Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY THE NUMBERS TAKING A CLOSER LOOK Dame exited the first quar- ter with just three points, but the offense accumulated 145 yards — making for the team's second best quarter of the season at the time (the Irish piled up 180 yards in the fourth quarter). Dur- ing that opening period, six different players had touches with the offense utilizing dif- ferent looks and packages to create opportunities for all its weapons. • Controlling the tempo. What Worked • Spread the wealth. Notre The coaching staff has con- tinued to work on develop- ing consistency and better communication among the offensive unit, and it's shin- ing through more with each game. Notre Dame operated at peak efficiency during the first two drives and domi- nated the time of possession in the opening period with 11 minutes and 32 seconds of ball control. For the game, the Irish held a 35:23-24:37 ad- vantage in time of possession. • Pocket protection. Notre Dame's defensive front seven is a reliable unit in passing situations and was able to get to Pitt quarterback Tino Sun- seri on five occasions, but the Irish offensive line has proven to be just as effective with signal-caller Everett Golson only being taken down once by the Panthers. The sopho- more has the mobility and es- capability to get out of tough situations, but there were times when he had all day to make the throw due to his line's ability to pass protect. Quarterback Tommy Rees' ability to be a "two-minute man" has proven effective in previous contests and it was clear why head coach Brian Kelly made the call to have him close out the first half with less than a minute remaining, but the decision to have the junior start off the second half didn't work in the offensive unit's favor. After connecting on three straight passes to start the second half, the next three tries were two incompletions and an interception. By the time Golson returned to the What Didn't Work • Quarterback shuffle. game, two-thirds of the third quarter had expired. • Forcing a one-dimensional attack. Notre Dame's defense has done a phenomenal job throughout the season lim- iting the ground game, par- ticularly against top-10 op- ponent Oklahoma the week before the Pitt game. How- ever, the Panthers were able to make plays on the ground and rushed for 4.4 yards per carry — creating opportuni- ties in the passing game. As the game progressed, the Irish defense gained more control and was able to limit the run- ning lanes and disrupt the bal- anced attack. • Disciplined performance. The Irish went from having one penalty in the win over Oklahoma to six against Pitts- burgh, most of which were costly. Among the drive killers were a defensive pass inter- ference on third down to put the Panthers in the red zone and a holding call on senior Cierre Wood's long run that would've been the equiva- lent of Ray Graham's 55-yard scamper early in the game. — Jason Sapp BY LOU SOMOGYI