Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/598383
PITT RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The most effective running plays for the Panthers had quarterback Nate Peterman (eight carries for 60 yards) breaking containment or scrambling. He produced first-half runs of 26 and 27 yards, and an- other for 20 yards in the second half. In addition, star wideout Tyler Boyd (three carries for 42 yards) and freshman safety Jordan Whitehead (four carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns) were used resource- fully by the Pitt staff. With the more conventional runs, the Irish were stout, highlighted by limiting hard-charging 230-pound redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison to 32 yards on 12 carries. The Panthers of- fensive line was getting some push overall, but the top rushing plays were more ad-libbed. Still, the edge to Pitt for its 175 rushing yards while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. ADVANTAGE: Pitt PITT PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Our top stat of the game was the Irish limiting Pitt to 12-of-32 passing — a 37.5 percent completion rate that was way off quarterback Nate Peterman's season figure of 67.4 percent that had him ranked 15th nationally in that category. Peterman started 1-of-9 passing for eight yards and was 3-of-18 pass- ing for 44 yards in the first half. Senior defensive end Romeo Okwara also recorded a sack on an early flea-flicker attempt that took too long to develop, and another trick play attempt, by Boyd off a pitch, fell incomplete when it was well covered. Boyd, who was limited to one catch for nine yards in the first half, dropped a catchable fade into the end zone in the first half, but overall was well con- tained by Irish corners Cole Luke and KeiVarae Rus- sell, other than the late window-dressing 51-yard broken coverage when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Unlike junior wide receiver Will Fuller for the Irish, Boyd does not have a consistent, complementary No. 2 target that can take the burden off him in the passing game. The inability of the receiving targets to gain much separation was evident most of the game. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. PITT RUN DEFENSE This might have been the best between-the-tackle rushing performance by the Irish this season be- cause of the combination of the offensive line open- ing huge gaps and freshman running back Josh Ad- ams (20 carries for 147 yards) needing to replace the ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Junior linebacker Jaylon Smith and the Irish pres- sured Pitt quarterback Nate Peterman into a 3-of- 18 (16.7 percent) passing effort in the first half. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA