Tag: Pittsburgh

The day after: Lasting thoughts on Notre Dame’s win over Pittsburgh

What still sticks out in your mind Irish fans?

That was a fun game to watch for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] fans, the Irish routing visiting [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] to a tune of 58-7.

The second 50 point scoring output of the year, with four others in the 40 point range, which is the kind of point totals that will win a lot of games. All three phases were clicking, Notre Dame scoring on special teams and defense in addition to its offensive contributions.

It was a great day for the Irish and that will reflect in this. Take a look below at what Notre Dame thoughts have stayed with me after its impressive win over Pitt.

Tremendous photos from Notre Dame’s dominating win over Pitt

If you thought the game looked enjoyable on TV then check out the best pictures from Saturday’s blowout win!

It’s been a long time since Notre Dame hung 58 points on a Power Five opponent but thanks to a comedy of Pittsburgh errors in the third quarter Saturday, the Irish routed Pitt 58-7.

This came after a slow start from Notre Dame offensively, but on a day that defense and special teams did more than their own shares, combining to score three touchdowns themselves.

With the win, Notre Dame moves to 7-2 on the season and has a chance to end up in a New Year’s Six bowl game if they’re able to win their final three regular season contests.

Pitt however fell to 2-6 on the year and after the game, head coach Pat Narduzzi seemed to let a bit of the blowout get to him.

We have tons of coverage following Notre Dame’s dominating win that we encourage you to check out.  Of course, do so after checking out the very best photos from the blowout victory below.

How social media reacted to Notre Dame-Pittsburgh: Panthers side

Not fun for the folks in the western part of PA.

How frustrating does it have to be if you’re a Pittsburgh fan? You have one real season highlight, and that was the Panthers upsetting a ranked Louisville team. Two weeks later, the Panthers are visiting Notre Dame, a program that Louisville itself pulled off an upset again, and they get crushed. You most definitely don’t want to look at that 58-7 final.

The Panthers’ bowl hopes are hanging by a thread, and Florida State almost certainly will put an end to those in a week’s time. After that, all that’s left to do is count down the games until the end of the season. There really aren’t any other options when your streak of four straight years finishing above .500 likely is about to end.

This isn’t to rub reality in the faces of Panthers fans. It merely is an attempt to step inside their minds. While we can’t do that for sure, these tweets give us an idea:

How social media reacted to Notre Dame-Pittsburgh: Irish side

You’re happy about this game, right?

Notre Dame was a heavy favorite over Pittsburgh, and there was no reason to think otherwise. Sure enough, the Irish delivered a 58-7 victory. While [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] looked a little rusty out of the gate with a couple of early interceptions, that proved to be the only adversity for the Irish all game. The rest of it was smooth sailing.

It’s hard to believe that there’s a month left in the regular season but only three games remaining. Such is life when you start a week earlier than most other teams and still have another week off coming up. But all things considered, Irish fans have to be pleased with how the season has gone. No, the College Football Playoff isn’t happening, but a New Year’s Six bowl remains in play.

Here are some of the things Irish fans said on social media after their team’s dominant performance against the Panthers:

Hidden plays that helped Notre Dame’s win at home against Pittsburgh

Which non-scoring plays stood out to you Irish fans?

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] routed [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] 58-7 at home on Saturday afternoon, getting a win following a bye week.

The win improves the Irish’s record to 7-2 in the second year of the [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] era, and should make a move north in the next rankings.

It wasn’t a trap game, as it could have been, the Irish taking care of business, scoring the most points on the year. It’s a game that many of us will go back and watch again, multiple highlight plays for Notre Dame.

There were other plays, that we might not remember, but still made a difference in this game. Here are those plays.

5 stars: The best and worst of Notre Dame’s win over Pittsburgh

Who played well? Who didn’t for the Irish against Pitt?

This was the kind of game [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] needed, as they blew out [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] at home 58-7.

Coming off a bye, the Irish started a bit slow, but finished with a fury scoring in the second half from all three units: offense, defense, and special teams. It was a true team win for Notre Dame who now improved to 7-2 on the year.

There was mostly good play from this team, so there were some much higher grades than normal here. There was one aspect of this game that didn’t sit well with me. So, here are the best, 5-stars, and worst, 1-star, performance’s from Notre Dame in its win over Pitt.

First female Notre Dame Leprechaun at football game appears

History was made at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

Fans who attended Notre Dame’s game against Pittsburgh and watched on TV might have noticed something different at Notre Dame Stadium. Kylee Kazenski, a senior at the university, became the first female to portray the Notre Dame Leprechaun at a football game. While females have donned the green suit before, they haven’t done so for Notre Dame’s biggest sport until now.

Here’s a shot of Kazenski before the game:

And yes, she even participated in the pushups that are done after every Irish score:

But with the Irish continuing to run up the score on the Panthers, one had to admit doing that many pushups at once was kind of ridiculous. A TV shot showed that she eventually was just pushed up by Notre Dame’s male cheerleaders. With those arms and that many cheerleaders, that should have been easy.

Congratulations to Kylee, and here’s hoping she’s the first of many female Leprechauns to be featured at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturdays.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Social media reacts to another touchdown for Audric Estime

Another one.

This is getting to be routine for [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]. Despite crossing into double digits for touchdowns in 2023 earlier against Pittsburgh, the Notre Dame running back decided he wasn’t done scoring. He ran for his second touchdown of the game from 3 yards out in the third quarter, adding to a day in which he’s been able to do pretty much anything he’s wanted:

Actually, Estime has been representative of everything going right for the Irish against the Panthers. Even though Sam Hartman through a couple of interceptions early, that proved to be nothing more than an outlier. The Irish have been superb in every aspect of this game. While pretty much everybody expected a win, it’s unlikely anyone thought it would be this dominant.

Believe it or not, there still are people watching and reacting on social media in spite of the game being a blowout. Here’s how some people reacted to Estime’s second score:

Social media reacts to Jaden Mickey interception return for touchdown

Only one in a series of big plays for the Irish.

This listicle began as one where social media reacted to [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag]’s touchdown to open Notre Dame’s third-quarter scoring. Here’s the play just so we have it on the site:

But just as work was beginning on the price listicle, a little-known Irish cornerback named [autotag]Jaden Mickey[/autotag] picked off Christian Veilleux for the first interception of his collegiate career. He also turned that interception into points, returning it 43 yards to the end zone, adding onto the Irish’s growing lead over Pittsburgh:

You always have to love when the players who aren’t as known get to shine in the spotlight. Even if Mickey doesn’t become a star, he’ll at least have plays like this to look back on.

Oh, and while this was being written, [autotag]Ramon Henderson[/autotag] recovered a muffed punt in the end zone for another Irish touchdown:

We could recap all of this right now, but for our purposes, we’ll focus on the play that got most people out of their seats, and that’s the Mickey pick to the house. Here’s how social media reacted to it:

Social media reacts to Xavier Watts’ two first-half interceptions

That’s six picks for him this season.

Christian Veilleux had to know [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] would be one of his biggest challenges when he led Pittsburgh’s offense against Notre Dame. He most certainly did not have two first-half interceptions by Watts in mind. Yet that’s exactly what happened, and they both set up all 14 points scored by the Irish’s offense in the half. The Irish led, 17-0, at the break.

Watts’ first pick set up the touchdown by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]:

This one set up a chip-shot field goal for [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] right before halftime:

You have to give Watts mad props for emerging as perhaps the one Irish defender you absolutely do not want to mess around with. If you don’t have a half-decent offense, which is the case for the Panthers, players like Watts will make you pay. Watts has done just that, and he’s going to be a major reason the ride back to the Steel City will be a long one.

Here is what social media is saying about Watts: