Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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3 Straight games Notre Dame has scored on its opening possession. Its first play against USC (Oct. 17) was a 75-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Will Fuller; at Temple (Oct. 31), sopho- more quarterback DeShone Kizer scored on a four- yard run to cap a 74-yard march; and at Pittsburgh, Kizer connected with Fuller on a 47-yard scoring pass on the third play to end another 75-yard march. The Irish opted to take the ball, rather than defer until the second half, when it won the coin toss. BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI What Worked • Attacking The Pressure. In Notre Dame's 24-20 victory over Temple, the offense often stalled as a result of the aggressive pressure the Owls brought. Pittsburgh came into this matchup with a similar philosophy and designed its own aggressive blitz package. This time, Notre Dame had answers, and it re- sulted in the Irish gashing the Panthers defense. The Irish were more aggressive with their downhill run game, executing two early quick-pitch plays for good gains and hitting Pitt with multiple quick- trap runs. They also reached back into their playbook ar- chives and pulled out the sprint draw for the first time all season, and the result was a 25-yard gain by freshman running back Josh Adams. Notre Dame was able to create creases in the Pitt defensive front seven, opening up enough room for the Irish backs to pound out 175 yards — the most the Panthers allowed this season against a non-option offense. • Disrupting Pitt's Quarterback. Pittsburgh was unable to answer Notre Dame's early onslaught, allowing the Irish to jump out to a 21-3 halftime lead. The Panthers were able to generate a number of big plays but were unable to reach the end zone. A key reason was Notre Dame's ability to disrupt quarterback Nate Peterman. The Irish sacked Pe- terman three times and generated another eight QB hurries. Unable to get comfortable, Peterman finished the first half by completing just 3 of 18 passes for 44 yards. Notre Dame mixed up how it came after Peter- man, which kept the redshirt junior quarterback from getting comfortable in the pocket. It brought a number of inside pressures and utilized standout linebacker Jaylon Smith more effectively. Smith had two QB hurries in the first half, both of which resulted in incompletions and stalled Pitt drives. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder also uti- lized a number of aggressive line stunts, freeing up the defensive ends to get into the backfield. Notre Dame's ends finished the game with two sacks and four QB hurries, giving the Irish a true inside-out defensive attack. What Didn't Work • Big Plays Plague The Defense. Notre Dame continues to struggle with allowing big plays. Pitts- burgh finished the game with nine plays of at least 20 yards, and the Panthers were able to do it in a number of ways. Peterman ripped off QB scrambles of 27 and 26 yards, while wide receiver Tyler Boyd had a 37- yard run on a jet sweep and a 51-yard touchdown reception. Tight end J.P. Holtz also got into the action, hauling in receptions of 27 and 21 yards. • Not Finishing. The victory was not quite as close as it appeared. Notre Dame had a commanding 42-17 fourth-quarter lead before allowing Boyd's 51-yard touchdown grab on a blown coverage. On Notre Dame's ensuing possession, freshman backup quarterback Brandon Wimbush fumbled, and Pittsburgh defensive end Ejuan Price returned it 32 yards for a score. The Irish did, however, re- cover the onside kick to put the game away. — Bryan Driskell TAKING A CLOSER LOOK