Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh: Key Matchups and Game Predictions

SportsGrid

Watch Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh: Key Matchups and Game Predictions - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00In the Midwest here, Notre Dame, whose schedule looks a little beefier now

00:04than maybe we thought towards the back end with an undefeated Navy team

00:08or a one-loss Navy team that they were taking on, USC, who's looked better,

00:11and now Pitt, who is ranked.

00:13Pitt, the next three weeks, every team I was looking at was like,

00:15man, they've got to play Pitt.

00:16They've got to play Pitt.

00:17And I'm like, well, man, Pitt's got to play all these teams.

00:19They've got Notre Dame.

00:20They've got Georgia Tech.

00:21They've got Miami.

00:23I mean, the road in the ACC goes through Pittsburgh.

00:26Notre Dame, almost a two-touchdown favorite.

00:29Any chance for Pitt to maybe pull off an upset at home,

00:32even though they've been a little beaten up on the defensive side of the ball?

00:36Here is the chance, Bobby, for the Panthers.

00:38It's one of the best rushing defenses in the country,

00:40just allowing a little bit more than 80 yards per game.

00:43On average, third best in FBS college football.

00:46But where Pitt has been absolutely stifling is yards per carry.

00:50The only team in the country allowing fewer than 2.4 yards per pop on the ground.

00:55It's 2.39.

00:56Pitt has brought that physicality that we can often correlate with a Pat Narduzzi team.

01:02Now, the mantra and the mentality that Narduzzi shared early in the week

01:06about the importance of said game against the Irish,

01:09not how I would have framed things in this conversation,

01:11but I do believe in what Narduzzi is saying,

01:14and I believe Pittsburgh is going to be ready for this game.

01:17But being ready and making the plays when necessary against an Irish offense

01:22that still wants to construct things on the ground,

01:24Jeremiah Love has been berserk the last five games, averaging better than 129 yards per pop.

01:30He has scored a touchdown in every single game for the Irish outside of the opener against Miami.

01:34That is how Pittsburgh stays in the game.

01:36Can they slow down, not stop, but slow down that fighting Irish rushing attack,

01:41and make C.J. Carr, who has looked great in his first year as that starter at the quarterback spot for the Irish,

01:46beat them in a difficult road environment?

01:49I think Notre Dame wins.

01:51I think Notre Dame wins by double digits.

01:53Can they get over the 11.5 or 12.5 point spread to cover by two touchdowns?

01:58That's the question.

01:59I really believe in what this Irish team has done.

02:01The seven wins this season since the opening two losses of the year

02:04by an average margin of better than 26 points per game.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended