Notre Dame and Pittsburgh renew their rivalry for the first time in five years, squaring off for the 74th time and this time doing so with plenty of College Football Playoff implications. Notre Dame and Pitt are both inside the top 25 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, with the Fighting Irish checking in at No. 9 and Pitt moving up to No. 22 in the newest batch of rankings from the selection committee. Since both teams are 7-2 on the season, each game for the rest of the season puts CFP at-large chances on the line.
The Panthers do have another path, as Pat Narduzzi’s squad is 5-1 on the season in ACC play and will get a chance to remain in the conference title chase with upcoming games against fellow contenders Georgia Tech and Miami. Narduzzi himself pointed out the disconnect between this week’s nonconference showdown and the key upcoming conference showdowns, so to think the Panthers are taking this top-10 opportunity lightly would be a mistake.
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This is the first ranked-on-ranked top-25 matchup that Pitt has hosted in the College Football Playoff era, and a chance to snap a four-game winning streak for Notre Dame in the series, which dates back to 1909. The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series 51-21-1, and Narduzzi has an 0-4 record against Notre Dame while Marcus Freeman has yet to face Pitt as a head coach.
Notre Dame vs. Pitt: Need to know
Notre Dame has dominated ACC foes: Marcus Freeman has faced an ACC opponent 16 times as Notre Dame’s head coach, not counting games against Cal and Stanford during their Pac-12 era, and 14 times the Fighting Irish have come out on top. That 14-2 record against the ACC is on par with Notre Dame’s all-time mark against the conference (222-84-3) and Saturday marks the first of three games against ACC opponents to close out the year. Notre Dame’s path to the College Football Playoff has been narrow since an 0-2 start, but after seven straight wins it’s helpful to have each remaining contest be a matchup against a league where the Fighting Irish have had a significant edge.
CJ Carr ranking among top quarterbacks in FBS: The star for redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr continues to rise through Notre Dame’s winning streak, and he enters Week 12 with an argument as one of the most explosive passers in the country. Carr ranks first among all FBS quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt (10.11) and second among all freshman quarterbacks in passing touchdowns (19). He’s also got the third-best pass efficiency rating of all quarterbacks (176.8), trailing only Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
Honoring Aaron Donald: Pitt will be welcoming Panthers legend Aaron Donald to the game as a guest of honor, as Donald’s No. 97 will be retired at halftime. Donald went 1-2 against the Fighting Irish during his college career, losing close three-point games in 2011 and 2012 before helping out with a sack in the 28-21 home win against Notre Dame in 2013. A Super Bowl champion and eight-time first-team All-Pro selection, Donald has certainly put together a Hall of Fame career that will include plenty of honors. But on Saturday it will be about his time with the Panthers, where he was an all-conference selection three years in a row across two different conferences, a unanimous All-American in 2013 and swept the awards circuit claiming honors for the Nagurski Award (best defensive player), Bednarik Award (best defensive player) and Outland Trophy (best interior offensive or defensive lineman).
Where to watch Notre Dame vs. Pitt live
Date: Saturday, Nov. 15 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Acrisure Stadium — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TV: ABC | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Notre Dame vs. Pitt prediction, picks
Ten of the last 14 meetings in this series have been decided by single-digits, and with Aaron Donald in the house it’s easy to get the vibes like Pitt is set up to be frisky and threaten for the upset. Pitt may not be able to get enough stops against CJ Carr to win, but with Mason Heintschel leading the way the Panthers can score enough to hang around. Pick: Pitt +12.5
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Who will win and cover in each Week 12 college football game? Legendary Vegas expert Bruce Marshall is on a 29-17 roll on college football picks. Visit SportsLine now to see all his college football picks.
