Notre Dame Football: Takeaways from Irish escape vs Pitt

The defense looked strong all game

The Fighting Irish have boasted a very good defense all season, and that strength was on full display against Pittsburgh from the opening whistle.

The Panthers couldn’t move the ball down the field at all, as they had less than 40 yards passing in the first half! The running game didn’t have much more success, as Qadree Ollison scored a rushing touchdown, but only had 28 yards on the ground.

The second half was more of the same. Kenny Pickett continued to struggle throwing the football, as he finished the game 19 for 28 with zero touchdowns and only 126 yards through the air.

For the most part, the run defense was strong and outside of an early special teams touchdown the Fighting Irish defense was spectacular. The defense didn’t give up a run of longer than 17 yards, and if you take out the Panthers two longest runs they averaged just 2.9 yards per carry.

A meeting with Navy comes up in two weeks and if the Fighting Irish won’t overlook the Midshipmen after this close scare. In order for Notre Dame to stay undefeated, their defense will need to continue to put up performances like this one.