'Pick your poison,' Jeremiyah Love says as Pittsburgh prepares to load box against Notre Dame
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SOUTH BEND —No one should be surprised if 22nd-ranked Pittsburgh loads the tackle box and becomes the latest opponent to dare Notre Dame football to beat it through the air.
Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi, during a podcast appearance with Eric Mac Lain of the ACC Network, essentially telegraphed that part of his game plan ahead of Saturday’s noon start at Acrisure Stadium.
“We’re going to take away the run and the RPO (run-pass option) because they will RPO us,” Narduzzi told the former Clemson offensive lineman. “They haven’t done a ton of it this year, but I expect to see it against us. They did it back in ’23 and they’ve done it against us because we do stack the box.”
With Wake Forest grad transfer Sam Hartman at the controls, Notre Dame shook off a slow start to blast the Panthers, 58-7, behind 380 passing yards and 155 more on the ground. That late October output included touchdowns off an interception and a punt return, and the first offensive touchdown for the Irish came 20 minutes in.
Pittsburgh (7-2) enters with the nation’s stingiest rush defense (2.39 yards per carry) and a secondary that’s tied for 60th with Notre Dame at 6.9 yards per attempt allowed.
“We’re going to try to stop the run if we can and then work it from there,” said Narduzzi, in his 11th season at Pitt. “See if we can get them in a second down and long.”
Even as redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr gains experience and converts doubters, the preference against the ninth-ranked Irish is to bottle up Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, if at all possible.
“It starts with the quarterback, but those two tailbacks back there, Price and Love, those are two special dudes,” said Narduzzi, who was the defensive coordinator for two Irish assistants, Mike Mickens and Max Bullough, during their playing careers at Cincinnati and Michigan State, respectively.
Pittsburgh has allowed 18 passing touchdowns and just seven on the ground. Love and Price have 22 rushing scores this season between them.
Asked this week how he would defend the Irish, Love smiled and shrugged.
“You’ve got to pick your poison,” he said. “I would say you’ve got to stop the run. And if you don’t, it’s not going to be good. … I’d stop the run as a defensive coordinator if I’m looking to stop Notre Dame.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football rushing attack could be tested at Pittsburgh
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