Notre Dame vs Pittsburgh Series History

A look at the football history between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh

Notre Dame plays host to Pittsburgh on Saturday in the first meeting between these two programs since the Covid-influenced 2020 season. The Fighting Irish are coming off a well-deserved bye week hoping to take the next step toward a New Years Six bowl game.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday marks the 72nd meeting between these two Midwestern powers with the Fighting Irish holding a 49-21-1 advantage in the series. Notre Dame has played Pitt 3 times since the Irish entered a scheduling agreement with the ACC in 2014, with Notre Dame winning all 3 matchups. Former head coach Brian Kelly went 6-1 against the Panthers in his tenure, with Saturday’s game being the first time that Marcus Freeman has faced Pitt as the Notre Dame head coach.

Notre Dame has generally dominated the series with Pittsburgh, but the Panthers did win 5 of the 8 matchups between 1975 and 1987, corresponding with the “golden age” of Pitt football when the Panthers had Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino in the backfield. Legendary Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz lost to Pittsburgh his first two seasons, but won the next 7 matchups, including 6 in a row from 1988-1993.

If you’re watching the game Saturday and hear some names that sound familiar, don’t be surprised – there’s definitely an Irish flavor to the Panther roster. Former Notre Dame QB Phil Jurkovec started the first 5 games of the season before being benched and moving to tight end, RB C’Bo Flemister leads the Panthers in rushing with 282 yards on 68 carries, and LB Shayne Simon ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 27.

RESULTS SINCE 2000

2020 – Notre Dame 45, Pittsburgh 3 (Away)
2018 – Notre Dame 19, Pittsburgh 14 (Home)
2015 – Notre Dame 42, Pittsburgh 30 (Away)
2013 – Pittsburgh 28, Notre Dame 21 (Away)
2012 – Notre Dame 29, Pittsburgh 26 (Home)
2011 – Notre Dame 15, Pittsburgh 12 (Away)
2010 – Notre Dame 23, Pittsburgh 17 (Home)
2009 – Pittsburgh 27, Notre Dame 22 (Away)
2008 – Pittsburgh 36, Notre Dame 33 (Home)
2005 – Notre Dame 42, Pittsburgh 21 (Away)
2004 – Pittsburgh 41, Notre Dame 38 (Home)
2003 – Notre Dame 20, Pittsburgh 14 (Away)
2002 – Notre Dame 14, Pittsburgh 6 (Home)
2001 – Notre Dame 24, Pittsburgh 7 (Home)

NOTABLE GAMES

2020 – Notre Dame 45 Pittsburgh 3

Notre Dame moved to 5-0 on the year with a dominating 45-3 victory at Pittsburgh. QB Ian Book threw for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns and current Panther RB C’Bo Flemister paced the Irish rushing attack with 48 yards and a touchdown. Notre Dame led just 14-3 late in the second quarter, but the Irish followed up a Kyren Williams touchdown with 1:29 left in the half by stopping the Panthers’ ensuing drive, blocking the punt, and returning it for a touchdown to take a 28-3 lead and end any hopes of a Panther comeback.

2018 – Notre Dame 19 Pittsburgh 14

Ian Book found Miles Boykin for a 35-yard score with 5:43 remaining as Notre Dame stayed undefeated with a gutsy victory over Pittsburgh. Pitt led 7-6 at halftime and stretched that advantage to 14-6 on the first play of the second half, when Maurice Ffrench returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The Fighting Irish offense finally found the end zone with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Book to Chase Claypool with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-12 and setting up the comeback win. As has been the case a couple times in these matchups, Notre Dame benefited from missed Pitt field goals, as Alex Kessman missed field goals on back-to-back third quarter drives that would have put even more pressure on the Fighting Irish.

2015 – Notre Dame 42 Pittsburgh 30

One week after an emotional victory over Temple in Philadelphia, Notre Dame headed back to the Keystone State for what many billed as a classic “trap game”. QB DeShone Kizer and WR Will Fuller made sure that wasn’t the case. Kizer hit Fuller for a 47-yard touchdown on the game’s opening drive and then for a 46-yard strike with just 1:35 remaining in the first half. Pittsburgh cut Notre Dame’s 21-3 halftime lead to 21-10 with a touchdown on the opening drive on the second half, but Kizer answered with a 14-yard score to Fuller on the ensuing drive to push the lead to 28-10. For the game, Kizer threw for 262 yards and 5 touchdowns (and a rushing score), Fuller hauled in 7 passes for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Josh Adams ran for 147 yards and caught a touchdown. Notre Dame would win sloppy games over Wake Forest and Boston College the next two weeks to move to 10-1, but fell at Stanford in the season finale, denying the program its first playoff berth.

2012 – Notre Dame 29 Pittsburgh 26

Coming off a 30-13 victory at Oklahoma, the Fighting Irish outlasted Pittsburgh 29-26 in triple overtime in a game marked by sloppy play, missed field goals, some fortunate officiating mistakes, and the trademark grit that defined the 2012 team. Notre Dame trailed 10-6 at halftime and 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter, but an Everett Golson touchdown pass to TJ Jones cut the deficit to 20-12 with 13:40 remaining, but the Irish missed the extra point. After the defense forced a punt, Golson drove the Irish 91 yards but was picked off in the end zone. The defense again held firm and gave the ball back to the offense with 2:50 left. Golson hit Devaris Daniels for a 45-yard gain on the first play of the drive, Theo Riddick for the tying score on the following play, and used his legs to convert the two-point conversion and tie the game, sending it to overtime. After the teams traded field goals in the first overtime, Cierre Wood fumbled at the one-yard line in the second overtime, but Panther kicker Kevin Harper missed the game-winning field goal, giving the Irish new life. After Harper made a 44-yarder in the third overtime, Golson punched it in from the one-yard line to give Notre Dame the victory. Notre Dame knocked off Boston College, Wake Forest, and then USC the next three weeks to earn a berth in the BCS National Championship against Alabama.

2009 – Pittsburgh 27 Notre Dame 22

One week after losing to Navy, Notre Dame dropped its second game in a row at #12 Pittsburgh. The Panthers led 27-9 with less than 10 minutes remaining before Golden Tate took the game over and almost single-handedly brought the Irish back. Tate cut the deficit to 27-16 with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Clausen, and after the Irish defense held firm, returned the punt 87 yards for a touchdown to bring Notre Dame within a touchdown. Unfortunately, the 27-22 score is how the game ended – Notre Dame had one final chance, but Clausen fumbled on the final drive of the game. Notre Dame fell to UConn in double overtime the following week and then at Stanford in the season finale, dropping their record to 6-6 and prompting the firing of Charlie Weis and hiring of Brian Kelly.

2005 – Notre Dame 42 Pittsburgh 21

Ty Willingham was fired after the disappointing 2004 season, and in his first game at the helm, new head coach Charlie Weis took his upstart team on the road to #23 Pittsburgh. The Fighting Irish offense showed signs of things to come, scoring on 5 of the first 6 drives to deliver the upset victory. QB Brady Quinn threw for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns, and RB Darius Walker led the Irish in both rushing and receiving, accounting for 152 total yards and 2 touchdowns. Notre Dame upset #3 Michigan in Ann Arbor the following week, before falling 44-41 to Michigan State in overtime in the home opener. Still, a 10-2 regular season finish put Notre Dame back on the map after a decade in the wilderness.

1988 – Notre Dame 30 Pittsburgh 20

The week before hosting #1 Miami, Notre Dame went on the road to face a Pittsburgh team that it had lost to in both 1986 and 1987. The Irish played most of the game flat and led just 23-20 late in the fourth quarter, in large part due to Pitt fumbling twice inside the Notre Dame 2-yard line. However, Mark Green scored with 4:30 remaining to ice the game and preserve the undefeated season. The following week, Notre Dame defeated #1 Miami 31-30 in one of the most famous games in college football history en route to the 1988 national title.

1977 – Notre Dame 19 Pittsburgh 9

Notre Dame had lost to Pitt in 1975 and 1976, with the Panthers capturing the national title in 1976. In the 1977 season opener – Pitt head coach Jackie Sherrill’s first at the helm, Notre Dame used 13 fourth quarter points to end Pitt’s 13-game winning streak. The game Pitt started the game strong, but starting QB Matt Cavanaugh was injured on a first quarter touchdown, and in his absence the Panther offense turned the ball over 7 times. Notre Dame was stunned on the road by Ole Miss the following week but rallied to win the final 10 games of the season, including a dominating 38-10 victory over #1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl, vaulting the Irish from #5 to #1 and giving Dan Devine his national championship.

1976 – Pittsburgh 31 Notre Dame 10

Tony Dorsett followed up his 303-yard performance against the Fighting Irish in 1975 by rushing for 181 yards and a touchdown in a 31-10 Panther victory over #11 Notre Dame in South Bend in the 1976 season opener. Following the loss to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame won 6 games in a row, but late season road losses to Georgia Tech and USC sent the Fighting Irish to the Gator Bowl where they defeated Penn State. On the other hand, Dorsett captured the 1976 Heisman Trophy as Pitt finished 12-0 and won the national championship. Following the season, Dorsett would be a first round pick of the Dallas Cowboys while Pitt head coach Johnny Majors returned to his alma mater, Tennessee, altering the course of both programs.

1966 – Notre Dame 40 Pittsburgh 0

Notre Dame blew out Pitt 40-0 in South Bend en route to the 1966 national championship. The Fighting Irish surrendered just 38 points the entire season, and the Pitt game was one of 6 shutouts that the defense posted that year. After defeating Pitt, Notre Dame beat Duke 64-0 before playing the famous 10-10 tie against #2 Michigan State in East Lansing. Notre Dame maintained the top ranking after the tie with the Spartans and validated that rank by dismantling #10 USC 51-0 on the road in the season finale. 

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