Notre Dame Football: 3 reasons the Irish will beat Pitt in Week 8

Notre Dame football is facing one of its toughest tests of the season on Saturday afternoon but the Irish will stave off an upset from Pitt.

Saturday afternoon will pit Notre Dame against upset-hungry Pitt at Heinz Field. The Panthers are on a three-game skid but they’ve been known for slaying giants in years past under Pat Narduzzi while Notre Dame is 4-0, but it hasn’t been that impressive.

The Irish are hoping to get more from Ian Book but the run game has been carrying the offense enough to this point that relying on it once again wouldn’t be too bad of an idea.

Notre Dame is facing its toughest battle to date on the road against Pitt, but the Irish will come out on top and stave off an upset. And here’s why.

3. Notre Dame’s pass defense

Kenny Pickett is back and healthy and ready to go for this one which should be worrisome for Notre Dame, but luckily the Irish have one of the best pass defenses out there.

In fact, Notre Dame allows just about 193 yards per game through the air which is one of the best marks in the nation. The Irish haven’t exactly played any elite passing attacks yet with Duke, South Florida, Florida State and Louisville under their belts, but Pickett is also coming off an injury and he’s prone to pedestrian play.

Notre Dame’s secondary is going to step up while the front-seven get after the Pitt quarterback early and often and it’s going to force him into some crucial mistakes.

Defense will be the name of the game Saturday.