For the first time since 2005, ESPN College Gameday is coming to Pittsburgh. The #22 Pitt Panthers (7-2) will face off against #9 Notre Dame (7-2) this week at Acrisure Stadium at noon for a huge game with college football playoff implications.
The last time Gameday was here, Pitt was ranked 23rd in the nation and played unranked Notre Dame and beat them. Twenty years later they’re back but for a much larger game.
The last time these two teams faced off was in 2023 where Pitt traveled to Notre Dame and got blown out 58-7. Notre Dame controlled the game from the jump and never let up. Pitt got destroyed on the ground game and the Irish will look to do that again this week.
As well as this being a big game for both teams, it is also a big day for the University Of Pittsburgh, as it will retire future Hall of Famer, Aaron Donald’s jersey. His jersey number 97 will be the eleventh jersey to be retired by Pitt.
The Panthers, who come off of a bye week with five-game winning streak, are led by a new starting quarterback, true freshman Mason Heintschel who has been outstanding for the Panthers with a stat line of 1,550 yards, 12 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He has brought a new level of confidence to this Pitt offense and will look to continue that this week.
The Pitt offense, which averages 39.7 points per game, has been able to put up these numbers with offensive running backs like Desmond Reid who has struggled with injuries, but when he plays, he is an All American type running back with his speed and playmaking ability. Ja’Kyrain (Boozie) Turner has also been solid next to Reid with his catching ability and his big body to burst through defenders for big gains. Look for these two to be a headline in the backfield this week if Reid is healthy.
Pitt’s top receiving targets include, Raphael (Poppy) Williams Jr., who is their best receiver with his eye coordination and big catching ability; Kenny Johnson who is a big possession threat with able to pick up solid yards for the offense; and lastly Cataurus (Blue) Hicks who has been a huge, big play receiver and has had a very solid season for the Panthers. Heintschel has had a ton of great targets to throw the ball to, which has made it much easier for the true freshman.
If Pitt’s receivers get hot, it could be a long day for this Notre Dame defense.
Notre Dame, coming off a dominating 49-10 win over Navy, will come into this game looking to get over one of their last big hurdles of the season. The Irish can not afford to lose any more games this season if they want to make the college football playoff.
They are led by freshman quarterback, CJ Carr who has been great for the Irish this year, throwing for 2,275 yards, 19 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He has been a big time leader for Notre Dame and a huge part of the offense’s success this season. He is a big passing threat with his ability to throw the deep ball.
Some key players for the Notre Dame offense include running back Jeremiyah Love who has had huge games this season while compiling a total of 13 touchdowns and over 950 yards rushing. He will create many problems for the Pitt defense with his playmaking ability.
The Irish also have a very strong receiver room with players like Jordan Faison, Malachi Fields, and Will Pauling who combine for 1,400 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. It feels like, if one of them has a bad game, the other two step up. They have been one of the best receiving corps in college football this season.
With both the Panthers and the Irish having really good offenses the key to this game will be which defense comes up with the most stops. Both defenses have shown some really good flashes but both have struggled at times.
Starting with the Panther defense, which is led by an elite linebacker corps. All American, Kyle Louis is the leader and best playmaker for this defense with multiple interceptions this season and just makes winning plays every game. Him returning from injury last week was huge for Pitt and it’s easy to tell how much of a difference he makes.
Linebacker Rasheem Biles also has dealt with injuries this year and is questionable this week. He and Louis have been a great one-two punch and is a main reason why this linebacker corps is nicknamed “the sharks”. The linebacker corps has been banged up, but if they are healthy for this game, it will be a big boost for the Panthers.
Next to the linebacker corps, the defensive line has been solid this season, ranked 3rd in the country in stopping the run. Sean Fitzsimmons, Jimmy Scott, and Isaiah Neal, have all been able to create pressure on the quarterback and collapse the pocket. If they can continue their dominance of stopping the run this week and slow down Jermiyah Love, the Panthers could very well pull off the upset.
The secondary has also been banged up a lot with Nigel Maynard going down for the season, which has meant they need their freshmen to step up. With that they have definitely answered with Shawn Lee jr playing great the last couple weeks with having a pick six in their last win against Stanford. They will definitely need to be on their A game to stop this Irish passing attack.
If Pitt defense plays up to its potential, it will be able to compete in this game. The Panthers need to stop the run, which they have been great at doing all year, but Jermiyah Love is a different beast so that has to be the main focus to this defensive gameplan.
For the Notre Dame defense, it is also led by a stud linebacker group with Drayk Bowen, who is their leading tackler; Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, and Jaiden Ausberry. They have been the best part of this Irish defense and don’t expect them to not play well.
The defensive line is led by sophomore Boubacar Traore who has 6.5 sacks this season. He is a huge problem for offensive lines and will look to terrorize the Pitt O-line and get into the backfield. Elijah Hughes and Bryce Young also have been solid contributors for this line and expect them to make their presence this weekend.
One of the best pieces to the Irish defense has to be the secondary with guys like Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson. Both combine for five interceptions and are some of the leading tacklers for this defense. Expect to hear their name called on deep balls at some point.
The Irish are allowing only 18.4 points per game this season and are ranked 15th in the nation in that category. Even though they haven’t played the best teams, that still is a very impressive stat and can prove they are legit with a big win this week over Pitt.
This will be the biggest game that Pitt has played at home since they played Clemson in 2021.
Even with this being a bigger game for Notre Dame, who played in the national championship just last season, Pitt has been playing like a top-15 team in the country in recent weeks, so I expect the Panthers to continue that. I think Pitt pulls off its biggest win in years.
This is the biggest game of the season for both of these teams with their playoff hopes on the line. College Gameday will bring an electric atmosphere to this game and it should be a very entertaining game.
Prediction: Pitt 34, Notre Dame 28
