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✦ ON PAPER BY DAN MURPHY PITTSBURGH RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst seemed like a perfect fit for a football program that tra- ditionally likes to puts its offense in the hands of a work- horse running back. Chryst inherited a team unnaturally squeezed into a spread attack and is still in the rebuilding process when it comes to the power running game. Senior Ray Graham rushed for 622 yards in the first eight games despite starting the season at less than full strength after a knee injury last November. Freshman Rushel Shell became a regular contributor in October, splitting the lead role with Graham while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. The Irish are allowing 95.25 yards rushing per opponent, which puts them ninth nationally in that category. Senior linebackers Manti Te'o, Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese have combined for 150 tackles so far this season. Advantage: Notre Dame son as a starting quarterback for Pittsburgh. He completed 71 percent of his passes in his first two games against Notre Dame for a total of 437 yards. Sunseri's top target this year is redshirt junior Devin Street. He has made 50 catches and scored four times in the first eight games of the year. Fifth- year senior Mike Shanahan (6-5, 225) is another weapon, and he averages 17.1 yards per reception. Notre Dame's defense sacked Sunseri five times in 2011. PITTSBURGH PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Fifth-year senior Tino Sunseri is in his third complete sea- This year he has been taken down 2.5 times per game (90th in the Football Bowl Subdivision). Midseason All-American Stephon Tuitt should have a good opportunity to add to his team-high 8.5 sacks. The Irish secondary gave up 356 yards through the air to Oklahoma's Landry Jones, but no touchdowns. That young group remains the 11th best pass efficiency defense (102.3 rating) in the nation. Advantage: Notre Dame of 200 rushing yards per game this season. The Irish are currently are at 196.5. Senior Theo Riddick is the team's leading rusher with 525 NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. PITTSBURGH RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame is creeping very close to their magic number yards. Fellow backs Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III have been efficient with their carries, averaging 6.5 and 8.1 yards per touch, respectively. Pitt's top two tacklers, Jason Hendricks and Jared Holley, are both defensive backs, which is typically not a good Redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Street has emerged as the Panthers' top pass catcher, hauling in 50 receptions for 695 yards and four touch- downs in eight contests. PHOTO COURTESY PITT sign for a defense. The Panthers gave up 169 yards on the ground to FBS newcomer Buffalo Oct. 20 and 204 yards to Football Championship Subdivision school Youngstown State in a loss to start the season. Notre Dame is 24-1 in the past decade when it runs for more than 200 yards. The offense should be able to reach that mark again against the Panthers defense. Advantage: Notre Dame Panthers allow 198.9 yards per game through the air and keep most of their top talent in the defensive backfield. Hendricks and Holley are joined by Michigan transfer Ray Vinopal and veteran Andrew Taglianetti to form a very deep corps of safeties. Hendricks leads the group with a team-high four interceptions. Interceptions haven't been an issue for Notre Dame this season, no matter who is under center for the Irish. Junior Tommy Rees has one and sophomore Everett Golson has thrown only three of them. Golson took another step forward against a talented Oklahoma defense, but he still hasn't proven his ability to consistently move the ball through the air. Advantage: Pittsburgh NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PITTSBURGH PASS DEFENSE Pittsburgh's strength as a team is in its secondary. The ✦ PAGE 5 armor this season. The Irish have all but given up on return- ing punts during the past two years. Freshman Davonte' Neal averages 2.8 yards per attempt. He's only returned 12 punts so far this season due in part to a lack of blocking in front of him. Sophomore George Atkinson III, who returned two kick- SPECIAL TEAMS The return game continues to be a chink in Notre Dame's offs for touchdowns last season, has also been rendered ineffective by a lack of opportunity this season. He brought only eight kicks out of the end zone in the first seven games and averaged 19.4 yards per return. He missed the Okla- homa game with flu-like symptoms, but should be back this week. Pitt, on the other hand, had one of the best kick return- ers in the country in the first half of the season. Freshman Lafayette Pitts is ranked 19th in the nation with 27.8 yards per return. Advantage: Pittsburgh He inherited a program that has been on a downward spiral for the past five years and will need at least another year to establish the foundation he wants. His 0-3 start in Big East play isn't providing any help. Kelly has a program with an identity in South Bend, one COACHING Chryst is Pittsburgh's fourth coach in a three-year span. that looks to have found a way to avoid ugly losses to lesser opponents. His run-first mentality should give the Irish an edge at home. Advantage: Notre Dame next few weeks are a chance for Notre Dame to eliminate any doubts about its ability to dominate some weaker opponents. The Irish are coming off of a big win at Oklahoma, while INTANGIBLES Kelly said he's not concerned with style points, but the Pitt beat up on Buffalo and Temple in the weeks leading up to their trip to South Bend. Playing the spoiler role could be a big bonus for Chryst in his first year, but Notre Dame's vet- erans know how much is on the line each week in November. Advantage: Notre Dame PREDICTIONS Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 10 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 13 Wes Morgan: Notre Dame 35, Pittsburgh 7 Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 38, Pittsburgh 3