Pitt football is hungry.

Pitt senior linebacker Malcolm Postell spoke on behalf of all his… Pitt football is hungry.

Pitt senior linebacker Malcolm Postell spoke on behalf of all his teammates after Wednesday’s practice when asked about tomorrow’s game at Notre Dame.

“We had a great week of practice, and we’re looking forward to going in there and coming out with a victory,” Postell said. “We’re definitely hungry.”

The Panthers’ eyes may be bigger than their stomachs, though.

The Irish have momentum after a 17-13 upset over Tennessee, which had been ranked eighth in the nation by the BCS before that game.

A major reason for the success the Irish experienced last week was the play of their defense, especially their front seven. They held the Volunteers to only 58 rushing yards, and recorded five sacks for a loss of 44 total yards.

The Irish defensive unit is anchored by two senior defensive ends — Justin Tuck, who is 6-foot-5 and 261 pounds and 6-foot-4, 275-pounder Kyle Budinsack.

“They are probably the best two players we’ll see all year,” Pitt head coach Walt Harris said. “They have dominated every good run team they have faced.”

The Panthers have struggled with the run thus far. Through eight games, Pitt has averaged 2.8 yards per rushing attempt, a number that puts the team ahead of only Rutgers in the Big East.

The Panthers know they must run the ball effectively to give them a shot at winning the game.

“We know we can get better and that we have to be better,” center Justin Belarski said after Wednesday’s practice. “The BC game showed us what we are capable of. Now the question is whether or not we can get it done.”

Not only will the offensive line have its hands full with the defensive line of the Irish, but the Panther defense will also face a tough task in stopping an offense that features four of the five linemen that helped Julius Jones, now of the Dallas Cowboys, run for a Notre Dame school-record 262 yards last season against Pitt.

Although Jones has moved on, the Irish still have a very potent rushing attack led by senior Ryan Grant, who was the starter before Jones broke onto the scene. The Irish also have freshman Darius Walker on the roster.

Although this running attack is different, memories of the Irish running game have not sat well with the Panthers.

“Obviously that’s on everyone’s mind this week; when the coaches brought out the film of last year’s game, no one wanted to watch it,” senior defensive end Vince Crochunis said. “We’ve been working on things that we did wrong last year, and we’ve definitely taken the right attitude in practice all week.”

Along with the right attitude, the Panthers also brought a loud PA system to practice this week. When the first-team offense would come to the line of scrimmage, a loud speaker would project crowd noise, similar to what quarterback Tyler Palko will have to deal with when trying to call the plays at Notre Dame on Saturday.

Although the speakers were very loud on the practice field, it is hard to simulate the exact decibel level that the sell-out crowd will be reaching in South Bend, Ind., tomorrow. The game against Pitt is projected to be the 179th consecutive sellout at Notre Dame Stadium.

The hungry Panthers will have one thing on their mind from the 2:36 p.m. kickoff tomorrow to the final seconds, and that will be the three simple words that team shouted as it broke huddle at the end of practice on Wednesday: “Beat the Irish!”