Notre Dame crushes Pitt, hands Panthers 4th straight loss

Already hanging onto a tattered thread of respectability before the game, Pitt unraveled completely Saturday at Heinz Field in a 45-3 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame.

How do you explain the second-worst loss in Pat Narduzzi’s six seasons as Pitt’s coach?

How much time do you have?

It starts with the most basic of reasons, and Narduzzi nailed it when he said, “We got beat by a better football team, period.”

“As good a football team as I’ve seen walk on the field in the past six years. Talented from front to back on both sides of the ball.”

No doubt.

Notre Dame recruits better than most teams across the country — certainly better than Pitt over the years — but the Panthers have been able to slug it out with the Fighting Irish in previous seasons. Before Saturday, 10 of the past 12 games in the series were decided by single-digit margins.

But the same problems plaguing Pitt (3-4, 2-4) through its current four-game losing streak — the longest under Narduzzi — surfaced repeatedly from start to finish.

Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0 ACC) scored a touchdown on its first possession, a 34-yard pass from quarterback Ian Book to wide receiver Ben Skowronek.

When the 6-foot-3 Skowrenek caught another in the second quarter — this one for 73 yards over 5-8 cornerback Marquis Williams — it underscored a serious problem with the previously heralded, but underachieving, defense:

It gives up too many big plays.

• Those two touchdown passes were the ninth and 10th scoring plays of between 38 and 77 yards against the Panthers this season.

• Pitt’s defense has surrendered at least 30 points in each of the past four losses.

• Book needed less than three quarters to complete 16 of 30 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns.

“Discipline, details,” senior middle linebacker Chase Pine said, trying to explain what has gone wrong.

Asked to describe the mood in the locker room, Pine said, “Everyone was, ‘This isn’t how Pitt should be.’ ”

Notre Dame dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 41 of 60 minutes, and some of that is tied to senior quarterback Kenny Pickett missing his second consecutive game with a left ankle injury.

Joey Yellen started, threw three interceptions and was replaced by Davis Beville, who was replaced by Nick Patti. If Pickett isn’t ready in time for the next game Nov. 7 at Florida State, who knows where Narduzzi will turn?

Pitt finished with 162 total yards, its lowest output in nine years. The three points were the fewest at Heinz Field since 2010. The Panthers have one game without scoring a touchdown in three consecutive seasons.

Still, the defense shares as much, if not more, of the blame. Notre Dame can’t control the ball without first downs, and the Fighting Irish recorded 28.

“It takes a toll on the defense, but, hey, we have to stop them,” Pine said. “We have to step up as a defense and take control of the situation. We just have to come together. We have to be one unit. We can’t be out there on three different levels.”

“We have to play for each other, a family type of thing.”

A season expected to be Narduzzi’s best, with 16 seniors or juniors atop the depth chart, appears destined to become the third in the past four in which Pitt has failed to achieve a winning record.

Pitt is off next week but still must play Virginia Tech and No. 1 Clemson among its final four games. If Pitt doesn’t win three of its final four, it will end up with only five victories for the second time in the past four seasons.

“I thought we’d stack it up better,” Narduzzi said. “I thought we’d be able to throw it better. I didn’t think we’d be able to run the ball great on that front.”

He was right about that. Four Pitt running backs carried 14 times for 38 yards.

“We’ll look at it. We’ll re-evaluate,” the coach said. “We have to regroup and find ourselves.”

Senior-laden teams, with a coach in his sixth season, aren’t usually searching for an identity after seven games.

Yet, that’s how bad the 2020 season that opened with such promise has become.

“I think we need an open week,” Narduzzi said.

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