Highlights: Notre Dame 58, Pittsburgh 7 — Irish domination and Mickey's meaningful interception return

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — If anything, No. 14 Notre Dame (7-2) should have beaten Pittsburgh (2-6) worse than 58-7. A pair of Sam Hartman passes turned into fluke red-zone interceptions — one because of a seemingly-obvious pass interference that went uncalled, the other off a deflection — and the Irish did not handle a red-zone drive at the end of the first half.

Then again, Notre Dame did enjoy three return touchdowns. Perhaps 58-7 was fair.

The point is, Saturday afternoon was more than a blowout on the scoreboard. Considering Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi’s flubbed words in his postgame press conference, it could be said the Irish eviscerated Pittsburgh on a program level.

Outgaining a supposed B-tier rival 535 yards to 255 will do that, as will holding it to 66 yards on 17 rush attempts, 3.9 yards per attempt (sacks adjusted), especially when that head coach insists on an old-fashioned offense rather than the aerial attack that won him an ACC title in 2021.

“Defensively we’ve been playing well the past few games,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. “Almost finished the game with a shutout, so great to get those takeaways.

“And more than anything, we needed this. We need the confidence.”

Unlike the 48-20 toppling of USC two weeks ago, the Irish offense did more than convert short fields into touchdowns against the Panthers. Averaging 8.2 yards per play is a resounding statement, and if Narduzzi deserves any credit this season, it is for an above-average defense.

Hartman’s second interception was somewhat his own fault, not gauging the linebacker in his passing lane, but even then, that deflection needed to pop up just right for the same linebacker to intercept it, not something to be assumed with an oblong ball. Hartman’s first turnover, however, a deep shot to freshman receiver Rico Flores, certainly appeared to be an officiating error.

Keeping that in mind, his 18-of-25 for 288 yards should be considered strong, even efficient, averaging 11.5 yards per pass attempt. He has not quite returned to the precision passing that marked Notre Dame’s first four games, but the Irish defense does not need that perfection from Hartman.

Because it is playing nearly perfectly itself.

In the last two games, Notre Dame has given up a total of eight explosive plays and just two on 47 rush attempts, all excluding garbage time.

Pittsburgh did not log an explosive rush on 16 attempts before the game was well out of hand, managing just three pop-worthy passes on 34 dropbacks.

To put that another way, the Irish are not allowing opponents to beat them with single shots, USC’s dynamic offense earning just five out of 73 plays. And Notre Dame is certainly not vulnerable to repetitive, methodical drives, either.

Before the fourth quarter, when the Irish turned the game over to sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli, Pittsburgh had managed just one quality drive on 11 possessions. Meanwhile, Notre Dame had turned nine possessions into six scoring opportunities.

Notre Dame extends massive lead with a pick-six

Jaden Mickey intercepted a pass from Pittsburgh's Christian Veilleux and took it to the house for a touchdown, giving Notre Dame a 31-0 lead in the third quarter.

Yet the most important Irish points did not come from one of those six scoring opportunities. The most important points for Notre Dame on Saturday turned a 24-0 lead into a 31-0 laugher, sophomore cornerback Jaden Mickey returning an interception 43 yards for a touchdown.

Panthers quarterback Christian Veilleux threw off-balance and off-target, hurried by Irish safety Thomas Harper on a blitz around the edge and fifth-year linebacker JD Bertrand up the middle — and Mickey collected the errant throw.

“I told my friends, I promise I’m gonna get one today,” Mickey said afterward. “I just pictured my mom and my dad in the living room yelling. I said, ‘My mom gotta see this.’”

Mickey’s mother has been battling colon cancer since 2020, and Inside ND Sports reported late Saturday night that she has entered hospice care, foregoing any more chemotherapy with the intention of spending the rest of her life surrounded by her family and loved ones.

Mickey even starting was a surprise, fifth-year cornerback Cam Hart moving to boundary duties with sophomore Benjamin Morrison a gametime scratch with a quad strain, elevating Mickey to the starting role as the field cornerback.

“Take advantage of that play,” Freeman said. “Today, he’s in a starting role. Take advantage of those opportunities, which he did. So I’m really pleased with how he performed, how he is practicing, how unselfish he is. I love Jaden Mickey. He’s a great player and doing great things for us.”

Tyree takes punt return 82 yards vs. Pittsburgh

Chris Tyree's miraculous 82-yard punt return gives Notre Dame an early lead over Pittsburgh at home.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Every so often, college football likes to get weird. When Hartman’s first deep throw turned into an interception, Pittsburgh junking up a football game seemed imminent. But then Notre Dame fifth-year linebacker Marist Liufau immediately sacked Veilleux for a nine-yard loss, creating a quick three-and-out from the Panthers.

Enter Chris Tyree.

In his first season as a punt returner, the senior receiver had taken seven punts for a combined 32 yards, his long being 11 yards. As fast as he is, he had not yet shown any reason to think something explosive may happen.

Then he picked his way through a crowd to break loose for an 82-yard punt return touchdown, breaking five touchdowns and finishing with an escort from receiver Jordan Faison and freshman linebacker Drayk Bowen.

“Don’t think,” Tyree said of slicing through the initial glut. “Just run. …

“That moment was one of a progression of the season, me being a rookie returner out there, getting more comfortable throughout the season and finally having the chance to actually get a return and take advantage of it.”

WORRIES MOVING FORWARD
Three vital players suffered injuries Saturday, none of them clearly set for next week’s noon kickoff at Clemson on ABC.

Morrison strained his quad earlier in the week, hoping to play Saturday until warmups ruled him out. One might wonder if knowing Pittsburgh would be overmatched led to some precaution.

“He just wasn’t in a position to go,” Freeman said. “We didn’t really know until we had to test him out in warmups.”

Hart appaered to injure his shoulder, a chronic problem for him and the reason he did not declare for the NFL draft last season. Freeman had no postgame update on either Hart nor junior tight end Mitchell Evans, limping off the field in the second half.

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