Bruce's Take - Notre Dame Pummels Pitt 37-15 in Dominant Road Performance
- Bruce Straughan
- 4 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Coming into this game, there was a lot of weirdness to start the week with Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi stating that "It is not an ACC game. I'd gladly get beaten 103 or 110 -10 in that game. They could put up 100 on us as long as we win the next two after that."
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
If that wasn't bad enough, he appeared on the Pat McAfee show and explained that the statement was made because he was "trying to take the pressure off the team," and then followed it up with, "I don't like pressure." You heard that right, a Head Coach at the collegiate level of football openly admitted he didn't like pressure. So, to say the Pitt game week started weird would be an understatement.
Pitt received the opening kickoff and started at their own 25-yard line. They went on an up-tempo offense, getting downfield pretty quickly, with the Irish defense starting slow. Pitt took the Notre Dame defense into deep water right away until the Irish stopped them on 3rd down at the Notre Dame's 38-yard line. Pitt decided to go for it and was denied when Joshua Burnham sacked Pitt QB Mason Heintschel for a turnover on downs. The Irish defense dug its heels in the ground and shut down the Panthers' offense, something that would continue all game long.
I have to say that it may very well be time to officially retire the Chris Ash hate and put away the "Fire Ash" chants for Irish fans. Ash had this defense ready to play from the opening whistle to the final seconds in the 4th quarter, something we all expected and were waiting on since week one from this defense. The players were motivated, physical, fast, and had great pursuit of the ball the entire game. Adon Shuler, with his jarring hit that caused an incompletion, followed by his pick-two on a Pitt two-point conversion try, and Tae Johnson's pick-six were the stars of the day for me. Adon has always had great instincts and has been a gamer, but Tae Johnson is really coming into his own, and I believe he will be a special talent in his own right as he continues to grow each week.
The Notre Dame offense, although scoring 30 points on the day, had some ups and downs throughout the course of this game. The play calling at times was head-scratching. Case in point, the decision to roll CJ Carr out for an incomplete pass in the endzone to TE Eli Raridon on 4th and inches. This left many Notre Dame fans across social media wondering, "What the heck was that?". Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock continues to get cute at times when basic football play calling is all you need in that situation. Also, is it too much to ask to permanently delete the WR screen pass from the Notre Dame playbook? I mean, enough is enough already!
Carr looked shaky at times, and you could tell that the pressure from the Pitt blitzes was making him uncomfortable. He also tends to stare down receivers or the area he is going to lead them to or throw it to, which led to an interception today when he noticeably stared down TE Eli Raridon, leading him to the middle of the field, which allowed a Pitt defender to jump it and come up with an interception. Carr also, at times, has held onto the ball way too long and has to learn that when a play breaks down and defenders are on him, to either get rid of it or just take a sack and live to fight another down. These are both very fixable, and in some ways can be expected as his development as a starting QB at this level continues.
Jeremiyah Love and Malachi Fields were, without a doubt, the stars of this game. Jeremiyah Love continues to make Heisman-caliber plays on a game-to-game basis. This time, on a 56-yard rushing touchdown with a spin move that put a Pitt defender on ice skates. While Malachi Fields made two of the best catches you'll ever see, both on free plays due to Pitt defenders being offside. Fields is the true physical go-up and get-it type of WR that Notre Dame has been missing since the days of Michael Floyd. It's just a shame we only get his services for this year before he's off to the league, so enjoy it while it lasts.
The kicking game continues to be an issue and appears to be much like a hitter's slump in baseball, which is usually a mental matter of getting into one's own head. It has now become a full-on psychological problem and has to be addressed one way or another before it bites them. With that being said, I also don't believe that Head Coach Marcus Freeman did the young kicker any favors by trotting an already shaky kicker out there for a long 46-yard FG attempt. Sure, you want to build his confidence, but that should be inside 30 yards or less with a problem as big as the Irish's kicking game.
Outside of those few deficiencies, there really isn't a lot to complain about when you go into a Top-25 opponent's stadium and beat them in blowout fashion. If this team could find a way to play a complete game of football in all three phases of the game, I'm convinced they could beat anyone in the country. The problem is they have yet to do so this season. Will they? Only time will tell, but if this team continues to grow week to week and the defense of today remains for the rest of the season, I really like their chances of making a long playoff run. But before that can happen, Syracuse and Stanford remain in the way.
On to the next one...
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