Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH strated that if the Irish are not prepared physically and mentally the week af- ter the emotional showdown at Okla- homa, it could haunt them against the Panthers. depth at safety this year that it gradu- ated first-round pick Harrison Smith and then lost two of its top three re- turnees in Jamoris Slaughter (Achil- les tendon) and Austin Collinsworth (shoulder) to season-ending injuries, yet has still been able to excel at the position, led by senior Zeke Motta and sophomore Matthias Farley. Pitt also has similar "safeties in num- It's a testament to Notre Dame's SAFETIES IN NUMBERS bers." Although it is generally not consid- ered ideal for safeties to be the top two tacklers on the team, the Panthers this year are leaning heavily on four vet- eran safeties on a defense that ranked 32nd overall (342.14 yards allowed per game) and 39th in scoring (22.43 points allowed per game) during a 3-4 start. Redshirt junior safety Jason Hen- could be junior lineman Aaron Donald, who recorded 11 sacks last season to go with 11 quarterback pressures. A knee injury slowed him earlier this season, but Donald still had 10 QB hurries in the first six games he played. However, for overall strongest posi- Pitt's top defender for the next level faces Pitt, the game has always turned out to come down to the closing minutes: • With Kelly's 2007 Cincinnati team leading When Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Pitt rallied to a 24- 17 victory. • In 2008, the River City Rivalry saw Cincinnati edge Pitt, 28-21, to claim the Big East crown over the Panthers and go to the Orange Bowl. • In one of the most exciting games in 2009, tion group, safety would get the nod at Pitt. ✦ dricks leads the Panthers in tackles with 48 (31 solo) and interceptions with four, while fifth-year senior safety Jarred Holley is right behind with 42 (24 solo) stops to go with an intercep- tion. Fifth-year senior Andrew Taglianetti started six games at safety for Pitt last year and has 73 stops the past two seasons, while Michigan transfer Ray Vinopal, who started six games for the Wolverines as a true freshman in 2010, fortifies the overall depth, including the nickel and dime packages. 11-0 and No. 5 Cincinnati rallied from 31-10, 38-24 and 44-38 deficits at No. 14 Pitt to re- cord a 45-44 triumph. The winning score came with 33 seconds left on a 29-yard touchdown pass. Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard amassed 374 all-purpose yards — yet much of the attention was on whether Kelly would be interested in the recently vacated Notre Dame position. • At Notre Dame, Kelly and the Irish held on for a 23-17 victory at home in 2010 when a fourth-down pass with 1:07 was broken up by cornerback Gary Gray deep in Pitt territory. • In 2011, the Irish trailed 12-7 at Pitt when sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees com- pleted all eight of his pass attempts on an 85- yard touchdown march that ended with a six- yard toss to junior tight end Tyler Eifert, plus a two-point conversion to Eifert, with 6:48 left. Pitt moved to the Notre Dame 40 on the next series before two Irish sacks halted the drive. — Lou Somogyi