First off, let me say a sincere thanks to everyone who has wished me well. When you sit around on your ass for around 20 hours a day and so are forced to do some deep thinking, it is a pleasure to realize that I have so many POV friends who care for me. I hope you have a great time watching Pitt drag a win back from South Bend.

That said, today is game day. Today we find out whether or not last week was a fluke. Holding a team like Syracuse to under 40 points is not an easy thing to do, and that we were able to do so will be the key in the game today.

Playing them on the road in downtown South Bend, IN doesn’t help either. We’re getting some of the answers to the questions we’ve had since the end of last season, such as: how good is our running game going to be? And, is our defense as legit as we thought it was going to be after the last two games of last year? The first answer to those questions is yes, and the second answer is a bone-chilling, kick-in-the-ass no.

Have a great afternoon and if travelling …safety first.

HAIL TO PITT !!

PITT (3-3, 2-1 ACC) vs. No. 5/5 NOTRE DAME (6-0)

October 13, 2018 • 2:30 p.m., ET

Notre Dame Stadium (77,622/FieldTurf) • Notre Dame, Ind.

NBC (WPXI-TV) • Pitt IMG Sports Radio Network

PittsburghPanthers.com • @Pitt_FB

LINK (PDF): Pitt Game Notes (vs. Notre Dame)

GAME STORYLINES

• In a series long on history and color, Pitt and Notre Dame meet for the 71st time. The Panthers will be making their first visit to Notre Dame Stadium since 2012.

• Nine of the past 11 games between Pitt and Notre Dame have been decided by single digits, including the most recent encounter at Notre Dame Stadium. In that memorable 2012 affair, the Irish rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to claim a 29-26 win in three overtimes.

• No. 5 Notre Dame is the latest highly ranked opponent for the Panthers. Pitt previously faced Top 15 challenges in Penn State (Sept. 8) and UCF (Sept. 29).

• Pitt is going against the grain of Power 5 non-conference scheduling trends. Of the Panthers’ four non-ACC games in 2018, three are against FBS opponents whose combined record this season is 15-1 (4-1 Penn State, 5-0 UCF and 6-0 Notre Dame). Those teams were a combined 34-5 during the 2017 season.

• Pitt boasts a formidable senior tailback tandem in Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. The duo combined for 299 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Panthers to a pulsating 44-37 overtime victory over Syracuse last week.

• With 596 total rushing yards this season, Qadree Ollison ranks 18th nationally, while his average of 6.48 yards per carry ranks 22nd. Ollison is striving to become only the sixth player in Pitt history to achieve multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

• Under Pat Narduzzi, Pitt is 14-5 when it rushes for at least 200 yards. The Panthers are averaging 203.8 yards on the ground this season, while Notre Dame is yielding just 127.8.

• Sophomore placekicker Alex Kessman is a long-distance scoring weapon for the Panthers. He owns four of the six longest field goals in Pitt history, including kicks of 55 and 54 yards in last week’s Syracuse win.

SERIES NOTES

Pitt and Notre Dame meet for the 71st time in a series that dates back to 1909…the Irish lead the all-time series by a 48-21-1 count…the teams last met during the 2015 season at Heinz Field, a 42-30 Notre Dame victory…close contests have been frequent during recent series history—nine of the past 11 games have been decided by single digits…in 2013, two James Conner touchdown runs pushed Pitt past the Irish, 28-21, in Pittsburgh…in 2012, the last time the Panthers visited Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish rallied from a 14-point deficit to claim a 29-26 win in three overtimes…Pitt is 11-27-1 at home and 10-21 on the road against Notre Dame…Pitt’s longest winning streak in the series is three games, achieved three separate times (1932-34; 1958-60; 1983, ‘86-87)…Notre Dame’s longest winning streak against Pitt is 11 games, which occurred from 1964-74…that streak was snapped in 1975 when Pitt defeated the Irish, 34-20, behind 303 rushing yards from Tony Dorsett…the 303 yards remain a Notre Dame opponent record…in four games against the Irish (1973-76), Dorsett rushed for 754 yards, an NCAA record for a player against a four-year opponent…the Pitt-Notre Dame series is long on history and color…on Nov. 13, 1999, the Panthers defeated Notre Dame, 37-27, in the final game ever played at Pitt Stadium…Pittsburgh product Kevan Barlow scored two TDs, including the game’s final score on a two-yard run to close down the 74-year-old structure…the 2008 game at Notre Dame was an instant classic…the Panthers clawed back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to defeat the Irish, 36-33, in four overtimes…the four-overtime affair marked the longest game in both Pitt and Notre Dame history…the ‘08 game also marked the Panthers’ second consecutive victory at Notre Dame Stadium…in its prior visit to South Bend (2004), Pitt beat the Irish, 41-38, behind five touchdown passes from Tyler Palko, an unprecedented achievement against Notre Dame.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television • NBC (WPXI-TV, Channel 11, in Pittsburgh)

Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Doug Flutie (analyst), Kathryn Tappen (reporter)

Pitt Radio • 93.7 The Fan & the Pitt IMG Sports Network

Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Pat Bostick (analyst), Larry Richert (reporter)

SiriusXM Satellite Radio

Sirius Channel 205, XM Channel 385, Internet Channel 974

 

WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) • 92.1 FM

 

Pitt IMG Sports Network Online Audio Options

PittsburghPanthers.com

Pitt Panthers Gameday App

TuneIn (free live and on-demand content)