SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame never let Christian Veilleux think long enough to make less disastrous choices. The Irish defensive line knew Pittsburgh does not have a potent running game, so it pinned its ears back pursuing the Panthers quarterback all Saturday afternoon. Veilleux may have been better off taking sacks rather than repeatedly heaving the ball toward Notre Dame’s defensive backs, as his four interceptions sparked the Irish (7-2) to their 58-7 rout.
By game’s end, those four interceptions and the 17 resulting points were hardly the difference, but they underscored Pittsburgh’s hopelessness, overmatched along both lines.
The fault did not lie completely with Veilleux, making his third career start in place of former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Injuries forced Pittsburgh (2-6) to shuffle its offensive line this week, a unit that was already struggling and one exposed by the Panthers’ inability to run the ball. Pittsburgh managed one rush of more than 10 yards, validating the aggressive Irish defensive front. Former Notre Dame running back C’Bo Flemister took eight carries for 24 yards with a long rush of 11 yards, coming off more than 100 yards last week in a season-high.
Those relentless pass rushes forced Veilleux into three first-half interceptions, including two to senior safety Xavier Watts, his second straight game with a pair of picks. Notre Dame freshman cornerback Christian Gray added an acrobatic takeaway in the first half, and sophomore cornerback Jaden Mickey returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter, the second Irish defensive touchdown in the last two games.
Gray and Mickey saw more playing time than usual with sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison sidelined by a strained quad, a game-time decision.
“We’re getting really close (to our defensive potential),” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. “The hard part about it is, are you ever going to be perfect? No. But that’s what we’re chasing. We’re chasing perfection.
“It’s a bunch of coaches and players that aren’t satisfied, that constantly are striving to improve. That’s the spirit. That’s the sense of urgency we have to improve. It’s not just to win.”
Holding Pittsburgh to 255 total yards, sacking Veilleux twice and rushing him three more times, notching six total tackles for loss, led by safety Thomas Harper’s pair, may not have been perfection, but it kept Pittsburgh far from any version of success. Another example: The Panthers went 1-of-11 on third down.
Notre Dame added two special teams touchdowns to bring the non-offensive scores tally to five in the last two games, Chris Tyree’s 82-yard punt return beginning Saturday’s rout, calming any nerves after the first Irish drive ended with a Sam Hartman interception in the red zone. The second Notre Dame drive would end the same way, coming after Tyree’s punt return.
But the Irish did not need Hartman to be firing on all cylinders Saturday, not as long as the defensive front could so harangue Veilleux. Veilleux completed just 14 of 29 passes for 127 yards. Hartman was obviously better than that, completing 18 of 25 for 288 yards, though junior running back Audric Estimé capitalized most on those quality drives, scoring three times, taking 19 total carries for 114 yards.
It could have been more for Estimé if his own defense had been more accommodating.
“It’s great honestly when somebody like Xavier Watts can get an interception and take it down to the one-yard line and I can get a one-yard touchdown,” Estimé said after scoring his 10th, 11th and 12th touchdowns of the year. “That’s what you want to ask for, you can’t ask for anything better than that.”
The Notre Dame single-season record for rushing touchdowns is 17, shared by Allen Pinkett in 1984 and Vagas Ferguson in 1979.
“A couple of [carries] I was in there, the O-line was in there,” Estimé said. “I felt like we’re finishing — we started some things, finishing the game with the brothers I started the season with.”
Pittsburgh found the end zone only when Veilleux went to the bench, the rout far beyond redemption.
"We were up 17-nothing (at halftime), and I didn't think we had performed," Marcus Freeman says, pleased the Irish responded in the second half.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 28, 2023
41-7 second half.
GAME SUMMARY
First Quarter
7:18 — Notre Dame touchdown. Chris Tyree 82-yard punt return. Spencer Shrader point after. Notre Dame 7, Pittsburgh 0.
Second Quarter
10:07 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 15-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 14, Pittsburgh 0. (4 plays, 63 yards, 1:35)
0:00 — Notre Dame field goal. Spencer Shrader 23 yards. Notre Dame 17, Pittsburgh 0. (4 plays, 25 yards, 1:31)
Third Quarter
11:07 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jadarian Price 10-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 24, Pittsburgh 0. (3 plays, 80 yards, 1:33)
10:12 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jaden Mickey 43-yard interception return. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 0.
8:21 — Notre Dame touchdown. Ramon Henderson fumble recovery. Shrader point after no good. Notre Dame 37, Pittsburgh 0.
2:21 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 3-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 44, Pittsburgh 0. (7 plays, 45 yards, 4:07)
Fourth Quarter
9:47 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 5-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 51, Pittsburgh 0. (8 plays, 84 yards, 5:06)
8:18 — Pittsburgh touchdown. Konata Mumpfield 25-yard pass from Nate Yarnell. Ben Sauls point after. Notre Dame 51, Pittsburgh 7. (3 plays, 75 yards, 1:29)
3:41 — Notre Dame touchdown. Cooper Flanagan 19-yard pass from Steve Angeli. Zac Yoakam point after. Notre Dame 58, Pittsburgh 7. (8 plays, 63 yards, 4:30)