Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/208902
longest active streak in the nation and tied for second longest in Notre Dame history. The previous Irish loss by seven or fewer points was an 18-14 setback to Florida State in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. 11 Tackles by freshman outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, a career high, with seven of them solo. It was the third time in the last five games he's paced the Irish in stops. Smith also had a teamhigh nine stops in the 37-34 victory over Arizona State (Oct. 5) and tied for the team lead against Air Force (Oct. 26) with eight. 28:18 Minutes and seconds Notre Dame's opponent has controlled the ball more than the Irish the past two games, or almost a full half. Pitt held a 36:33 to 23:27 advantage in time of possession a week after Navy held the ball 37:36 to Notre Dame's 22:24. 80 Yards covered on Rees' touchdown pass to senior wide receiver TJ Jones with 3:21 left in the third quarter to give Notre Dame its final lead of the game at 21-14. It also made Rees the first Irish quarterback ever to complete two touchdown passes of at least 80 yards (82 yards to DaVaris Daniels at Purdue Sept. 14) on the road in the same season. 143-146 Notre Dame has scored 143 points in the last six meetings with Pitt since 2008, while the Panthers have tallied 146. Not surprisingly, both teams won three games in those six contests. The seven-point victory by Pitt this year was the largest margin of victory in those six games. There will be no "best of seven" series meeting in 2014, but Notre Dame is scheduled to visit Pitt again in 2015. 149 Receiving yards by Jones, on six catches, eclipsing his previous career high of 138 set in this year's season opener against Temple Aug. 31. Jones also caught a touchdown pass in his seventh consecutive game, one short of the school record set by Jeff Samardzija in 2005 and tied by Golden Tate in 2009. Freshman linebacker Jaylon Smith paced the Irish defense in tackles for the third time this season, making 11 stops (seven solo) against the Panthers. photo by bill panzica