Notre Dame vs Pittsburgh, 42-30: Full highlights, final score and more

Pitt was no match for an efficient Notre Dame squad despite a valiant second-half effort

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish showed up to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ready make a statement. The Irish scored almost immediately and kept scoring relentlessly throughout the game.

Pitt quarterback Nate Peterman had a rough game. In the first quarter, he was 3-15 with only 44 yards and an interception. After some halftime adjustments, Pitt came back with a better game plan and improved play, but were still no match for Notre Dame who had a swift answer nearly every time Pitt made it into the end zone. Peterman finished the day 12 for 31 with 223 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Three Stars

Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame  With his 47-yard completion early in the first quarter for a touchdown, Fuller has managed to record at least one touchdown in eight of his last nine games. Today, Fuller also passed Golden Tate and now has the second-most receiving touchdowns in Notre Dame history. On the day, he had seven completions for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns.

DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame For a relative novice, Kizer has shown steady improvement throughout the season. That improvement continued against the Pitt Panthers. Though caught off-guard by a corner blitzes more than once, Kizer was generally alert, aware, and competent, making key plays even under pressure. Kizer finished the game with five touchdowns through the air and one he walked in himself.

Josh Adams, RB, Notre Dame True freshman running back Josh Adams epitomized Next Man Up, filling in seamlessly for C.J. Prosise who left the game with an injury early in the game. Though the fourth-string quarterback, Adams easily racked up over 150 total yards and scored a critical touchdown in the final quarter.

Honorable Mention: 

Jordan Whitehead, RB, Pitt One of the bright spots of the game for Pitt was true freshman Jordan Whitehead. Whitehead normally plays safety and leads Pitt in tackles with over sixty so far this season. Saturday, however, he was in at running back where he scored two touchdowns.

Highlights

Early in the game, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer set the tone by throwing a 47-yarder to Will Fuller for a touchdown minutes into the first quarter.

Not too long after that play, Kizer connected with receiver Torii Hunter for a 12-yard touchdown.

When the Panthers generated momentum, the Irish stopped them cold in the end zone, with Notre Dame’s Matthias Farley picking off an attempt at a touchdown pass.

In the second half, the Panthers had a few highlights of their own. Dontez Ford gained 37 yards to set up Jordan Whitehead for his first career touchdown, a ten yard run into the end zone.

Whitehead scored a second touchdown later in the game.

For the most part, though, Will Fuller was the highlight king, with completion after completion.

A fourth-quarter touchdown to wide open Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Tyler Boyd and a second late-game fumble recovery for a touchdown were too little too late.

Odds

Notre Dame was favored and covered the spread.

Next Week

Next week the Fighting Irish take on the 3-6 unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons at home in a game that should be an easy victory for Notre Dame.

The Panthers have a tougher battle to fight as they travel to Durham, North Carolina to play the Duke Blue Devils.