Football: Panthers face challenge in Notre Dame

Some of the most memorable moments in recent Pitt football history came against Notre Dame —… Some of the most memorable moments in recent Pitt football history came against Notre Dame — from the 37-27 victory in the last game at Pitt Stadium in 1999 to the Panthers’ quadruple-overtime victory at Notre Dame in 2008 — and Saturday’s game will be head coach Todd Graham’s first chance to make his mark on the rivalry.

“I love the pageantry of college football, and I’ve got a lot of respect for Notre Dame,” Graham said. “I think games like this are what it’s all about. Our coaches want to coach in these types of games, and our players want to play in these types of games.”

Pitt wide receiver Devin Street said that looking forward to the game with Notre Dame helped the team focus after its blowing a 21-point lead in the loss to Iowa on Saturday.

“With a loss to Iowa, it was pretty tough,” Street said. “We knew we couldn’t dwell on it too much because of the game with Notre Dame. You’re always going to get your best game for Notre Dame. We have to play 60 minutes.”

Kickoff is set for noon at Heinz Field between the two teams that both experienced mixed starts to their seasons.

The Panthers began the season 2-0 and played well for three quarters against Iowa until blowing a 21-point lead in the final quarter. Street said that after watching the film, he could tell the Panthers had made strides since their first game of the season and that the offense looked like it should at times.

“It’s high-powered,” he said. “There were a lot of good plays out there, and there could have been more. I think we have to hit on those the next couple of weeks to be successful.”

Meanwhile, the Irish, nationally ranked to begin the season, narrowly dropped their first two games — against South Florida and Michigan — but rebounded with a 31-13 win last week over Michigan State.

Despite Notre Dame’s 1-2 record, Graham said he believes that the Irish might be the toughest team Pitt will play all season.

“I’m very surprised by Notre Dame’s record,” he said. “I think they have to be in the top one or two teams on our schedule, and the best team by far that we [will] have played at this point.” Last year, Pitt fell to Notre Dame 23-17 in South Bend.

Turnover problems plagued both teams early in the season, especially in key situations.

Pitt has thrown four interceptions and lost two fumbles, and the Irish have tossed six interceptions and lost four fumbles. One of the team’s goals for the season is to win the turnover battle by three, as Graham said he believes this is could make a difference in whether the game is won or lost.

“Our focus has been on two things: owning the ball on offense and getting takeaways on defense,” Graham said.

Co-defensive coordinator Keith Patterson agreed.

“That’s something we’ve definitely pointed out to the kids,” Patterson said about forcing turnovers. “We’ve told them they need to step up and make plays.”

The other key to Saturday’s game could be how the Panthers defend Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly’s passing system and the Irish’s prolific senior wide receiver Michael Floyd, whom Graham called one of the best receivers in the country.

Floyd has 31 catches this season for 397 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 132.3 yards per game and 12.8 yards per catch.

Kelly, twice with Cincinnati and once with Notre Dame last season, has won his last three games against Pitt with some big passing plays. Although Iowa made Pitt’s secondary look vulnerable last weekend, Graham feels cornerbacks K’Waun Williams and Antwuan Reed can respond this weekend.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our cornerbacks,” he said. “They’ve got to eliminate the errors. I think some of that you have to look at and say, ‘Maybe we can’t run all of the things we’re running, and we need to simplify and get good.’ That’s what we’ve done this week.”

One thing that could give the Panthers defense the upper hand is that, this year, they are used to working against the high-tempo spread offense in practice.

“That was our weakness last year on defense — I felt we weren’t prepared for the no-huddle,” defensive tackle Myles Caragein said. “This year, going against our offense in practice has been a huge teaching tool…I definitely feel we’re ready for that.”

Notre Dame is also a threat defensively, especially the front line.

“They really get after it. The corners and safeties are really athletic,” Street said. “They just play complete football. They are always flying to the ball. We’re going to have to protect the ball. But I also see opportunity to get big plays from them.”

Although this will be Todd Graham’s first time facing Notre Dame as Pitt’s head coach, he’s experienced recent success against the Irish.

Last season Graham’s Tulsa team went to Notre Dame and pulled off a huge upset after a blocked extra point that was returned for two points made the difference in a 28-27 victory.

Kelly said he sees similarities between Graham’s Tulsa team and this year’s Pitt squad.

“From our standpoint, it’s being more familiar with Coach Graham’s philosophy as to what he did at Tulsa, and we’re really preparing for that kind of offense — versus what Pittsburgh ran last year, which under Coach Wannstedt was a totally different operation,” he said.

Graham said he will find out where the Panthers are as a team after the game against the Irish.

“I believe they [Notre Dame] are the best they have been,” Graham said. “We’re going to be on our best game. Our guys don’t need any [added] motivation, because they are excited about the opportunity to play against Notre Dame.”