Pitt striving to block out the 'hoopla,' hype of upcoming showdown with Notre Dame

ESPN’s “College GameDay” choosing Pittsburgh as its broadcast location this weekend reflects brightly on the position Pitt occupies as it pertains to chasing an ACC title game berth and a College Football Playoff appearance.

Both are in play for the No. 23 Panthers (7-2, 5-1 ACC), whereas No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) also eyes a spot in the CFP following last year’s national championship defeat to Ohio State.

While the hype surrounding Saturday’s game at Acrisure Stadium is welcomed by Pitt’s fans, coach Pat Narduzzi’s task is more businesslike in preparing his team to face an elite opponent.

“All the hoopla, ‘College GameDay,’ all that stuff, that’s great for the City of Pittsburgh. It’s great for Pitt, it’s on a big stage but in here we’re insulated as far as that goes,” Narduzzi said. “It’s just a game. … We’re just going to play our game.”

There are undeniably bright lights associated with “College GameDay” that Narduzzi and his staff will need to guard against as the Fighting Irish prepare to visit.

Defensive coordinator Randy Bates believes his unit stacks up against what Notre Dame will look to do offensively.

But efforts are being made to keep his players’ focus on the task at hand.

“It’s very hard for an 18-22-year-old to not look at social media,” Bates said. “I think that’s really difficult. But we try to take it all in stride. We’re playing a great team. We know that, and we think we’re a pretty good team, too. So we’re going to line up and see how it works.”

Bates and the rest of Pitt’s coaches also are depending on the wisdom of the team’s older players to keep their teammates’ eyes on the prize.

“I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but we’ve just got to do our best to treat it like a normal game outside of GameDay and all the hype around it,” defensive end Jimmy Scott said. “ … It’s just honing in on the fundamentals and treating it like every other game we’ve played this year.”

On Monday, Narduzzi spoke of how Pitt needs to “win the inches” against a team of Notre Dame’s caliber.

Offensively, that would seem to entail limiting turnovers while generating some on the other side of the ball.

In all three phases, it will mean avoiding as many penalties as possible, which has given Pitt trouble.

For Bates’ unit, their weekly task of stopping the run looks daunting, with the Irish’s Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price both averaging at least 6 yards per carry through nine games.

Love, needing only 12 more yards to reach 1,000 on the year and Price (588 yards) are a solid one-two punch for coach Marcus Freeman.

But redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Carr balances Notre Dame’s offense, having thrown for 2,275 yards, 19 touchdowns and only four picks.

“I think it starts with getting population to the ball on running plays,” Bates said. “You’ve got to cut these guys up. (Notre Dame) has two great running backs, and if you do that, then Carr does a great job of getting (the offense) in and out of different plays. You have to defend the run, which we always will try to do well, and then you’ve got to mix it up a little bit coverage-wise.”

With several days of practice left ahead of kickoff Saturday, Narduzzi isn’t particularly worried about his players being unfocused or distracted.

He’s also certain Notre Dame will have no distractions.

But as Pitt prepares for the first of three ranked showdowns in a row to conclude the regular season, he’s stressing to players what likely will happen if their attention to detail is lacking.

“The focus is just like it was when we opened up against Duquesne,” Narduzzi said. “It’s the same. It’s a football game, and it comes down to the details. You’ve got to win the inches on Saturday, and if you don’t win the inches, you’re going to get beat. You might get beat really bad by a team like Notre Dame.

“They’ll stay focused because it comes down to details, and you can’t execute properly when you’re out of control, focused on the wrong things. If you’re focused on (College) GameDay, good luck to you. You’re in big trouble.”