SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the second straight season, former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s team comes to South Bend and he is no longer leading it. Last year, injuries waylaid his final season at Boston College. This year, poor play led to Jurkovec being replaced by Penn State transfer Christian Veilleux.
That may have taken some of the narrative off Pittsburgh’s trip to Notre Dame, but with the Irish defense coming off its most dominant performance of the season in a 48-20 rout of USC two weeks ago, a sequel of that defensive highlight reel against a struggling Panthers offense should lead to some afternoon entertainment.
TV: NBC will begin coverage at 3:00 ET with the College Countdown pregame show before throwing to Notre Dame Stadium at 3:30. Maria Taylor will host the pregame show from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc.
Jac Collinsworth will lead the NBC booth at Notre Dame with Jason Garrett as his analyst and Zora Stephenson reporting from the sideline.
The game will also be streamed on Peacock.
TIME: The 3:32 ET kickoff will have some flavors of fall weather, but not quite as cold as much of the Midwest this weekend. Forecasts expect low-to-mid 50-degree temperatures with clouds adding some chill. In other words, the sellout crowd should be perfectly comfortable.
On that note, all nine of Notre Dame’s games this season have been sellouts to date, a stretch that should certainly reach 10 at Clemson next week.
PREVIEW: The similarities between Pittsburgh (2-5) this season and Jurkovec’s former team, Boston College last year, go far beyond his being replaced at quarterback. Both rely on the passing game because their running attacks are so putrid. The Panthers rank No. 112 in the country in expected points added per rushing attempt this season, effectively incapable of creating an explosive play running the ball, not even former Irish running back C’Bo Flemister breaking loose often enough.
Flemister had a season surprise last week, taking 23 carries for 105 yards, including one explosive play, but that was Pittsburgh’s only explosive rush against Wake Forest on 31 carries. In the Panthers’ last five games, they have had 139 running plays, breaking just two off for explosive gains.
Thus, Pittsburgh throws the ball for any offensive chunk gains, and it does not even do that well, ranking No. 85 in the country in EPA gained per dropback and succeeding on pass plays just 34.2 percent of the time, all numbers eerily comparable to Boston College’s offense last season.
The Panthers will then face the same problem the Eagles did, a problem that goes well beyond snow, obviously, given none is in the forecast today. Notre Dame has the best EPA pass defense in the country.
In his third career start, that will be too much a burden for Veilleux to carry, Pittsburgh’s offense somewhat designed to fail against this exact defense.
Friday at 4: "That's when we leave" may be the most notable but forgotten quote on Notre Dame football in the last decade.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 27, 2023
It'll be put to the test in the next decade. We just don't know who will be responding to that test.https://t.co/aPIEp7F8Xq
PREDICTION: With a spread of 20.5 points in Notre Dame’s favor and a combined points total Over/Under of 45.5, as of early Saturday morning, bookmakers are suggesting the Irish will win 33-12 or so.
Obviously, the 12 feels high, given how one-dimensional the Panthers are, a dimension Notre Dame is well-equipped to handle.
The possible returns to health of Irish junior receiver Jayden Thomas and freshman receiver Jaden Greathouse could help Irish quarterback Sam Hartman return to early-season form, both slowed by worrisome hamstrings throughout October, soft-tissue injuries that could obviously be rested a bit more during the idle week.
If so, that should be particularly pertinent against Pittsburgh’s defense, more vulnerable against the pass than the rush, though not exceptionally stout against either.
The prediction here of a shutout is somewhat an attempt at being dramatic, emphasizing how badly the Panthers’ offense should be overmatched. It is a callback to that final score against Boston College last season, Notre Dame routing the Eagles, 44-0. But it could also quickly become reality if Greathouse is back to 100 percent and able to find creases in the Pittsburgh defense.
Notre Dame 45, Pittsburgh 0.
Predictions record straight-up: 5-3; Against the spread: 4-4; Over/Under: 3-5.
Notre Dame record straight-up: 6-2; Against the spread: 6-2; Over/Under: 5-3.
Sometimes teams rush against you a lot because you have the No. 1 pass defense in the country (ND), and sometimes teams rush against you a lot because your rush defense is only okay, actually kinda bad (Pitt). https://t.co/74jI3X3x4J
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 24, 2023
INSIDE THE IRISH
— Notre Dame’s football future will be most determined by President Fr. John Jenkins’s successor
— Things To Learn: Defensive havoc could again spark Notre Dame’s offense, now healthier, against Pittsburgh— And In That Corner ... The Pittsburgh Panthers’ revived offense may present yet another Notre Dame headache
— Four flawed foes stand between Irish and a New Year’s Six appearance
— Notre Dame’s off week gives receivers a chance at health, needed for an inexplosive group
OUTSIDE READING
— Pittsburgh vs Notre Dame odds, picks, and predictions: Putting the D in Dame
— Notre Dame’s first female football leprechaun: Getting her shot
— Big kicks, heroic efforts and an iconic expletive: A look into Pitt’s recent trips to Notre Dame
— Michigan’s sign-stealing operation is a college football scandal to savor
— Sources: Michigan assistant at center of NCAA investigation purchased tickets to potential CFP opponents
— What could college athlete collective bargaining actually look like?
Re-gilding is over, but I decided to keep my time lapse camera going...'cuz...why not? This was 8am, Oct. 15. I've never seen the light/shadow on the Dome & Basilica quite like this. pic.twitter.com/bfLrVDCon9
— Matt Cashore (@mattcashore) October 26, 2023
