Rakes Report #224: He'll reach deep into the hole, heal your shrinking soul, but there won't be a single thing that you can do (The Pittsburgh Review)
Notre Dame Stadium was Pat Narduzzi's house of horrors as the Irish dominated coming off a bye.
~optional musical accompaniment~
1) This game presented an ideal test coming out of the bye against a Pittsburgh defense that had been good against the run but susceptible to the pass, providing a perfect puzzle for Gerad Parker to attempt to solve after the recent doldrums. However, due to Notre Dame fielding one of the best defenses in the country and Pat Narduzzi’s war against scoring points there was no chance of the guests running away with it early if the Irish struggled to score, limiting the immediate pressure on the offense to find their footing. It was a frustrating, Pitt-like contest in the early going but thankfully Chris Tyree’s amazing punt return provided a little bit of breathing room as Sam Hartman worked through some inaccuracy, the running game found some flow and the defense sunk its teeth into an overmatched foe.
Any time you get to watch Narduzzi calling for a punt from the Notre Dame 38 down 44-0 while DMX blares in the stadium, that’s a nice day. It’s a bonus when you’re handing him the worst loss of his career and inspiring the local paper to produce headlines like “Pat Narduzzi's Pitt program embarrassed itself on and off the field against Notre Dame.” That result makes the cumulative score of the last two games against the Panthers 103-10. This might mean we’re due for a particularly painful contest in 2025 when the Irish visit the shores of the Allegheny but we’ll cross that Roberto Clemente Bridge when we get there.
2) It’s inadvisable to throw four interceptions against any defense, but when the opposing secondary is missing one of if not the best corner in the country and you still are just lobbing the ball up, that’s a tough look. When their second-best corner also heads to the sideline and your situation in no way improves, that’s a cause for some self-reflection. Pitt had no chance in this game, because any attempt to establish a consistent run game was going to be snuffed out by Howard Cross and Rylie Mills, who continue to gum up the works as one of the best interior combos in the nation, and when Christian Veilleux had to throw he was doomed. The front seven was overshadowed by Mike Mickens’ amazing room and Agent Zero, as Xavier Watts made it look easy with two more interceptions, neither of which quite as fun as Jaden Mickey’s pick six or Christian Gray’s one-handed leap. (I think it’s possible Gray stole a second pick from Mickey with his athleticism.) Thomas Harper had two tackles for loss in addition to the pressure on Mickey’s score. It was nice to see Marist Liufau and Jordan Botelho spending some time in the backfield.
This was not a particularly stiff test for Al Golden and his lads checked the box with aplomb. The Panthers' percentile rankings in this game according to Game on Paper: 7th in success rate, 2nd in Expected Points Added (EPA) per Play, 10th in EPA per dropback – this was a total suffocation. It’s a shame they connected on a couple passes late against the reserves because this deserved to be a shutout.
3) Hartman threw two tough picks deep in Pittsburgh territory early and then the next drive died on a fourth down attempt but overall there were some glimmers of promise in both explosive plays and efficiency. Slow start as far as finishing drives, yes, and at some point the Pitt defense became fatigued/aware of how hopeless their situation was but the Irish ended up over 8 yards per play and did it with a success rate that ranked in the 88th percentile. The running game is still taking on overloaded boxes more than you would like but Audric Estime was able to get loose and there seemed to be a little more motion (Holden Staes’ involvement was welcome) and variety and RPO action. After being stuck on three third-down conversions per game in recent outings, Notre Dame managed four on Saturday on only eight attempts, better work with situational football.
Tyree followed up his spectacular punt return with a spectacular deep grab. Tobias Merriweather made a couple of quality catches and sure they were in garbage time but we will take any confidence boosters we can get for the big guy heading into these final games. Mitchell Evans was a beast again and hopefully he’s 100% come Saturday as he’ll be needed, as will Jayden Thomas who gutted out some solid work as both receiver and blocker. (I really hope the training staff knows what they’re doing with his hamstring.) Rico Flores had a 60-yard reception to start the second half on a play in which Notre Dame pretended like they were going to run the ball but then instead threw it while the defense was confused by the falsehood perpetuated by Hartman’s subterfuge. This is an interesting concept of something that could perhaps be explored more in future games.
We don’t want to over-extrapolate from the waning drives of a blowout, but Steve Angeli did look quite smooth, particularly rolling left and squaring up for Cooper Flanagan’s first career touchdown. Was also nice to see Braylon James in the mix, big offseason coming for him. The future of the tailback room continues to look very bright (tackling Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love doesn’t seem fun) but I’m glad they got Estime over 100 yards and the three scores. He was on a lot of midseason All-American teams and if he can check statistical boxes the rest of the way that spot should be secure, while the race for the Doak Walker Award feels like it’s between him and Texas’ Jonathon Brooks (and potentially Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon if he keeps running for 25o yards per game). Stat chasing should not be done to the detriment of the team but with another bye looming I don’t think anything against Pitt was egregious.
4) The time management at the very end of the first half was a mess and potentially cost Notre Dame four points. I was actually okay with the punt to pin Pitt back when it was 4th and 3 from their 46 with a little over two minutes left — your defense had been lights out so don’t gamble giving up a field goal after one chunk play, there was a good chance the Panthers would do something dumb to give you the ball back (which they did), the odds of Pitt scoring 14 with two legitimate drives were narrow — but burning time and timeouts and limiting your options at the end there was not good. Marcus Freeman has mentioned how in his first game as head coach he regretted leaving Oklahoma State time at the end of the half but Veilleux wasn’t going to do anything in 30 seconds.
Miscellanea: This Pittsburgh Tribune Review article from last week has some very nice quotes from Shayne Simon and C’Borius Flemister on their time in South Bend. Jason Garrett being unable to identify a group of Waldos would be rejected as a headline pitch for The Onion but was a nice little Halloween treat. Finally, congrats to Kylee Kazenski for making history, doing so so so many pushups and being kind enough to lend her hat for the alma mater.
This is also our first edition since the WNBA Finals concluded so a massive shoutout to Jackie Young for adding yet another ring to her lengthy list of accolades. The Aces were in dire straits in what ended up being the close-out game and Young had so many huge plays on both ends to clinch the repeat. She continues to be the coolest person alive:
5) Winning is Hard Round Up: Freeman said “It’s hard to win” after the game and while some unlearned people still act surprised when coaches talk like this, I remain befuddled by what would even serve as the hypothetical counterpoint. Louisville would be undefeated but they lost to this same Pitt team that barely looked functional – can you imagine how that feels? Notre Dame would still be in the playoff hunt but they barely showed up for a loss to that same Louisville team that couldn’t beat a team that just lost by 51. These three results have shattered the transitive property.
Biggest upset of the day came in Lawrence, where Oklahoma took their first loss of the season in a shootout with the Jayhawks. This weekend the last scheduled Bedlam is in Stillwater and Texas hosts a hot Kansas State team so the Big 12 race could look very different soon. Oregon State was up to No. 11 in the polls but got tripped up on a trip to the desert, losing to Arizona. North Carolina lost their second straight game, this one on the road to Georgia Tech, making it the third consecutive year the Yellow Jackets beat a ranked Tar Heels team. Clemson lost their fourth game of the season and second straight, falling at NC State (couldn’t be us) (more on the Tigers later obviously).
Washington had all kinds of trouble at Stanford a week after having all kinds of trouble at home against Arizona State but they survived both and we’ll find out if this is a bit of a midseason lull or if this is just who they are now. We’ll get a good idea on Saturday when they travel to play USC, who needed a major comeback and failed two-point conversion to survive their game against Cal. Speaking of the Pac-12, Oregon was a road favorite at Utah and showed why, crushing their hosts and eliminating the Utes from playoff contention.
Penn State was a 31-point favorite at home against Indiana and barely scraped by after turnovers and cowardice by the Hoosiers. There’s no shame in losing to Georgia but fun to note Florida went up 7-0 then gave up the next 36 points. Miami needed a late field goal and overtime to stave off an upset attempt by Virginia. Maryland gave up 33 points in a ghastly loss at Northwestern. Baylor lost at home to Iowa State and Dave Aranda Termination Watch is heating up while Matt Campbell is in the thick of the conference race again. Syracuse got waxed in Blacksburg and I’m curious what happens with Dino Babers if they fall short of a bowl. Memphis blew at 31-7 lead against North Texas but managed to pull out the win. App State needed a fourth quarter rally to beat a Southern Miss team that seemed like it had quit. Army lost at home to UMass.
6) Clemson has returned the favor to Notre Dame for last year, turning what looked like a high-profile matchup all offseason into a situation where a visitor still playing for something has to go against an unranked, desperate home team with nothing to lose and a marquee win to gain. The Tigers have fallen four times but two were in overtime, one came in the opener when they played Red Zone Atrocity Bingo against Duke and then the most recent defeat to NC State that had a pick six and one long touchdown reception by the Wolfpack. The defense is 100% legitimate and while the offense is a mess there’s still a chance for things to snap into place under Garrett Riley because the talent is there.
If there is going to be a Sam Hartman Game this season, it has to come here. He had commendable go-ahead drives late in consecutive weeks against Ohio State and Duke but against legitimate competition he has yet to play 60 minutes of pristine football. In his duel with the Tigers last year Hartman did exactly that, going 20 of 29 for six touchdowns and no interceptions, albeit in Winston-Salem. His receivers aren’t where they were for the Demon Deacons but even setting aside a dearth of perimeter weapons it would be nice if he could be sharp and take this one over. I say that, but perhaps this defense is simply so good that a few productive drives and a clean sheet on turnovers is enough to get the win in Death Valley and put the Irish on pace for 10-2.
Big, big opportunity here. Handing Clemson their fifth loss overall and third straight, making it three of the last four against Dabo and sending him to the bad place where a bowl isn’t totally assured with games remaining against suddenly competent Georgia Tech, explosive North Carolina and equally desperate South Carolina on the road? That’s the stuff dreams are made of, but it’s on Freeman and his team to make it a reality. There’s a pretty good chance Notre Dame finishes this season without a win over a ranked team so in lieu of that we’re going to have to make up for it with victories in bulk. Works for me.
7) I want to conclude today on a somber note and offer my condolences to the family and many friends of Bob Dowdell, who passed away earlier this month. Bob was as good a representative of Notre Dame as you will ever find and an even better tailgating companion, balancing being respected and successful in so many areas with being both down to earth and down to clown with his son's idiot friends, even if that included taking a sketchy school bus to a national title game. Selfishly, Bob was also a big evangelist for this little operation, as some of you are only reading this because at one point, he gave me your email and told me to add you to the list. When I protested that I didn't usually do that and just let people sign up on their own, he said to load everyone in and send them his way if they had any complaints, some of his trademark effective directness. Bob was a great friend and a great Friend of the Report and I am grateful for the Guinness-aided lunch we got to share in Dublin a few hours before Notre Dame destroyed Navy. We are all so much better for having known him.
Thank you all for reading. Go Irish, Best Tigers, and until then, take care of yourselves and each other.