Ian Book threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Miles Boykin with
5:43 remaining and No. 5 Notre Dame remained unbeaten, coming from behind and
then holding off Pittsburgh 19-14 on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish are 7-0 for the first time since 2012,
the year they went to the BCS title game, and this game against Pitt was
reminiscent of that season’s victory in South Bend against the Panthers (3-4).
Pitt led 14-12 thanks to a long first-quarter touchdown drive
and a 99-yard kickoff return by Maurice Ffrench to start the second half.
Jason Pinnock #15 of the Pittsburgh Panthers tackles Alize
Mack #86 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday in
South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers were looking to upset an Associated
Press top-five team for the third straight season after knocking off No. 3
Clemson in Death Valley during the 2016 season and No. 2 Miami last November in
Pittsburgh.
But the Irish, who were held to 80 yards rushing, prevailed
behind Book, who is 4-0 as a starter since replacing Brandon Wimbush. Book was
intercepted twice, but finished with 264 yards passing.
Book and Boykin have connected for memorable plays before,
including the 55-yard winning touchdown with 1:28 remaining in Notre Dame’s
21-17 victory over LSU at the Citrus Bowl last season.
Pitt senior running tandem of Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison
rushed for 62 and 50 yards, respectively, with Ollison scoring the Panthers’ first
touchdown on a 9-yard run that capped a 17-play drive on their first possession
of the game.
Kenny Pickett was 19 for 28 for 126 yards, and was sacked by
Khalid Kareem – Notre Dame’s only sack of the game – for a loss of 14 yards on
Pitt’s final possession to set up a fourth-and-long the Panthers could not
convert.
Pitt also ran a strange faked punt on its second-to-last
drive around midfield that failed.
TAKEAWAYS
PITTSBURGH: The
Panthers gained just 12 yards on their last three drives of the first half.
Their first, however, was a thing of beauty: 17 plays, 88 yards, six first
downs, consuming 9:43 of the clock and ending with Ollison taking a direct
snap, faking an end-around handoff and running into the end zone on
second-and-goal from the Irish 9.
NOTRE DAME: The
Irish trailed for the first times after the first quarter (7-0), at halftime
(7-6) and after three quarters (14-12), and they were their own worst enemy.
Notre Dame allowed three sacks and had just 53 yards rushing in the first three
quarters after averaging 195.7 per game. Williams, who averaged 169.5 yards in
his first games since a four-game suspension, had one yard at halftime and 13
yards on eight rushes after three quarters.
MEMORIES
In 2012, Notre Dame beat Pitt 29-26 in overtime, one of
several great escapes for the Irish that season.
UP NEXT
PITTSBURGH: The
Panthers have next week off and then play at home against the Duke Blue Devils
on Saturday October 27th
NOTRE DAME: The
Irish is also off next week and then travels to San Diego to face Navy on
Saturday October 27th.
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