Defense will be the name of the game when Notre Dame plays Pittsburgh. Though Kyren Williams has paced the Irish en route to becoming the seventh-best rushing offense in the country, he and the other backs will have contend with a Panthers defense that has become the prototype for stopping the run in 2020. In fact, the Panthers have to be chomping at the bit to face an Irish offense that just came off a putrid performance against Louisville and has done little to prove anything in the passing game this entire season. If Pitt’s defense lives up to its reputation, all its offense has to do is pick up first downs at the rate it usually does, and we could be looking at an upset.
Of course, none of this discounts the tough defense the Irish bring on the road. It will tighten up on third down and also keep points off the scoreboard. As a whole, the Irish are far more disciplined, too, so perhaps the Panthers will be just as charitable on the penalty front as the Cardinals were last week. But whether there are lots of penalties or not, we’re looking at a game which could be determined by which defense blinks first.