PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pat Narduzzi was kidding. Mostly anyway.
Asked what it means when No. 23 Pittsburgh hosts No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday, the longtime Panthers coach did a little math and then offered a somewhat tongue-in-cheek response.
“I would gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that game,” Narduzzi said. “They can put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that.”
Casually saying he was OK if the Panthers lose by a video-game score is Narduzzi's
typically idiosyncratic way of taking some of the pressure off a team whose season threatened to careen out of control after back-to-back losses to end September.
All Pitt has done in the interim is rip off five straight behind true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, which is why, regardless of the outcome at Acrisure Stadium this weekend, the Panthers (7-2) can earn a spot in the ACC title game by toppling No. 14 Georgia Tech and No. 16 Miami to end the regular season.
Notre Dame (7-2) has no such wiggle room. A seven-game winning streak by an average of nearly four touchdowns has put the Irish back in the College Football Playoff mix, though another misstep likely leaves them on the outside looking in when the 12-team field is released next month.
It's why coach Marcus Freeman bristled this week when he received a text from a friend who labeled the meeting with the Panthers as a “trap" game. Considering the heater Pitt is on thanks to Heintschel and a defense creating the “havoc” that has become Narduzzi's signature during his 11 seasons, Freeman doesn't see it that way.
"This is not a trap game,” Freeman said. “This is a challenge. This is a real challenge, a great challenge.”
It's also Notre Dame's final chance to impress the CFP committee. The Irish finish with injury-riddled Syracuse and rebuilding Stanford. A wobble against a Pitt team eager to prove it's worthy of the buzz it has generated over the last six weeks could be damaging.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has seen his Heisman Trophy stock rise in recent weeks. Yet even as his Heisman campaign has gained traction, he's hardly the only back fueling one of the most imposing rushing attacks in the country.
Backups Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams are also thriving. Price has 95 carries, 598 yards and nine TD runs, one TD catch and two kickoff returns for scores. Williams is coming off his most productive college performance, too, carrying five times for 72 yards and his second touchdown of the year against Navy.
Pitt’s surge into relevance has come in lockstep with Heintschel supplanting Eli Holstein in early October.
All Heintschel has done is top 300 yards passing in four of his five starts while throwing for 12 touchdowns against five picks. While Heintschel’s profile has risen dramatically in recent weeks, his teammates and coaches aren’t worried about the attention going to his head. It wasn’t that long ago that Heintschel was just a high school kid in northwest Ohio who didn’t have a single offer from a Power Four school until the Panthers reached out.
“I’ve never been around a true freshman that prepares like an NFL 10-year vet,” offensive coordinator Kade Bell said. “He prepares like he’s playing over here for the (Pittsburgh) Steelers. And he loves it, and he wants to get better and learn. The one thing I love about him is that a lot of times he doesn’t make the same mistake twice.”
In a college football world dominated by veteran quarterbacks transferring from one school to the next, Saturday’s matchup is a rarity — a game with two first-year starters playing quarterback.
But C.J. Carr might be ahead of Heintschel in the experience category. Carr has started all nine of Notre Dame’s games this season and after a slow start has been rounding into form. The grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has topped the 200-yard mark seven times this season and has 19 TD passes and four interceptions — none over the last two weeks.
Pitt appearing in the CFP rankings at any point this season seemed remote after blowing fourth-quarter leads to West Virginia and Louisville to end September.
The Panthers have rallied to check in at No. 23 in the CFP this week, and they're well aware it could be a mere cameo if they don't pull off a stunner against the Fighting Irish. While there is a fair amount of attention being paid — ESPN's popular “College Gameday” will broadcast from just outside Acrisure Stadium for just the second time in 20 years — the pain from last season's late collapse, in which Pitt started 7-0 before dropping its final six games, remains fresh.
“I think last year we got too focused on the opponent, too focused on the moment, the game, the atmosphere, what’s going on outside of the building,” Panthers wide receiver Kenny Johnson said. “In all reality, it’s us. It’s us on that field. It’s our 11 versus their 11, and we got to go execute.”
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AP Sports Writer Mike Marot contributed to this report.
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