Notre Dame scored in all three phases of the game and blew open a physical contest with a 27-0 third quarter as the Fighting Irish romped to a 58-7 victory. Chris Tyree’s electric 82-yard punt return opened the scoring while backup quarterback Steve Angeli led two impressive fourth quarter scoring drives to close out the festivities. The Irish advance to 7-2 on the season while Pittsburgh dropped to 2-6.

Sam Hartman had a shaky start with interceptions on the first two Notre Dame possessions. The inept Panther offense could not take advantage, however, and Tyree provided the only points of the first period. He fielded Caleb Junko’s first punt of the game, spun around, juked, and squirted through several tackles before racing to the end zone with a convoy of teammates.

Then the defense got into the act. Safety Xavier Watts picked up where he left off two weeks ago with an interception of Pitt’s Christian Veilleux at the Irish 37. Four plays later, Audric Estime scored the first of his three touchdowns with a 15-yard burst at the ten minute mark of the second quarter.

On the ensuing series, Pittsburgh’s only scoring threat of the half ended with a missed field goal by Ben Sauls. The Panthers got the ball back but Watts again stepped in and picked off an errant pass inside Pitt territory. With time winding down in the half, Coach Marcus Freeman looked to score another touchdown while not allowing the visitors sufficient time to answer.

Once Notre Dame moved inside the five-yard line, Freeman allowed 40 seconds to tick off the clock until only twelve seconds remained. This move backfired when the Irish were flagged for a 15-yard penalty. The Panthers returned the favor on the next play with pass interference in the end zone, but only three seconds remained. Freeman sheepishly called for a field goal and Notre Dame led 17-0 at the half.

The Irish came out breathing fire in the third quarter. After the defense forced a punt on the opening possession, Hartman hit Rico Flores for 60 yards to set up a ten-yard scoring run by Jadarian Price. Veilleux, who was pressured by Howard Cross and others all day, was then picked off by cornerback Jaden Mickey who was filling in for the injured Ben Morrison. Mickey coasted untouched into the end zone from 43 yards for a 31-0 Irish advantage.

Freshman corner Christian Gray intercepted another desperation heave by Veilleux moments later. The Irish could not capitalize, though, and punted the ball away from midfield. Panther return man MJ Devonshire promptly fumbled the ball inside his own five-yard line and it rolled into the end zone. Notre Dame’s Ramon Henderson pounced on it for a touchdown. The Irish led 37-0 after a missed extra point, and there was still 8:21 left in the period.

Pittsburgh responded with yet another three and out. Freeman elected to give his offensive starters one more series, with mixed results. The good news is Hartman hit Tobias Merriweather with a deep pass to set up another score by Estime to make it 44-0. The bad news is tight end Mitchell Evans suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury after catching a pass earlier in the drive.

Now leading 44-0, Notre Dame cleared the bench. Angeli came in and was allowed to run the offense rather than simply hand off. He responded by hitting six of seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown to freshman tight end Cooper Flanagan. Pitt’s backup quarterback Nate Yarnell managed to lead his own scoring drive in the final minutes against the Irish reserves to avoid the shutout.

Pittsburgh’s aggressive defense gave Notre Dame problems in the first half but they received no support from their offense and ultimately ran out of gas. Four interceptions by Notre Dame and two scores by special teams completed the nightmare for the Panthers.

Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions:

• Will either team be able to run the ball effectively? Notre Dame outrushed Pitt by 155-53 but it was closer in the first half. Estime finished with 19 carries for 114 yards and three scores.
• Can Irish receivers such as Thomas and Greathouse regain their early season form? Thomas played well early and had a pair of receptions. He appeared to tweak his hamstring again in the second half, though. Greathouse did not catch a ball but looked physically okay in limited action.
• Which team will have a higher conversion rate on third down? The Panthers were only one of ten while the Irish converted four of eight.
• Can Notre Dame’s defense pressure Veilleux into turnovers? Four interceptions turned the game into a laugher.
• Will any of the ex-Irish players perform especially well? No. C’Bo Flemister ran for 24 yards on eight carries. Linebacker Shayne Simon had just one tackle and Phil Jurkovec did not play.
• Which special teams will have the greatest impact on the outcome? What a great question! Notre Dame’s special teams were unremarkable during the first half of the season but now they are must-see TV. I guess they are late bloomers.
• Can Narduzzi’s blitzing style keep Hartman and the Irish off balance? Only for a while until everything fell apart for the Panthers.
• Which team’s signs will Michigan try to steal? Everyone’s. I heard Jim Harbaugh even tried to steal signs from Tim O’Malley’s pee-wee flag football team.

While purists can justifiably maintain concerns about the Irish offense, a total team victory like this is difficult to criticize. Notre Dame will visit a 4-4 Clemson team next week that has offensive issues of its own. Fans should expect a win despite the hostile location. The possibility of losing Evans is depressing, although the Tigers may have lost star running back Will Shipley to a nasty looking head and neck injury today. Hopefully both players will be okay next week and beyond.