Pitt at Notre Dame – 2nd Quarter Notes
- You have to love that every time they show Kyle Rudolph his helmet is all scuffed up.
- After a couple nice plays to start this drive, the Irish will again be forced to punt the ball. Despite averaging over 5 yards a carry so far today, the Irish didn’t run a single run play on the most recent drive.
- Pitt finally gets their first first down of the game. The Notre Dame defense held Pitt to just 6 yards of total offense in the first quarter, but now it looks like the Pitt offense is getting on track and has strung together a couple of first downs.
- We lucked out big time with back to back bonehead plays by Pitt. First LeSean McCoy turns a short gain into a big loss and then Pat Bostick trips on the center’s foot to push Pitt out of field goal range. Pitt moved the ball very well on that drive – especially on the ground with McCoy.
- WOW. Golden Tate never ceases to amaze. After three deflections he makes a circus catch and gives the Irish a first down we desperately needed.
- With a little over 2 minutes remaining in the first half of the 8th game of the season, Michael Floyd sets the all time Notre Dame record for catches by a freshman. And the man child of a wide receiver follows that up with an outstanding 18 yard touchdown grab from Jimmy Clausen.
- We really needed a score on this drive after dominating the stat sheet but being tied on the scoreboard all first half.
- A WO WO WE WO WOW. Great interception by Raeshon McNeil on a terrible pass by Bostick and a great return. Luckily David Bruton was trailing the play to recover McNeil’s fumble at the end. With 30 seconds to go, we’ll have to go just 15 yards for a touchdown.
- Don’t know what Clausen was thinking on 2nd down when he lobbed the ball into the end zone because that pass could have easily been intercepted. It would have been negated by the Pitt personal foul, but it was a terrible decision none the less.
- 8 seconds to go with a 3rd and goal and Clausen to Floyd for another touchdown. Floyd now has 7 catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
- With a little over 4 minutes to go we were staring a 3-3 tie or worse in the eyes before Golden Tate’s circus catch set the Irish up for the first touchdown of the game.
- Pitt will get the ball first to start the second half, but with the ineffectiveness shown by the Panther offense, you have to feel good about having a 14 point lead.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Lambert is bad. It was a dumb pentalty by Smith but Lambert needs to figure it out, or should I say the coaching staff needs to realize he is awful!