South Bend, Ind. — The season won’t be saved with an upset win over No. 14 Notre Dame, but Pitt would certainly benefit from another upset win in a season full of lows.
It won’t be easy, not against a balanced, pro-style offense and ferocious pass defense, and Pat Narduzzi isn’t expecting anything but a fight Saturday afternoon.
“Obviously, Marcus Freeman has done an outstanding job here in his second season,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly news conference. “They have got a talented team. When you put the tape on and watch those shiny gold helmets, they fly around, they look good. They are probably as good-looking a team as you are going to walk out on game day and see, and they play fast.”
Pitt revealed its uniform combo against Notre Dame, featuring a classic road look. The Panthers will wear gold helmets with a Cathedral stripe and blue script, white jerseys and gold pants with the Cathedral stripe once again.
As Pitt tweeted, it’s a classic look against a classic opponent.
Notre Dame opened as a three touchdown favorite earlier this week, and that hasn’t changed just a few hours before kick — with DraftKings holding the Fighting Irish as a 20.5-point favorite and FanDuel offering the same spread.
Pitt will travel to Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. this weekend for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, and for those who will not be in attendance, NBC and Peacock will have the broadcast.
Notre Dame has rebounded following a loss to Louisville a few weeks ago, knocking off USC and heading into the bye week, and the Fighting Irish sit at 6-2.
ND has handled Navy, Tennessee State, North Carolina State, Central Michigan, Duke and USC this season, tripping up against Louisville on the road and allowing Ohio State to walk off with a win at Notre Dame Stadium, as the Sam Hartman-led squad continues to roll.
Hartman, who has history with Pitt, has thrown for 1,838 yards and 18 touchdowns (to just three interceptions) on 64.5% completion this season — his sixth and final collegiate season. But it’s been Audric Estime, who has 787 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, fueling the offense.
It going to be a Halloween weekend showdown and the first meeting since an ill-fated 45-3 loss at Heinz Field in 2020, but it will not be a revenge game for Phil Jurkovec.
Jurkovec, who originally committed to Notre Dame as a high schooler in 2018, transferred away from the Fighting Irish in 2020. He was — obviously — slated to take on the Irish for the second time since leaving, but it will now be Christian Veilleux’s third start.
Pitt heads into the matchup on a three-game losing streak dating back to 2015 — with only one win dating back to 2013: a 28-21 win in 2013.
Pitt is 21-48 all-time against Notre Dame, having played the Fighting Irish since 1930. It’s been skewed in ND’s direction since the inaugural matchup, but there’s no time like the present.
Television — NBC/Peacock (Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV, Channel 11)
Jac Collinsworth (play-by-play)
Jason Garrett (analyst)
Zora Stephenson (reporter)
Radio — 93.7 The Fan, Pitt Panthers Radio Network
Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play)
Pat Bostick (analyst)
Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Channels 85 or on the SiriusXM app
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) — 92.1 FM
Informative Article – Thank You, Karl.