Pitt was expected to be the toughest test for Notre Dame football to date, but the Irish took care of business and blew the Panthers out.
Notre Dame had a lot to prove heading into Saturday’s game. The Irish were 4-0 before facing a tough Pitt squad but there was an overwhelming feeling that their record was a little deceiving. They had beaten teams like Duke, South Florida, Florida State and Louisville and only looked dominant in that one non-conference battle.
That changed on Saturday as the Irish bounced back from an ugly 12-7 win over Louisville last week to beat Pittsburgh in dominant fashion 45-3.
Pat Narduzzi and the Panthers had been known for being giant-slayers over the years, but couldn’t quite get the job done on Saturday to lose their fourth straight game after beginning the year 3-0.
What’d we learn from Notre Dame’s win over Pitt?
3. Notre Dame tight ends are scary
Once again, Notre Dame has a couple of tight ends that could strike fear into just about any defense and that was the case on Saturday as Michael Mayer had a huge game.
Tommy Tremble came into the year as a tight end to watch for on a national level and he’s been kind of quiet, but he’s always going to be a threat in the receiving game. He has 10 catches for over 100 yards on the year and even though he was held in check against Pitt and that usually-stingy defense, the Irish had another tight end step up.
Mayer, a freshman, looks like Rob Gronkowski and even earned the nickname “Baby Gronk” and played like it against Pitt. He caught five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown and looks like a future NFL star.
Can we just officially call Notre Dame ‘Tight End U’ yet?