No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) at No. 22 Pittsburgh (7-2)
Acrisure Stadium | 12:00 PM ET | ABC | Line: Notre Dame -12.5 | Total: 53.5
Game Week Articles | Roster | Depth Chart | Schedule
Five Players To Watch
Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields
Fields has 12 receptions of 20+ yards and is averaging 19.9 yards per reception. That's seventh in the country and he's been a consistent deep threat for Notre Dame all season. They will take some shots with him in this matchup and he could end up having a huge day against Pitt's secondary.
Pitt QB Mason Heintschel
Pitt is 5-0 and has scored 30 or more in every game since the true freshman took over at quarterback. He's provided a spark and is unafraid to make any throw, but that can be a good and a bad thing. He tends to hold on to the ball too long, and he has the 10th-highest turnover-worthy play percentage out of Power 4 quarterbacks. Going up against Notre Dame's defense will be his toughest test by a wide margin.
Notre Dame DE Boubacar Traore
Pitt is going to drop back and throw the football a lot more than Navy did. That makes this a perfect opportunity for Traore to jump back in and take his place as an impact pass rusher for the Irish. He'll be matched up with RT Ryan Baer for most of the game. Baer has allowed 11 sacks over the last two seasons, and Stanford is the only Power 4 opponent that he hasn't allowed multiple pressures against this season.
Pitt LB Kyle Louis
Louis is an elite athlete and one of the best coverage linebackers in the country. He missed a couple of games for Pitt this season, but was back before the bye and should be fully healthy for this matchup. He has 11.5 havoc plays in eight games after racking up 24.5 in 2024.
Notre Dame LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
KVA is having the breakout sophomore season that everyone expected him to. There aren't many linebackers in the country playing better football than him in the last month. He's had 6.5 havoc plays in his last four games and numerous other plays where he has set up others to make plays. He's become a player that opponents have to circle every week because they know he's a problem.
Quotes of the Week
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman:
“This is not a trap game. This is a challenge. This is a real challenge. A great challenge. We have to understand the challenge that we have ahead of us on Saturday. And use that as a reminder to prepare the right way. To take care of what we have. That's what's right in front of us. We gotta get to work and we've been getting to work. We gotta continue to do it.”
Notre Dame OL coach Joe Rudolph:
“Football toughness to me is kind of simple. It's a violence and physicality that you play with, but equally it's being your best when your best is needed. It's like, ‘Man, when everything's on the line, when things change at the last minute, you can count on that dude to get his job done.’ To communicate, to do the little things he needs to do to make the guy next to him better while he's executing his job. That's tough.
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love:
“The Heisman goes to, I believe, the best player in the country or whatever it may be,” said Love. “I feel like whoever wins the Heisman, you can attribute that to them having probably one of the best teams in the country. That's what it means to me.”
Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowen:
“I would say we've got a little bit of a chip on our shoulder right now. A lot of people don't think we should be where we're at and it's kind of a thing we wear. We're Notre Dame. We're going to go out, play hard, play physical and play violent football.”
For Your Nerves
Under Armour #42 White Notre Dame Fighting Irish Alternate Leprechaun Replica Hockey Jersey
