Notre Dame at Pittsburgh Game Preview

 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh Game Preview

        College GameDay heads to Pittsburgh this Saturday as the Panthers take on Notre Dame at 12:00, on ABC. This match-up has high-stakes implications when it comes to the overall playoff picture. They key match-ups and stakes will be discussed here, along with a prediction.

    The Stakes:                Notre Dame is currently in the playoff at No. 9 in the country, though it is questionable whether they deserve to be ranked that high. As it is, though, if they win out, they are in the playoff just a year after making it all the way to the National Championship Game. If they lose a game, though, their season is pretty much over. This game at Pittsburgh is probably their toughest game left on their schedule, so the stakes in this game for the Fighting Irish are simple: win, and you have a clear path to the playoff; lose, and your playoff hopes are dead. For the Pittsburgh Panthers, the stakes are a little more complicated. As this is a nonconference game for Pittsburgh, it has no impact on their chances to win the ACC. If they can win the ACC, they get an automatic bid to the playoff. For that reason, this game is considerably less important for the Panthers than their last two games, at Georgia Tech and at home against Miami, are. This game only matters for Pittsburgh if they go 10-2 and miss the ACC Championship Game, as, if they do that, they may have a case for an at-large bid. However, I am not sure that that can even happen, as there are a lot of confusing tiebreakers about who would make the ACC Championship Game in that scenario, and I am uncertain about whether Pittsburgh would get in or not, and what would have to happen for them to get left out. For these reasons, this game means a lot more for Notre Dame than it does for Pittsburgh. 

    When Notre Dame has the Ball:       When the Fighting Irish are in possession of the football, they will be led at quarterback by C.J. Carr. Carr stepped into the starting quarterback role this season following the departure of Riley Leonard, and has done a fairly impressive job. On the year, he has thrown 225 passes with 152 completions for 2,275 yards with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has been efficient, averaging 10.1 yards per attempt. The Fighting Irish rank 26th in the country in passing offense with him directing it. As a passer, he has been decidedly better than Leonard was last year for this Notre Dame team. Jordan Faison is his top receiver, with 43 receptions for 545 yards and three touchdowns. Malachi Fields, who has 23 receptions for 497 yards and three touchdowns, and tight end Eli Raridon, who has 24 receptions for 406 yards, are also solid contributors. On the ground, just like last year, running back Jeremiyah Love has been a force for the Fighting Irish. So far in 2025, he has amassed 988 rushing yards on 154 attempts and 13 touchdowns. He has been efficient, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Jadarian Price has been an excellent backup running back, carrying the ball 95 times for 568 yards and nine touchdowns. Together, they have led Notre Dame to the 26th best ground game in the country, averaging 194.4 rushing yards per game. Overall, Notre Dame has the 10th best scoring offense in the country, averaging 38.7 points per game, and the 15th best total offense in the country, 466.1 yards per game. This offense has been really good this year for the Fighting Irish. They will be up against a Pittsburgh defense that has been solid but unspectacular this year, giving up 21.8 points per game, which ranks tied for 43rd in the country. However, their rushing defense has been brilliant, ranking 3rd in the country, only giving up 80.9 rushing yards per game. They are led by linebackers Braylan Lovelace, who leads the team with 55 tackles, Rasheem Biles, and Kyle Louis, who each have 52 tackles, respectively. Biles and Louis also each have two sacks. Up front, their starters are Jimmy Scott, who leads the team with four sacks, Francis Brewu, Isaiah Neal, and Sean FritzSimmons. While Pittsburgh's rushing defense is very good, their passing defense is closer to the middle of the pack. The defensive backs who play most often for the Panthers are Kavir Bains-Marquez, Cruce Bookins, Javon McIntyre, Rashad Battle, Shadarian Harrison, and Shawn Lee Jr. Lee. Jr leads the team in pass breakups with four. None of these players have multiple interceptions, though, as Pittsburgh's leader in interceptions is actually Kyle Louis, one of their starting linebackers, who has two interceptions. Overall, Pittsburgh's run defense is considerable better than their pass defense. This sets up an interesting matchup against Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish's best player is their running back, Jeremiyah Love. How the Panthers can gain penetration and stop Love will be a big factor in whether Pittsburgh can stop Notre Dame. However, the passing game is also important, as C.J. Carr is a solid quarterback for the Irish. Pittsburgh's secondary is not that good, so Carr could have opportunities to put up some numbers. For him to do that, though, Love will have to set the tone, to open up those opportunities. The fascinating strength on strength matchup between Love and the Panthers' rushing defense will largely be the deciding factor here. 

    When Pittsburgh has the Ball:         When Pittsburgh has the ball, they are led by quarterback Mason Heintschel. Heintschel took over for the Panthers' starter to open the season, Eli Holstein, after a 34-27 loss to Louisville, and, with him under center, Pittsburgh has rattled off a five-game winning streak. On the season, Heintschel has thrown 184 passes with 118 completions for 1,547 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. He averages 8.4 yards per attempt, which isn't the most efficient, but they have been winning games with him as the starting quarterback. Kenny Johnson, who has 37 receptions for 573 yards and four touchdowns, and Raphael Williams Jr., who has 36 catches for 525 yards and six touchdowns, are their leading receivers. Pittsburgh has an excellent passing offense, as they rank 11th in the country, averaging 302.6 passing yards per game. However, their rushing offense is a weakness, as they average a meagre 124.2 rushing yards per game, which only ranks 104rd in the country. Ja'Kyrian Turner is their lead running back, as he has carried the ball 88 times for 399 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Desmond Reid has 55 carries for 266 yards and two touchdowns, while Juelz Goff has 56 carries for 200 yards and four touchdowns. Pittsburgh's rushing offense is a definite weakness. The Panthers rank sixth in the country in scoring offense, averaging 39.7 points per game, but they rank much lower than that in total offense, averaging 426.8 yards per game, suggesting that some luck is involved in Pittsburgh scoring that much. Notre Dame's defense, meanwhile, ranks 18th in the country in scoring defense, giving up 18.8 points per game. They rank much lower than that it total defense, however. Against the ground game, Notre Dame has been relatively stifling, only giving up 103.7 rushing yards per game. Their starting linebackers are Drayk Brown, who leads the team with 55 tackles, and also has two sacks, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who has 44 tackles and three sacks, and Jaiden Ausberry, who has 41 tackles and two sacks. Boubacar Traore leads the defensive line, as he has 40 tackles and is the team leader with 6.5 sacks. While the Fighting Irish's rushing defense is good, their passing defense is very middling. Their starting cornerbacks are Leonard Moore, who is tied for the team lead with three interceptions and has three pass breakups, and Christian Gray, who leads the team with seven pass breakups and also has two interceptions. At safety, Tae Johnson has 43 tackles, three pass breakups, and is tied for the team lead with three interceptions, while Adon Shuler has 47 tackles, four pass breakups, and two interceptions. As far as matchups between these two units go, Pittsburgh's weakness, their rushing offense, is matched up against Notre Dame's strength, their rushing defense. Therefore, it would be surprising if Pittsburgh would be able to get much going on the ground against Notre Dame. This is concerning for the Panthers, as it puts all the pressure on their freshman starting quarterback, Mason Heintschel. Heintschel will need to put on a show if Pittsburgh is going to score a lot of points against this Notre Dame defense. 

    Prediction:           Overall, this is an interesting game. Offensively for Notre Dame, they need to get Jeremiyah Love going against this strong Pittsburgh rush defense. This will open up shots for C.J. Carr downfield. Offensively for Pittsburgh, they need Mason Heintschel to have a big game, as their rushing offense is a major weakness, and they may struggle to get things going against an excellent Notre Dame rush defense. This is where I think that the difference lies. Pittsburgh needs to rely more on their quarterback to score points here, while Notre Dame is more balanced, and more likely to get production from all of their offensive players. I think that this is a bad matchup for Pittsburgh's offense in particular, as they will be forced to become one-dimensional, and I don't think that Heintschel will be able to do it all by himself, and he will have to. I think that Notre Dame will be able to score a fair amount of points, I think that they are the more desperate team, and will therefore come out hungrier, and I think that Notre Dame will be able to beat Pittsburgh on the road and keep their playoff hopes alive. 

                    Projected Final Score: Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 24