Know your foe: Everything you need to know about Notre Dame’s next opponent, Pittsburgh

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Notre Dame will hit the road to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers this weekend, and while the home head coach isn’t putting as much stock into this game as he should be, it’s still a top-25 matchup.

It’s big enough that ESPN’s College GameDay will be on campus for the game, and it should make an impact on the College Football Playoff. Both teams are in contention for a berth, but it seems as if Pitt is playing the long game here, as they’ll try to win the ACC’s automatic spot instead of an at-large bid.

Check out a below an in-depth preview of what kind of team that Notre Dame will face in Pittsburgh this weekend.

(Note: All stats are via NCAA.com.)

Pittsburgh’s defensive rankings

Passing yards allowed: No. 95 nationally allowing 237.4 yards-per-game

Rushing yards allowed: No. 3 nationally allowing 80.9 yards-per-game

Total defense: No. 25 nationally allowing 318.3 yards-per-game

Scoring defense: No. 43 nationally allowing 21.78 points-per-game

Pittsburgh’s offensive rankings

Passing yards: No. 10 nationally averaging 302.6 yards-per-game

Rushing yards: No. 104 nationally averaging 124.2 yards-per-game

Total offense: No. 36 nationally averaging 426.8 yards-per-game

Scoring offense: No. 6 nationally averaging 39.7 points-per-game

Pittsburgh’s head coach – Pat Narduzzi

For many years, Nadruzzi was seen as one of the best defensive minds in college football, winning the Broyles Award in 2013 with Michigan State. He’d leave for Pitt just the next season, and won the ACC in 2021, also a division title in 2018. The conference title team is the last one that Narduzzi has let to double-digit wins, but at 7-2, there’s a chance that could change this year. He’s been solid, not spectacular, and this is one of his better teams.

Pittsburgh’s best offensive players

Freshman Mason Heintschel has been very solid in his first season, completing 64.1% of his passes for 1,547 yards with 12 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He’ll run the ball as well, but Ja’Kyrian Turner is the lead back, but he’s more thunder without a lightning. Kenny Johnson and Raphael Williams Jr. both have over 500 receiving yards with a combined 10 receiving touchdowns.

Pittsburgh’s best defensive players

Defensive tackle Jimmy Scott leads the team with 4 sacks, as there are seven total players with at least 2 on the year. Linebackers Rasheem Biles and Kyle Louis both have 52-tackles and 2 sacks, but it’s another ‘backer in Braylan Lovelace that leads the team with 55-tackles. All three of them have at least one interception, as do six defensive backs. Kavir Bains-Marquez is the best of the bunch, but there are multiple other playmakers in the secondary.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Know your foe Week 12: What to know about Notre Dame’s opponent, Pitt

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