Notre Dame Football: 3 takeaways from huge road win over Pitt

1. Notre Dame finally looks like a playoff contender

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t think Notre Dame looked prepared to contend for a spot in the playoff, let alone to keep things close against Clemson on Nov. 7 when the two teams meet.

On Saturday, I was proven wrong.

To be frank, I believed Pitt was going to be the team that would trip the Irish up and early on, it was evident that the Panthers didn’t have what it took. Pat Narduzzi’s teams are usually good for one huge upset every year but this just wasn’t it and it was because Notre Dame was dominant on both sides of the ball from start to finish.

This was easily Notre Dame’s best game of the season.

Wins over Duke, South Florida, Florida State and Louisville were nice and all and made that 4-0 record look pretty, but it was a deceiving mark. Now a 5-0 record and a 45-3 win over a decent Pitt team on the road makes it look even better.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame looks like a serious playoff contender and threat to Clemson in the ACC.