom Loy: Notre Dame 30, Pittsburgh 13 The Irish possess too many playmakers on offense — the combination of quarterback Tommy Rees, wide receiver TJ Jones, tight end Troy Niklas and running back George Atkinson will be too much for the Panthers to handle. If the Notre Dame defense can shutdown Pittsburgh's freshman playmaker Tyler Boyd, this should be an easy win for the Irish. Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 13 The Irish offense got a good jump-start from playing military academies in consecutive weeks. They head to Pittsburgh with confidence and an emerging group of ancillary weapons in the passing game. The big difference in this game will be Notre Dame's ability to get after the quarterback. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt and outside linebacker Prince Shembo should be able to post some big numbers against two young and inexperienced Panthers tackles. Andrew Owens: Notre Dame 24, Pittsburgh 10 Pittsburgh came awfully close to beating Notre Dame in each of Brian Kelly's first three seasons — the most notable of which was last year's triple-overtime thriller — but the Irish eventually prevailed in each contest. This year will be a little different. While the Irish won't blow out the Panthers, the revived Irish defense will suffocate the struggling Pittsburgh running game and limit quarterback Tom Savage's opportunities through the air. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 27, Pittsburgh 13 This is a year of "dues." Notre Dame was "due" to have a nail-biter against Michigan State after beating it by 18 and 17 the previous two years. It was "due" to lose to Oklahoma, against whom it was 9-1. It was "due" to beat USC at home for the first time in six tries. Now it's "due" to beat Pittsburgh more handily. Any victory by more than seven points in this series qualifies as a breather.