The Fighting Irish (6-3) are back on the road in Pittsburgh this weekend to face Pitt (8-1) Saturday evening at Heinz Field (65,050). The game will kick off at 8:00 PM ET and will be televised nationally by ABC (Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters).
Notre Dame and Navy will face off the 65th time on Saturday, with the Irish holding a 44-19-1 series lead. The Panthers won last season's meeting in South Bend, 36-33, in four overtimes.
Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff (credit: Notre Dame Sports Information):
10 – Only 10 defenses have been stingier in the red zone than Notre Dame’s as Irish opponents have scored only 71.4 percent of trips inside the Notre Dame 20 yard line.
Tate ranks third among FBS receivers with 117.7 yards per game and has gone over 1,000 yards for a second consecutive season.
9 – The Irish have committed only nine turnovers, which ties for seventh fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
8 – Notre Dame’s offense has exploded for big plays in almost every game this season. After totaling just three passing plays over 50 yards in 2008, the Irish have registered eight passing plays of at least 50 yards this year.
7 – The Irish have seemingly played in a nail-biter every week as seven games have been decided by seven points or less this season. That ties the school record set in 1990.
6 – Senior S Kyle McCarthy leads the Irish and is ranked sixth in the nation with five interceptions this year. He is the only player in the FBS to rank in the top 100 in interceptions, tackles and solo tackles.
5 – Junior QB Jimmy Clausen has thrown for at least 300 yards five times in 2009 helping him average 307.8 yards per game this year, fifth-best in the FBS.
4 – Junior QB Jimmy Clausen has been at the top of his game in the fourth quarter this season, helping lead the Irish to a school record four fourth-quarter comebacks for wins. In the final period, Captain Comeback has thrown for 786 yards with eight passing TDs, one rushing TD and only one interception.
3 – Junior WR Golden Tate ranks third in the FBS averaging 117.7 receiving yards per game and has 1,059 receiving yards this year. He also ranks third among active players for highest career yards per catch average (17.6). Among Notre Dame records, only three players have more career touchdown receptions than Tate’s 21 TDs and if he can average 108.0 receiving yards over the next three games he will break Jeff Samardzija’s career receiving yards record.
2 – The Irish offense ranks second in the country in fewest three-and-out possessions. In fact, only two schools are averaging more first downs per game than Notre Dame.
1 – Junior WR Golden Tate ranks first among wide receivers in the FBS with 12 total touchdowns (10 receiving, two rushing) and has scored at least one TD in five straight games – three off the school record.
0 – Senior C Eric Olsen, a member of the Rimington Award watch list, has not allowed a sack this season in over 300 passing attempts.
Enjoy the game and be sure check out BlueandGold.com afterward for complete post-game coverage.
Just The Stats, Please -by Todd Burlage
A statistical look at today’s matchup.
Following is the statistical comparison between Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. National rankings are in parenthesis out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
NOTRE DAME Passing Efficiency: Jimmy Clausen 162.88 (3) Total Offense: Clausen 300.89 (8) Receptions Per Game: Golden Tate 7.22 (T-10) Rec Yards Per Game: Tate 117.67 (3) Interceptions: Kyle McCarthy .56 (T-6) Field Goals: Nick Tausch 1.56 (T-14) Scoring: Tate 8.00 (T-33), Tausch 7.67 (T-40) All-Purpose Runners: Tate 147.22 (21) Tackles For Loss:Darius Fleming 1.44 (T-15)
PITTSBURGH Rushing: Dion Lewis 126.56 (7) Passing Efficiency: Bill Stull 161. 61 (5) Receiving Yards Per Game: Jonathan Baldwin 77.56 (36) Kickoff Returns:Cameron Saddler 27.73 (21) Field Goals: Dan Hutchins 1.44 (T-23) Scoring: Lewis 8.67 (T-15), Hutchins 8.33 (23) All-Purpose Runners: Lewis 141.44 (31) Sacks: Greg Romeus .83 (T-20) Tackles For Loss: Ernest (Mick) Williams 1.44 (T-15)
