By Ray Porter Jr. for Urban Media Today
PITTSBURGH, PA–It was the perfect situation. The 22nd ranked (College Football Playoff) Pitt Panthers who had gained National attention after winning 5 consecutive games after naming Freshman Mason Heintschel starting QB. And not only were they welcoming the #9th ranked (College Football Playoff) Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Acrisure Stadium, ESPN’s College Gameday and ACC Huddle were coming to town as well. And as a bonus, Pitt was also retiring legendary DT Aaron Donald’s #97 at halftime.
A victory over the Fighting Irish would’ve truly been the icing on the cake for the Panthers, but unfortunately that didn’t take place as they were defeated 37-15 in front of a sold-out crowd-out Acrisure Stadium crowd.
“I don’t think we played our best game today against a really good Notre Dame football team, but it starts with me. We’ve got to do a better job as coaches preparing.” Said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. “We didn’t convert enough third downs. We didn’t get enough stops on defense. They ran the ball on us, which they’ve done all year. They may run for 306 yards, so we held them to probably their average or less, but we didn’t get enough stops. It starts with me and every coach on down. We’ve got to make more plays.”
After a strong start on their first drive which got them to the 50-yard line, the Heintschel-led Pitt offense stalled after failing to convert on 4th down. After the Irish missed a FG attempt, the Panthers went 3-and-out. And then the Fighting Irish struck twice: First on a 56-yard TD by RB Jeremiyah Love (23 carries, 158 yards) and then a 49-yard interception return for a TD by Tae Johnson and just like that, Notre Dame led 14-0.
“They’re deflating. It’s a game of momentum. You’ve got to make those big time plays in the game.” Said Narduzzi. “Our skill guys, they’ve done a great job all year. I’m not going to complain. Big time players make big time plays in big time games, and that’s what we have to do. If you don’t make those big plays — but it’s a momentum change.
Mason puts the ball on a dime. Again, the game of football is not easy. We’ll learn from it. We’ll bounce back, and we’ll go on the road and get a W.”
In the second quarter, the Panthers got a big break when DB Kavir Bains-Marquez intercepted Fighting Irish QB CJ Carr and returned it 49 yards deep into Notre Dame territory, but all Pitt could get out of it was a 24-yard FG Sam Carpenter for their only points in the first half.
In the second half, the Fighting Irish kept it going as Carr (21/32, 212 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT) threw 2 TD passes to extend their lead. Then the Panthers finally got a TD off a 10-yard TD return by LB Rasheem Biles, but their 2-point conversion proved costly when it was intercepted and returned 100 yards for 2-points by Adon Schuler to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 30-9.
“Our guys responded well. There’s adversity in the game. I don’t think our guys ever put their head down. They popped a run on us.” Said Narduzzi. “We’ve seen it before. He’s talented. He’s a Heisman Trophy candidate. That’s a big guy with some speed that can go. We missed a couple tackles and didn’t fit it great. We’ve got to be more physical at the point of attack and make plays.”
Pitt and Notre Dame scored their final TDs late in the 4th quarter, as the Irish improved to 8-2, holding onto their playoff chances. Meanwhile the Panthers (7-3, 5-1 ACC) must shake off this loss and prepare to travel to Atlanta to face #16 ACC-Leading Georgia Tech (8-1, 5-1 ACC) next Saturday to keep their ACC Championship hopes alive.
But I’m proud of our football team. We don’t quit at the end. There’s no quit in these guys. We get a fourth down stop, and then we take the ball down and score a touchdown. There’s no quit out of our football team.
“We’ve got a lot of season ahead.” Said Narduzzi. “We’ll get locked in and get ready for Georgia Tech on the road. Excited for that one.”
Notes: Narduzzi on Pitt’s Big College Football Day in the city: “I apologize to the fans. It was a great showing. Walked out to GameDay. It was a heck of a day, at least to start, for our Pitt fans, for the University of Pittsburgh, for this city of Pittsburgh. I appreciate everything they did. I wish I could have given them more.”
Please email Ray at rayporterjr72@gmail.com
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