Notre Dame travels to Pittsburgh, PA this Saturday to take on the 7-2 Pittsburgh Panthers, the winners of five straight, in their first matchup on the road against Pitt since 2020. In their last meeting, the Irish won big in South Bend 58-7. Now, head coach Pat Narduzzi has his squad rolling and will look to continue their win streak over the red-hot Notre Dame Fighting Irish and their head coach Marcus Freeman. This will be the last Top 25 matchup for Notre Dame until the post season; a win here will give their resume for the playoff committee a serious boost.
Location: Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh, PA)
Date: Saturday - November 15
Time: 12:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Line: Notre Dame -10.5; O/U 55.5 (FanDuel)
Let's kick off our preview of this matchup with an overview look at the Pittsburgh Panthers:
HEAD COACH - Pat Narduzzi
Record at Pittsburgh: 79-58
Narduzzi is currently in his 11th season as the head coach for the Panthers. During his tenure, they have only had two losing seasons (2017 and 2023) and have been at .500 or above in every other season. They have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in seven different seasons and have made post season appearances seven times during Narduzzi’s tenure. He is 2-5 in the post season with his biggest win being in the Sun Bowl in 2022.
This season, the Panthers started off 2-2 and it looked like they would be scratching and clawing their way to another mid-level bowl in December. Fast forward to this week, Pitt is 7-2 and the winners of five straight. Their season turned around when they benched quarterback Eli Holstein and inserted quarterback Mason Heintschel. Since that move, the Panthers have scored 48, 34. 30, 53 and 35 respectively and are humming.
Offensive Coordinator: Kade Bell (2nd season)
Defensive Coordinator: Randy Bates (8th season)
PITTSBURGH 2025 SCHEDULE
2025 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rushing: RB Ja'Kyrian Turner - 88 att., 399 yards, 4.5 YPC, 6 TD; RB Desmond Reid - 55 att., 266 yards, 4.8 YPC, 2 TD; RB Juelz Goff - 56 att., 200 yards, 3.6 YPC, 4 TD; QB Mason Heintschel - 49 att., 143 yards, 2.9 YPC, 1 TD
Passing: QB Mason Heintschel - 118-184, 64.1%, 1,547 yards, 8.4 YPA, 12 TD, 5 INT, 150.8 Rating; QB Eli Holstein - 74-119, 62.2%, 1,058 yards, 8.9 YPA, 11 TD, 6 INT, 157.3 Rating
Receiving: WR Kenny Johnson - 37 rec., 573 yards, 15.5 YPC, 4 TD; WR Raphael Williams Jr. - 36 rec., 525 yards, 14.6 YPC, 6 TD; WR Cataurus Hicks - 19 rec., 353 yards, 18.6 YPC, 4 TD; RB Desmond Reid - 17 rec., 254 yards, 14.9 YPC, 2 TD; WR Bryce Yates - 8 rec., 185 yards, 23.1 YPC, 1 TD; TE Justin Holmes - 16 rec., 152 yards, 9.5 YPC, 2 TD
Tackles: LB Braylan Lovelace - 55; LB Rasheem Biles - 52; LB Kyle Louis - 52; S Kavir Bains-Marquez - 39; S Cruce Brookins - 37; S Javon McIntyre - 28; CB Rashad Battle - 27; CB Shadarian Harrison - 26; LB Cameron Lindsey - 25
Tackles For Loss: LB Rasheem Biles- 8.5; DE Jimmy Scott - 7.5; LB Kyle Louis - 5.5; LB Cameron Lindsey - 5.0; DT Nick James - 5.0; DE Blaine Spires - 4.5; DT Francis Brewu - 4.0
Interceptions: LB Kyle Louis - 2; CB Shadarian Harrison - 1; CB Tamon Lynum - 1; LB Rasheem Biles - 1; S Kavir Bains-Marquez - 1; LB Braylan Lovelace - 1; S Cruce Brookins - 1
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