“This is not a trap game. This is a challenge.”
Head coach Marcus Freeman has no misconceptions about the weight of this game for Notre Dame. He shouldn’t. Since the Texas A&M loss, the Irish have been no strangers to must-win games. In the current College Football Playoff landscape though, this one means a lot more than the others.
Before the season, a Pittsburgh team with a freshman quarterback coming off a 7-6 2024 season may have looked like a trap game. However, the Panthers have exceeded expectations in 2025, proving they cannot be looked past. Sitting at 7-2 after a five-game winning streak, No. 22 Pittsburgh has the opportunity to be an agent of chaos in the CFP race.
After facing the Irish at home this Saturday, they close with No. 16 Georgia Tech and No. 15 Miami, controlling their destiny in the ACC. Win those last two games, and they punch a ticket to the conference championship. However, head coach Pat Narduzzi’s eye-opening comments this week suggest that his team isn’t concerned with the Irish.
“They can put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that,” Narduzzi said in his Monday press conference.
This was a surprising stance to take, and not just because College GameDay will be heading to the Steel City for the first time since 2005. Narduzzi has been a notorious Notre Dame hater dating back to his time as the defensive coordinator of Cincinnati under Mark Dantonio. The two helped the Bearcats to winning ways in the Big East before departing for Michigan State. Brian Kelly took Cincinnati to another level after the two left, leaving open questions about who gets credit for the program’s success. Narduzzi and Dantonio continued the rivalry with Kelly when the latter took over at Notre Dame and faced Michigan State from 2010-13 and again in 2016 and 2017. What began as a beef with Kelly extended to a Notre Dame program that now dominates the ACC year after year. A 0-4 record against the Irish during his Pitt tenure adds fuel to the fire. Narduzzi’s tenuous history with Notre Dame makes the dismissal of a chance at killing its Playoff hopes all the more confounding.
Notre Dame cannot share that sentiment. Narduzzi may not feel this game is significant for his team, but it sure is for the Irish. The CFP committee has been kind to Notre Dame, even with its 0-2 start and lack of impressive wins. The ACC’s official X account made that point clear with its blind resume comparison to Miami, which fell six spots below the Irish despite having two more top-25 wins and a head-to-head victory. While I don’t agree with the conference’s argument and see Notre Dame as the better team, the consistency of the committee’s ranking criteria is certainly up for debate. At a certain point, a hypothetical eye test can’t outweigh a team’s resume. That is why the Irish can’t just hope to escape with a win on Saturday. They need to make a statement.
Outside of their 34-24 victory over No. 17 USC, Notre Dame’s strongest resume points are their losses. Losing to a No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 15 Miami by a combined four points, however, is not a very compelling CFP case. While the Irish may appear to be on the verge of hosting a First Round contest at No. 9 in the poll, there are several nightmare scenarios that may eliminate them completely, even if they take care of business in the next three weeks. This week, No. 10 Texas and No. 11 Oklahoma travel to No. 5 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama, respectively. If both Red River rivals pull off the upset, all four of Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama could be above Notre Dame at 8-2. BYU winning out with a Big 12 title is a frightening possibility, as is a Miami ACC title. That’s not to mention the uncomfortable conversations that would happen if No. 18 Michigan finishes 10-2 with a win over No. 1 Ohio State. If the Irish approach half of Narduzzi’s hypothetical to win convincingly, they could fend these teams off and all but guarantee a spot in the 12-team field with two more wins.
But the reigning national finalists did not envision merely sneaking into the postseason in year four under Freeman. Combine the returning talent with freshman CJ Carr’s answer to their quarterback question, and Notre Dame would have expected to play a first-round game in their stadium for the second year running, or even skip the first round entirely. Two narrow losses to start the season may mean that plan won’t come to fruition. Their chances are not zero, though.
It all comes down to No. 8 Oregon. If the Ducks win out and chalk holds around the country, they will likely be hosting the Irish in Eugene for round one. That will be a tough task, as they finish the season with No. 17 USC and then Washington on the road. The ideal scenario for Notre Dame would be a USC victory, which seems highly unlikely considering Lincoln Riley’s disappointing track record in pivotal road games. Washington, on the other hand, is 3-0 against the Ducks in the Dan Lanning era and could spoil Oregon’s hosting chances on Thanksgiving weekend. That would set up a heated debate between 10-2 Notre Dame and 10-2 Oregon. A decisive Pitt victory may very well be the edge the Irish need.
Freeman preaches team glory above everything. But he acknowledges that the most prestigious individual award in the sport is on the line as well.
“I think it is one of the highest honors you can get as a college football player,” Freeman said when asked about junior running back Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman Trophy chances. “He’s going to do everything in his power to make sure we are prepared and win a game. If the Heisman Trophy comes with it, then great, that’s amazing.”
Love knows about all of the hype. Through it all, he echoes his coach’s team-first sentiments.
“I think of the Heisman buzz as a credit to how good this team is,” Love said in a press conference on Tuesday. “Whoever wins the Heisman, you can attribute that to them having one of the best teams in the country.”
There is a world where, in three weeks, we are talking about a Heisman Trophy finalist playing a first-round Playoff game in South Bend. This team is finally playing its best football, through all of the ups and downs. It may not be listed among the explicit criteria, but narrative undoubtedly plays a role in those final CFP rankings. It will be hard to deny the pull of a national brand like Notre Dame, especially riding a 10-game win streak into the postseason. Saturday is their last shot to make a statement. They’d best not miss.
