Notre Dame Debriefing: Week 9 Pittsburgh

After a much-deserved and much-needed week off, Notre Dame returned to action in South Bend going up against Pittsburgh. And boy, did a week off really help this Notre Dame team prepare for this game. They dominated Pitt 58-7, even with the Irish having a shaky first half. Sure they were winning 17-0, but the offense looked off. Sam Hartman threw a couple of interceptions, which is very uncharacteristic of him. It just felt like they couldn’t get anything going and looked like it was going to be a long day.

However, the Fighting Irish defense stepped up in a big way throughout the game, forcing five turnovers in the game. There was a three-drive stretch for Pitt where each ended in a turnover. The Irish were also able to score 14 points off that three-drive stretch. This was a theme for Notre Dame all day, being able to score 23 points off the five Pitt turnovers. This is exactly what you need to do when you force that many turnovers. Capitalizing on the other team’s mistakes is what good teams do.

It also has to make you feel good if you’re defense and special teams are able to pick your team up like that. As stated earlier the offense seemed off in the first half. If the defense is able to step up and be as dominant as it is, it takes pressure off the offense. They can try to figure things out, rather than trying to force things to work, because they’re being counted on to carry the team. Here are the other major takeaways from the game.

Xavier Watts Dominance Continues

One of the biggest stories coming out of the USC game was the play of Xavier Watts. He had two interceptions and forced a fumble in that game and gave Caleb Williams fits all game. Coming into the game against Pitt, everyone wanted to see how he would follow up his dominating performance. He picked up right where he left off. In the first half of the game, Watts was able to pick off quarterback Christian Veilleux twice. Both resulted in the Irish getting the ball near Pitt territory.

Watts is a big reason why Notre Dame went into halftime with a 17-0 lead. Having two drives that start close to Pitt territory increases your chances that you’ll come away with some points. Even with your offense struggling, starting drives where it’s only 20 or 25 yards to get to field goal range, puts the offense at ease. They know they don’t have to drive the length of the field and can have a play or two not work because they don’t have to drive down the field.

If Watts doesn’t get those two interceptions, Notre Dame goes into halftime only up by seven, with their only points coming off a punt return for a touchdown. Who knows if Notre Dame is able to dominate in the second half the way they do without being up by three scores at the half? Pitt might come out with more fights in them knowing that they are close and the upset is possible.

Audric Estime Steps Up For the Notre Dame Offense

The one bright spot you can take out of the offensive performance is the continued dominance of Audric Estime. Estime ran all over the Pitt defense rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns, as well as getting two receptions for 16 yards. He has cemented himself as the most important player on this offense. After not being used in the loss to Lousiville, Estime has shown up big-time in back-to-back games. During that stretch, he has rushed for 208 yards and five touchdowns.

Estime is going to need to keep this play up, especially considering that tight end Mitchell Evans will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL. That is a huge blow for the Notre Dame passing game as Evans was seeing an increased role in the attack. People were already considering him to be the next great Notre Dame tight end. However, if Estime can continue to be as dominant as he has been, and continue to produce, it lessens the blow. Notre Dame is a run-first type team, and if Estime can be the game-changing back he has been, the passing game won’t have to be relied upon as much.

Notre Dame will be back in action on November 4th when they take on Clemson in Death Valley. Kickoff is set for noon EST.

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