Pitt Pummeled in Road Loss to Notre Dame
PITTSBURGH -- It's fair to say the Pitt Panthers will want to wash their hands clean of this one. On Saturday afternoon at historic Notre Dame Stadium, it was clear from the jump that the Panthers were no match for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a 58-7 loss. Pitt's offense recorded 235 yards and turned the ball over five times while allowing the Irish to put up 535 yards, perhaps marking the lowest point of the Panthers' season thus far.
Sam Hartman and the Fighting Irish offense imposed their will early during the first drive of the game before Phillip O'Brien Jr. came up with an interception and returned it to the Panthers' 28-yard line. Pitt's offense quickly went three-and-out, leading to an 82-yard punt return touchdown laden with broken tackles by Chris Tyree that gave Notre Dame a 7-0 lead.
The Panthers' offensive struggles persisted into their next series with another three-and-out and punt that granted the Fighting Irish possession at their own 39-yard line. A 47-yard catch by Tyree set them up at Pitt's 21-yard line on the second play of the drive, but the Panthers' defense manufactured a red zone stop as Brandon George produced the unit's second interception of the first quarter.
Notre Dame's pass rush overpowered Pitt's offensive line during the entirety of the ensuing possession, giving Veilleux little time to operate and forcing the Panthers to punt for a third-consecutive time to open the contest. Upon getting the ball back, the Fighting Irish turned it over on downs despite being on the edge of field goal range, gifting Pitt possession at its own 36-yard line.
The Panthers opened up the passing game during the next drive, but an airmailed throw by Christian Veilleux intended for Bub Means was picked off by Xavier Watts at Notre Dame's 29-yard line with 11:42 left in the half. A 33-yard run by Audric Estime once again pushed the Fighting Irish deep into Pitt territory, and he would ultimately finish the job with a 15-yard touchdown that extended their lead to 14-0.
Veilleux and the rest of the Panthers' offense finally settled into a rhythm on their next series with a nine-play, 48-yard drive that got them as far as Notre Dame's 27-yard line. However, a Ben Sauls missed field goal attempt from 45 yards out meant it was all for naught and kept Pitt scoreless. Its defense held the Fighting Irish in check, though, and forced a punt that put the ball back in the offense's hands with two minutes left in the second quarter.
Another interception by Xavier Watts gave Notre Dame possession at the Panthers' 30-yard line and led to a 23-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader that made it 17-0 going into halftime.
It was more of the same for Pitt's offense to open the second half as they punted after picking up just three yards on its first drive. On the flip side, the Irish wasted no time getting going as a 60-yard reception by Rico Flores Jr. set up a 10-yard touchdown by Jadarian Price that grew Notre Dame's lead to 24-0.
The Irish turned defense into offense during Pitt's following drive as Jaden Mickey took Veilleux's third interception to the house to make it 31-0 and put the game further out of reach. Notre Dame doubled up on the Panthers' next series too as Christian Gray came down with a pick at midfield on a halfhearted throw-away attempt by Veilleux.
Pitt's defense was able to momentarily stop the bleeding by forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing series, but a muffed punt by M.J. Devonshire was recovered in the endzone by Notre Dame and grew the Irish's lead to 37-0. The Panthers offense seemed all out of sorts and further dug themselves into a hole with a fruitless drive, leading to a punt.
A 42-yard catch by Tobias Merriweather followed by a three-yard touchdown by Estime on the Irish's next series made it 44-0 with 2:21 left in the third quarter. Veilleux connected with Means for a 33-yard completion on the next play of the following possession, but a false start on 4th-and-2 from Notre Dame's 38-yard line forced Pitt to punt once again.
With backup quarterback Steve Angeli in the game, the Irish put together an eight-play, 84-yard drive that culminated in Estime's third touchdown of the game to make it 51-0. Pitt also made a switch to its backup in Nate Yarnell, which paid dividends as he threw for 75 yards with a touchdown to Konata Mumpfield during the following series that broke the shutout and made it 51-7.
Angeli hit Cooper Flanagan for a 19-yard touchdown on Notre Dame's next drive, growing its lead to 58-7. Pitt's offense couldn't recapture the magic from the previous drive and punted the ball away, unceremoniously ending the game.
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