Instant Reaction | Notre Dame 19 Pitt 14

In the first quarter of this game, my wife went outside and discovered that someone had broken into our car. There was no serious damage. Only a pair of sunglasses were taken. It was a bit upsetting, but in the end, not much harm was done.

It was that kind of day for me and, weirdly, it was also that kind of day for Notre Dame.

Pitt busted into Notre Dame Stadium and had many things go their way. They led for most of the game. What matters is that they were behind when the clock hit zero in the 4th quarter.

Powered by the strength of another great defensive performance, Notre Dame came out with the W and hopefully learned some things along the way.

Let’s get into it.

- Ian Book is mortal!

I think that’s what we found out today. He was clearly rattled in the first half. He was off in every sense.

He ran into the sack on the first drive with pretty good protection. He panicked in the pocket and scrambled too early often. He didn’t trust what he was seeing and didn’t take chances in contested situations.

Pitt’s defense deserves credit for all the different looks they were giving him with a variety of pressures. Sometimes the protection wasn’t good enough, but even when it was, who he was supposed to get the ball to was unclear.

Maybe some of that is on him, but I also think part of that was a poor job of not having hot routes built in knowing what Pitt was doing.

One bad decision on an interception (the other one wasn’t really on him) and deciding to slide on that final 3rd down play could have been backbreakers for this team. Luckily the defense bailed him and the offense out.

He did finish the game averaging 8.25 yards per attempt and completed over 80% of his throws. If someone cannot play close to their best and still do that, then he’s probably a pretty great quarterback.

It will be a learning experience for him.

- Why should no one overreact too much to Book’s game today? How about those two deep balls on the final touchdown drive. He put the ball on the money to Chase Claypool on that eventual pass interference call and did the same to Miles Boykin on the touchdown.

After struggling on deep balls the week before and needing to be accurate on them when it mattered the most, he did just that.

- It took too long for the offense to adjust to the blitz and the coverage on the outside. Halftime is too long. That needs to happen in-between series.

Winning with rub routes and creating opportunities that way in the second half was huge, but it would have helped if it happened much sooner.

- I guess we’ll see with the film, but it sure seemed like Notre Dame’s’ offensive line got bullied at the point of attack in this game. It would be one thing if it was always about having a loaded box, but their front was winning and getting penetration a lot.

The bye week couldn’t come at a better time for the O-line. They need to get things fixed in the running game. The interior in particular need to be a lot better.

- That Avery Davis whiff in blitz pickup on that 3rd down with Notre Dame in the red zone might just result in Davis not seeing much time the rest of the way at running back. If Jafar Armstrong comes back healthy andTony Jones is closer to 100% after the bye, that will likely be the case.

We’ve seen Dexter Wiliams improve a lot in picking up the blitz, so it’s not a lost cause, but it’s going to be very tough to see the field if Davis can’t show he can pick that up.

- The Notre Dame wide receivers and tight ends did a really good job after the catch and caught the ball really well despite some not stellar ball placement. I thought they greatly helped Book’s completion percentage today.

- The defense held Pitt to 4.0 yards per play. They allowed a touchdown on the first drive (that should have been a punt) and then Pitt never came close to sniffing the end zone after that.

They only gave up 154 yards the entire game and allowed zero points. Pitt was 4 of 12 on 3rd down. They held Qadree Ollison, 192 yards last week, to 50 today. The longest pass they gave up was 16 yards.

Take out the special teams mistakes and they may have pitched a shutout.

- I’ll get back to the defense, but ,my oh my, those special teams mistakes.

Great job on the final fake punt attempt. But another kick taken back to the house and that critical Nicco Fertitta penalty were inexcusable. I don’t even know what to say other than the only thing special teams has to do is not cost Notre Dame the game. They just about did that this afternoon.

- Not having Troy Pride hurt a lot. Pitt was picking on Donte Vaughn and he looked like a defeated player when he was pulled from the game. When Clark Lea was bringing extra rushers, Vaughn got beat twice where he lost leverage on his man.

The one positive is that it looks like the Irish found another corner that can play in true freshman TaRiq Bracy. He needs to get better at fighting through blocks on those bubble screens, but he was definitely competent in coverage and tackled well for a guy who is going to be much stronger a year or two from now.

- While the pass rush wasn’t terrific when they brought only four, the defensive line in general played really well against the run. The whole front seven did.

10 of Ollison’s 16 rushes were for two yards or less. They couldn’t rely on the ground game and Notre Dame forced Kenny Pickett to beat them. Although he made some good improvisational plays, he wasn’t going to get the job done.

- Pickett only averaged 4.5 YPA. I’m sure some people will complain that Notre Dame didn’t blitz more often, but when you are playing coverage and shutting down their passing game (without a starting corner), why would someone to want to bring the house when they aren’t making plays against seven in coverage?

- Khalid Kareem came up with the big sack at the end and it essentially sealed the game because Pickett wasn’t going to make a throw down the field.

It was Julian Okwara who was the true difference maker up front, though. The amount of pressures for him again was staggering. He hit Pickett seven times! He also tipped a ball and did a fantastic job on that key third down in the fourth quarter when Lea brought Drue Tranquill and Alohi Gilman on a blitz inside.

Okwara peeled off to make the TFL on the back and the Irish got a huge stop.

- I really did not like that 4th down call by Chip Long. I wanted to see them run it there or even sneak it.

The two-point conversion play was a good play-call, just not executed well by Book. The decision to go for it by Brian Kelly was expected, but I’m not sure if he should have gone for it at that point.

It didn’t cost Notre Dame the game, but I can’t help but think that Kelly might want to burn that chart he has that tells him when to go for two. I’m a believer that you wait until the fourth quarter to do it.

Maybe because the offense was struggling he thought he might not get another shot? I guess that could have been the case. I still didn’t agree with the decision.

- I feel like I have to say this every time after a game like this, but I'm going to do it again. 

It's a win. Notre Dame is 7-0. The defense again was outstanding minus one drive where they got screwed over by a special teams penalty.

Notre Dame's quarterback didn't play well and still completed over 80% of his throws. Enjoy the win going into the bye week while the players and the staff regroup to finish the season strong.