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Notre Dame Football: 3 Bold predictions for the Irish against Pittsburgh

By Christopher Lewnau

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 23: Sam Hartman #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in action against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on September 23, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 23: Sam Hartman #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in action against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on September 23, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Tomorrow marks the return of an old-fashioned rivalry between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh.  These two schools have faced off 72 times with the Irish holding a commanding 49-21-1 lead in the series.  The last meeting came in 2020 when Notre Dame football routed Pitt 45-3.  Fast forward to the present day, and it appears that this edition seems to be headed on a similar path.  With that said, here are three bold predictions for the Irish as they get set to take on the Panthers.

Sam Hartman to throw for 3+ scores

For Sam Hartman, this season has been quite the rollercoaster ride. Bursting onto the scene in South Bend, Hartman was hammering opposing defenses through the air.  He produced 13 passing touchdowns to zero interceptions within the first four games of the 2023 campaign, culminating in a 4-0 record for the Fighting Irish.

However, since the 41-17 drubbing of Central Michigan on September 16th, Hartman’s aerial assault has largely shot blanks. In the past four games, the grad transfer QB from Wake Forest has produced just 5 passing touchdowns, whilst also tossing 3 picks to his opponents.

Now, this stretch of games that included all Top 25 opponents, was always going to be the most challenging section of the season, but I don’t think anyone expected this drastic of a drop-off in production. In turn, Notre Dame football struggled en route to a 2-2 mark during this stretch.

With that said, the final third of the schedule will lighten up considerably, with the exception of the Clemson game of course.  As such, I expect Hartman to get back to his best, and that starts versus the lame Pitt Panthers.  As a result, I predict Hartman will throw for at least 3 touchdowns against Pat Narduzzi’s defense.

Narduzzi will load the box in an effort to stop Audric Estime and the ND ground attack.  In turn, this will allow Hartman’s playmakers, most notably Mitchell Evans, Chris Tyree, Jayden Thomas, and Rico Flores, to exploit the extra available space downfield.

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