EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 13^th, the (3-3) Pittsburgh Panthers will be on the road to take on the (6-0) Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Notre Dame 31.0 – Pittsburgh 23.9 with an over/under of 59.0.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Notre Dame 56 – Pittsburgh 14.

Mark is predicting a final score of Pittsburgh 39 – Notre Dame 37.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Notre Dame 246.0 YPG > Pittsburgh 149.2 YPG

Rushing offense: Pittsburgh 203.8 YPG > Notre Dame 195.7 YPG

Scoring offense: Notre Dame 34.8 PPG > Pittsburgh 26.0 PPG

Scoring defense: Notre Dame 19.5 PPG > Pittsburgh 32.7 PPG

Passing defense: Pittsburgh 224.0 YPG > Notre Dame 229.5 YPG

Rushing defense: Notre Dame 127.8 YPG > Pittsburgh 196.8 PPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Notre Dame +0.8 > Pittsburgh -0.2

Summary:

Pittsburgh is (3-3) to start the season with wins over Albany, Georgia Tech, and Syracuse.  They were defeated by #13 Penn State, North Carolina, and #13 UCF.  The Panthers rank 91^st in points per game (26.0) and 99^th scoring defense (32.7 PPG).  Quarterback Kenny Pickett has completed 61% of his passes for 880 yards with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.  As a team, Pittsburgh is averaging the 12^th fewest passing yards per game (149.2 YPG).  Quadree Ollison has the 18^th most rushing yards in the nation with 596 to go along with his 5 touchdowns.  Pittsburgh is obviously a run heavy team and backup tailback Darrin Hall has rushed for 314 yards and 4 touchdowns of his own.  The Panthers’ defense ranks 63^rd against the pass (224.0 YPG) and 105^th against the run (196.8 YPG).

Notre Dame is (6-0) with victories over #14 Michigan, Ball State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, #7 Stanford, and #24 Virginia Tech.  The Fighting Irish rank 40^th in points per game (34.8) and 27^th in scoring defense (19.5 PPG).  Head Coach Brian Kelly’s decision to bench ineffective quarterback Brandon Wimbush in favor of Ian Book has paid huge dividends.  Book has completed 73% of his passes for 887 yards with 9 touchdowns to 1 interception.  The backfield trio of Dexter Williams, Tony Jones Jr., and Jafar Armstrong have combined for 886 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.  Miles Boykin leads the team in receiving with 428 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Fighting Irish defense ranks 72^nd in defending the pass (229.5 YPG) and ranks 39^th in defending the run (127.5 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Notre Dame’s offense averaged 23.3 PPG with Brandon Wimbush at the helm and have upped that number to 46.3 PPG since Ian Book took over.  Despite Mark May’s passionate speech to the Pittsburgh players/faithful, Notre Dame should wipe the floor with the Panthers in this one.

Notre Dame wins 45-21

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