Ben Skowronek caught touchdown passes of 34 and 73 yards from Ian Book to stake Notre Dame to a 14-0 lead, and the Irish coasted to a 45-3 victory over the error-prone Pittsburgh Panthers. The Irish moved to 5-0 on the season. The joy of the day was tempered by the loss of the team’s two fastest wide receivers in Kevin Austin and Braden Lenzy to injury.
Skowronek, who had been nursing a hamstring injury since the season opener, stretched out to make a pair of athletic grabs downfield and outran the Pitt secondary to paydirt. Isaiah Foskey added a touchdown by by blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone to cap a 28-3 first half.
Notre Dame poured it on in the third quarter by converting pass interceptions into short-field touchdown drives and forcing beleaguered Panther quarterback Joey Yellen to the bench.
In addition to his scoring passes to Skowronek, Book also hit freshman sensation Michael Mayer with a 23-yard touchdown strike. Mayer led the team with five receptions on the day and looked like a man among boys throughout the day. Book hit just 16 of 30 throws, but racked up 312 yards in those completions.
The Irish defense overcame any offensive shortcomings. They dominated from start to finish with high energy, and used their considerable depth to wear down Pittsburgh. Yellen was harassed all day, and was 10 for 27 for 101 yards and three interceptions.
Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions:
Will either team be able to run the ball consistently? Notre Dame barely cracked the 100 yard mark, but Williams picked up tough first downs when needed and Book scrambled eight times for 40 yards. Pitt managed only 44 net rushing yards.
Which quarterback will enjoy the best pass protection? Book enjoyed good protection for the most part. Yellen left the game early and may be going into Witness Protection.
Which team will have a higher conversion rate on third down? Big difference here. The Irish were successful 11 of 18 times, while the Panthers were just three of 13.
Will Lenzy and Austin be successfully targeted by Book? Lenzy blew out his hamstring on a senseless play in garbage time, while Austin is similarly snakebit.
Which defensive unit will create the best scoring chances for its offense? Interceptions by Bo Bauer, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramaoh and Nick McCloud set up touchdowns for Notre Dame.
Which kicker will have the most positive impact on the outcome? Neither, but I should have included the punters in that question.
Can Tom Rees keep the aggressive Panther defense off balance? Not really. There were some real head-scratching play calls by Rees in the red zone. On the plus side, Pitt probably didn’t believe it had much to fear from Skowronek after studying previous game film. That was a mistake.
Will Notre Dame remember to bring its white jerseys to this contest? Yes, but Pitt celebrated Halloween a week early by dressing up as ghouls.
Overall, it was a pathetic, pitiful performance by the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Irish dominated time of possession by 41-19 minutes and total yards by 434 to 162. It’s hard to criticize anything in such a blowout, but Book continued to struggle with his accuracy and timing. Losing weapons like Lenzy and Austin won’t help, but Skowronek was the hero of the day. It couldn’t have come at a better time.
Scott says:
Great win today. Was nice to see the passing game in effect. Happy to see them break the bleak predictions of this group.
irishhawk50 says:
I was impressed by Flemister’s running not just in garbage time, but also earlier in the game. Book is a gamer but still not where he needs to be by Clemson time. This is a good solid Notre Dame team, a top ten team. I am not sure it is playoff caliber, but not out of the question. Receiver corp is problematic even with Austin and Lenzy, major concern without them. Pray for snow on November 7th!
ccb says:
Book is the ahilles heel who will limit the team. Still, looks like a 10-1 season w/ a blowout loss to Clemson,
probably 2x if Irish make it to conference champ game. I can’t see Irish competitive vs. Clemson w/ a one
dimensional offense.
Kevin McCarthy says:
Irish looked good , really stupid to get Lenzy hurt, where’s the medical staff? Book is good , but if not great by now, he never will be. Arm is not big enough, accuracy is woeful.. got a lot of heart and guts, but not close to Tua or Burrow talent. At this point , although I love the Irish , Clemson will take us down by 17-21 points with ease.. Gotta upgrade at QB to contend for championship.
Irish in the South says:
Back up QBs did not impress. Need to recruit a 5 star. Book is all we have for now. Receivers are developing so that alone can improve passing game. 312 yards was Book’s record and he has moved up to second in all time ND passing TDs.
Mike Coffey says:
Tyler Buchner will be here in January and is getting a lot of good press
Irish in the South says:
One dimensional offense? Running game is good with 3 good backs. Coming into the game, Pitt had #1 rushing defense.
Louis Ciferno says:
I am not impressed by Book. The accuracy of his throws are atrocious, he missies wide open receivers and he throws off of his front foot. One other thing I have noticed. Every time he throws the ball he stares down the receiver and taps the ball with his hand one or two times before he throws. The ball either sails high or behind the receiver. STOP tapping the ball and just throw it!
Very poor coaching and judgement to let Lenzy play in garbage time with the third string quarterback when you have a 42 point lead! Lenzy is first team, why would he be playing in the fourth quarter in a blowout….Book doesn’t even look for Lenzy during the game and you play him during garbage time….Disgraceful….
Irish in the South says:
Lenzy is fast, but not a star receiver. He had no stats up to the fourth quarter. He was in there to give him a chance to make some receptions. Conditioning of a player is mostly up to the player, not the coaches. Better conditioning prevents injuries.
Jim Kress says:
Are the hamstring injuries of Austin and Lenzy going to be chronic and remove them from competing?
John Vannie says:
Austin re-broke his foot and is probably gone for the season. Lenzy’s hamstring injury looked fairly serious, so I doubt we’ll see him until mid-December at the earliest.
The Obvious says:
Good game. The challenge: do it again, and again, and again, and again . . . against tough competition.
joe barrett says:
A good solid win by the Irish……love the 45-3 outcome…nice to have a ” Baby Gronk ” and a ” Big Ben ” on the offensive side of the ball……and of course the 3 interceptions was huge…… GOOOOOOO ND BEAT Yellow Jackets!!!!!!!!!!
JACK LAD says:
we know who the “GRONK” is…whose the “Big Ben’?
joe barrett says:
Big Ben is the Steelers QB……ND’s Big Ben is Ben Skowronek (WR)…..I know they play different positions but they do both play on the offensive side of the ball….and they are both BIG…..
PC says:
Feels a bit odd to say after a 45-3 win but ND didn’t play very well on offense. Book was very indecisive especially in the first 20 mins or so and really had the game change in his favor when Big Ben went up on a 50-50 ball and not only caught it but stayed on his feet and was the beneficiary of bad tackling. The defense was solid as usual. JOK is the best player on this team and should be a top 15 pick. Unfortunately, they don’t get traditional pressure off the edge which will be very big problem in 2 weeks and against any top 10 team. Not trying to be gloom and doom but this is a solid team only. I really think on BK’s post career tombstone it’s going to read, “If only I’d developed a QB, where we would be.”
GOND88 says:
Well ND won 45-3 so it’s hard to complain when you win by that margin but the offensive line still seems to struggle in run blocking. Pitt might have the #1 rushing defense but their schedule has been very weak. I’m still not sold on Jeff Quinn.
Ian Book still struggles with accuracy and timing as was mentioned which is disappointing for a 5th year senior and 3rd year starter.