Five Takeaways from Pitt's 58-7 loss to Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Pitt dropped a 58-7 decision to No. 14 Notre Dame on Saturday. The Panthers looked up to the challenge early in making this a game, but Notre Dame slowly and surely kept adding on scores and taking advantage of Pitt miscues before running away with it in the second half.

The Panthers are now 2-6 on the year, the worst start for the program since 1998. Pitt was humbled in all three facets on Saturday and here are five takeaways from that 58-7 loss to the Irish.

Veilleux adds pause to QB situation

Christian Veilleux showed promise in the first two starts of his career, but the challenge facing him on Saturday was much greater and the moment got the best of him. Pitt’s sophomore quarterback went 14-of-29 for 127 yards and four interceptions. Veilleux struggled in the face of pressure, though he was only sacked one time, but ultimately rushed some throws and struggled against a tough Notre Dame defense. He was relieved late in the second half by Nate Yarnell, who closed out the game in garbage time.

Veilleux’s first three interceptions were shaky. There did not appear to be any receivers in the area, and while there could have been some miscommunication with his wide receivers, it was still not a good look. The third pick, a 43-yard pick six, was more less right to the Notre Dame defender who jogged into the end zone.

Pitt found itself trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, and Veilleux actually had a good drive going with four straight completions over ten yards, but the Panthers could not muster any points. Veilleux misfired on a pass to Daejon Reynolds who looked wide open for a touchdown, and Pitt had to sell for a field goal attempt, a 45-yard miss by Ben Sauls.

I still think Veilleux needs more time to be evaluated and while he did not play very well on Saturday, he did not receive a lot of support either. Pitt once again played with a new starting offensive line combination, the sixth different one in eight games, because Branson Taylor was out with an injury. The coaches also never really tried to run the ball either, placing a lot of responsibility on a quarterback starting just his third game against a top 15 team in the country on the road in front of a sold-out stadium.

Veilleux has shown some promise this year, but I still don’t think you can necessarily pencil him in as the starter for next season either. If his struggles persist, Pitt does need to give Yarnell a serious look over the final four games. There is no reason not to at this point.

Special teams weren’t special

Pitt lost to Notre Dame 58-7 on Saturday. Two of the Notre Dame touchdowns were direct results of special teams blunders by Pitt and it is becoming inexcusable at this point. Pitt’s offense and defense have enough of their own issues, adding some special teams miscues on top of it really helps paint the picture as to why this team is 2-6 at this point.

Pitt’s defense made a huge play by intercepting Sam Hartman on the first series, but a three and out placed punter Caleb Junko on the field. He actually got off a respectable punt that was covered well initially, but Notre Dame return man Chris Tyree walked through Pitt tackle attempts like it was nothing on the way to an 82-yard score.

During Notre Dame’s onslaught in the third quarter, MJ Devonshire fielded a punt inside his own 10-yard line, but muffed that attempt, and the Irish pounced on the ball in the end zone for another score to make it 31-0 with 10:12 left to go in the third frame.

Junko’s punts got worse as the game persisted, which has been a theme for a few games now. Ben Sauls missed a field goal that did not look particularly close, either. There was another return in the second half that went for 20 yards, where again some Pitt missed tackles allowed the play to take flight.

Pitt special teams coordinator Andre Powell has been with the program since 2015, Narduzzi’s first year, but his group is not performing up to par this season, and truthfully it extends beyond 2023.

Defense stood up to the task early, faded late

Notre Dame’s first three possessions went: interception, interception, turnover on downs. Pitt’s defense came to play early, and while they trailed 17-0 at half, only 10 of those points should be credited to the actual defense. PJ O’Brien stepped in front of a pass for his second pick in as many games. Brandon George got one of his own on the next possession. Young players like Jordan Bass and Samuel Okunlola come up with splash plays as well.

It was an encouraging start for sure, but it did not last. Like many games this year, Pitt’s offense did nothing to help out the defense and left them out to dry a bit. The offense turned the ball over five times and punted on seven occasions. Pitt never really got anything going and had six possessions that went five play or less that ended in punts. At a certain point a defense is going to crumble under those circumstances, especially against a good team like Notre Dame in its stadium, and that is exactly what happened.

Notre Dame did have two 80+ yard drives in the second half, as the defense looked worn out for one, but also started playing some younger guys late. Pitt’s defense definitely has some promising young players and some good veterans. It has played well at times this season, and even though there have been breakdowns all year long, they have generally given the team a chance to win more often than not. Today was not one of those days, but it still feels like the offense and special teams are more to blame for why Saturday's game went as it did.

Poorly called game offensively

Pitt fell behind 31-0 in the early stages of the second half, and I could not help but notice that Pitt’s two main running backs, C’Bo Flemister and Rodney Hammond, only had a combined six carries at that point of the game. I do want to get this straight, so I’m not sounding crazy.

Pitt had a sophomore quarterback making his THIRD career start on the road in a tough environment against a top-15 team and the team chose NOT to run the ball to help him at all. The same Notre Dame defense that ate up reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, mind you.

That’s play calling malpractice, to be honest.

You need to run the ball in some form or fashion, but especially with those circumstances coming into the game. Pitt was never going to come in here and throw the ball all over against Notre Dame in South Bend. Pitt probably was not going to run it on the Irish either, but slowing down the game and simplifying the plan and not stacking the load of responsibilities for your young quarterback makes sense to me.

An even tougher game next week

Notre Dame is a good football team and they handed Pat Narduzzi’s squad the worst loss of his career, a 51-point setback in front of a national television audience. The Irish, ranked 14th coming into Saturday, did boast a strong defense and a senior quarterback with a lot of experience and they outclassed Pitt in all facets.

The 2-6 Panthers may have something even more challenging in store for next week. Florida State is 8-0, ranked No. 4, and is coming off a 41-16 beatdown over Wake Forest. Yes, that same Wake Forest team that beat Pitt just last weekend. There is no doubt this Pitt team is reeling and it really felt for the first time all season that there was a little quit to them in the second half against Notre Dame.

The Panthers are probably also dealing with some noise as well, with some questionable comments made by Narduzzi in the postgame catching the attention of the team. With the worst start since 1998, the worst loss in Narduzzi’s tenure, and the best team Pitt will face all year coming to Acrisure Stadium, it does not set up well for anything pretty next Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Pitt’s first-ever ACC game was against Florida State back in 2013, the last time the Seminoles were in town. That Florida State team won the national championship and exploited all of Pitt’s weaknesses as a team and program. A lot has happened in the past 11 years since then, including a Pitt ACC championship and Florida State falling on some hard times, but somehow it all cycled back to this current predicament with the Panthers facing the class of the ACC and not looking like they are ready to compete in that environment.