Photo Illustration by Pat Coveney and Blair Chemidlin

Not many Notre Dame fansmake it a point to see thePittsburgh game every year. It isnot a high-profile rivalry, if it’s arivalry at all. The Irish andPanthers match-up is rarely atop-25 contest,nor is it histori-cally relevant.Nonetheless,S a t u r d a y ’ sgame will likelydetermine howfans view, inretrospect,the first fivegames ofBrian Kelly’sc a r e e r .Saturday’sgame willlikely deter-mine the direction of the remain-der of Notre Dame’s season.Saturday’s game will likely alternext year’s season, and manymore to come after that.All of that from a simpleSaturday afternoon facing DaveWannstedt’s Panthers?A win Saturday puts the Irish at3-3. All offseason long fans won-dered how Brian Kelly would leadNotre Dame through this season’sfirst six games, filled with rival-ries — Michigan, Boston College— and top-tier teams — Stanfordand, before a disappointing start,Pittsburgh.In August, many Irish fanswould have jumped at the chanceto be 3-3 after this weekend.Granted, the process of getting tothe point where a .500 record ispossible has been a roller coasterride, but nonetheless, three winsare three wins. With three wins,the win over Boston College is nolonger simply a sloppy win over astruggling team. The losses toMichigan and Michigan State turnfrom heartbreakers into growingexperiences. Even the loss toStanford becomes a motivator,rather than a travesty in NotreDame Stadium.On the flipside, a loss Saturdayputs the Irish at 2-4. That toughopening six-game stretch sudden-ly becomes a scheduling error.Fans begin to criticize NotreDame for not altering from tradi-tion, not scheduling “guarantee”games and, like a broken record,for not joining a conference.Others will claim Notre Damewill never be able to “return toglory” as it once knew.The win over Boston Collegeremains a lucky win over a teamwithout a true starting quarter-back. The losses to Michigan andMichigan State demonstrate theBig Ten’s superiority. And the lossto Stanford remains an abysmaltravesty.Amazing, isn’t it, how quicklythe opinion of hindsight changes,simply hinging on the result of agame against Pittsburgh?

Fans’ opinions are not all thatSaturday’s result will affect. NotreDame’s three games followingPittsburgh — Western Michigan,Navy and Tulsa. — are all verywinnable. Entering that stretch asa .500 team, the Irish will knowthey can exit it at 6-3, withmomentum building. If NotreDame enters that stretch at 2-4,anything could happen in thosethree games; win them all, splitthem, or, Brian Kelly forbid, losethem all.A team two-thirds of the way

through the season at 6-3, with afive-game winning streak, is ateam that could legitimately posea threat to any team remainingon its schedule.On the contrary, a team two-

thirds of the way through the sea-son, having just suffered a loss ina game it should have won, is ateam poised to disappoint again.Who knew? Who knew that a

home game facing Pittsburghcould hold such an effect? Whoknew that Pittsburgh could be theseason-defining game for theIrish, rather than the loss toMichigan or Stanford, the winover Boston College, or whateverresult Los Angeles holds?Yet, Saturday’s result could

affect even more. During NotreDame’s three-game losing streak,Brian Kelly and his staff somehowsecured the commitments of mul-tiple high-profile recruits. Inrecent days, however, reportshave surfaced questioning thestrength of some of those commit-ments.If the Irish lose to Pittsburgh,

and possibly drop one of the fol-lowing three, some of those com-mitments could be completelyrescinded.But if the Irish top the Panthers,

recruits would see a Notre Dameprogram headed in the rightdirection, headed upwards,readying for its “return to glory.”That result could lead to evenmore high-profile commitments,and, in theory, those lead to high-er-quality teams in the future.It might seem like a reach, but

it would be wise for Notre Damefans to embrace this gameagainst Pittsburgh. This game’sresult will affect how fans viewthe previous five. This game’sresult will alter the rest of theseason’s path, and therefore, thepath of the program in years tocome.A win over an unranked

Pittsburgh team has never been aseminal moment in Notre Dame’spast. But little about Notre Dametoday resembles much from itspast.

The views expressed in this col-umn are those of the author andnot necessarily those of TheObserver.

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 2 Friday, October 8, 2010

Pitt game affectsfuture of program

Douglas Farmer

Sports Editor

COMMENTARY

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A pair of coveted class of2011 outside linebackers —one verbally committed toNotre Dame, one still unde-cided — will make officialv is i ts this weekend, Ir ishrecruiting expert Mike Franksaid.Both current commit Ben

Councell (Asheville, N.C.) andChrist ian French (CedarRapids, Iowa) have madeseveral trips to campus in thepast, via camps and unoffi-cial visits, and are ready totake in the game day experi-ence.“[Councell is] a big-time

recruit who has been reallygood this year, making lots ofplays,” said Frank, who runsthe ESPN-aff i l iate ir ish-sportsdaily.com. “He can def-initely run, has real good sizeand is a guy Notre Dame hasliked for a very long time.This weekend should justsolidify where he’s at witheverything.”Though French is listed as

an “athlete” and Frank saidhe could play a number ofpositions for Notre Dame andseveral other schools, theIrish staff likes his potentialas an outside linebacker intheir 3-4 defensive scheme,Frank said.“He’s one of the last guys

still on [Notre Dame’s] listright now,” Frank said. “He’smentioned he wanted tomake an early decis ionbefore, so we’ll have to see ifhe will soon or if he’ll takehis time. But there’s not awhole lot of s lots le f t for2011.”

The Irish currently have 20verbal commitments — all ofwhich they’ll try to hold onto. But that ’s becomingincreasingly difficult in thecurrent climate of negativerecruiting, Frank said.“I had a coach once tell me

that they kind of like it whenkids commit, because it takesaway a lot of the competition,and sometimes that’s whenthe real recruiting starts,”Frank said. “Then, there’sonly a fewschools aftera kid — theones thatmaybe f in-ished sec-ond or third— st i l lw o r k i n ghard behindthe scenes.“No com-

mitment issafe any-more. A lotof kids go inwith the best of intentionsand think they’re going toend up at Notre Dame orwherever they’re committed,but I can’t even begin to tellyou how much negat iverecruiting is out there.”Frank said Notre Dame is

not unique in the fact thatschools try to negat ivelyimpact a recruit’s view of theUniversity by suggesting, forexample, that the academicsare too tough or the sociallife is not robust enough.And, in some regard, Frank

said the fact that major pro-grams are trying to lure Irishcommits away is a good sign.“It’s usually the big-time,

elite guys who get pressureto go elsewhere. Aaron Lynch

is one of those guys who istoo good a player to leavealone,” said Frank, notingLynch because there wererumors (since dispelled) ear-lier in the week that the Irishcommit would take other vis-its. “That’s a good sign; ifother teams aren’t going tolet up and keep recruitingyour guys, that means you’vegot the right guys.”With only a few spotsremaining in the c lass of

2011, the Irishstaff will beginto take a lookat prospects inthe 2012 class.Wide receiverAmara Darboh,q u a r t e r b a c kPatrick Powlesand defensiveend TomStrobel arethree suchplayers whowil l v is i t thisw e e k e n d ,

Frank said.“Notre Dame’s going tohave a number of juniors in,but I think right now it’s asituation where you’re tryingto see who’s out there, andwho are the legit prospects,”Frank said. “Right now,everybody says they’re ‘X’height and ‘Y’ weight, andpeople come in and they’requite a bit smaller, so thecoaches want to see whothose legit prospects are.They’ll probably bring somejunior film with them, too,and that should give thecoaches a pretty good idea ofwhere they’re at.”

Outside linebackers make visitsFOOTBALL RECRUITING

By MATT GAMBERSports Writer

Contact Matt Gamber atmgamber@nd.edu

“No commitment is safeanymore. ... I can’t evenbegin to tell you how

much negative recruiting is out there.”

Mike FrankIrish recruiting expert

Looking at the top of NotreDame’s receiving statistics,one might reasonably expectto find junior receiver MichaelFloyd or t ight end KyleRudolph. In fact, the leadingIrish pass-catcher so far thisseason is a player who wasn’teven on the receiver depthchart a year ago.Not that Theo Riddick everdoubted his abi l i ty to getthere.

Making the switchThe sophomore moved fromrunning back to receiver inthe of fseason. Whi le someplayers may have faced anextended adjustment period,Riddick slid inright away.“This iseverything Ie x p e c t e d , ”Riddick said.“I t s tartedever s inceCoach Kel lygot here, sothe transi-t ion’s been awhi le . I ’mstarting to seethe light.”Riddick saidthen-runningbacks coach Tony Al fordcalled him over winter breaklast year and asked i f hewould do anything to help theteam win. Af ter the NewJersey nat ive r ight awayresponded that he would,Alford asked if he would bewilling to move to the receiverposi t ion. Riddick said heimmediate ly accepted thechange.After agreeing, Riddick saidhe got to work r ight awaypreparing for his new role.“I tried to watch film,” hesaid. “ I t was hard for mebecause I didn’t have to knowthat much about coverages[as a running back], so I triedto teach myself.”While the tactical side of the

position may have taken someadditional time, Riddick saidhe spent most of his offseasontrying to prepare for Ir ishcoach Brian Kelly’s new high-paced offensive system from aphysical standpoint.“I was just trying to get into

better condit ion,” Riddicksaid. “That was the mainthing once I found out [aboutthe position change], becausein a spread offense you’rerunning 24/7.”Riddick said the other

receivers were incrediblyhelpful to him in making theswitch, specifically Floyd. Headded that Floyd helped himlearn the tricks of the trade —including breaking down cov-erages and learning to run hisroutes.“If it wasn’t for [Floyd], I

don’t knowwhere I ’d ber ight now,”Riddick said.“He’s justcommunicatedpicking up onal l the l i t t lethings, tryingto make mebetter everyday.”Riddick also

had help fromanother famil-iar face. WhenKel ly was

hired in December, he decidedto retain Alford on his staff,but as the wide receiverscoach. Riddick said workingwith Alford last year made hisdevelopment as a receivereven easier.“It helps a lot, because you

actually build a relationship,”Riddick said. “I’m not saying Idon’t have a relationship withthe other coaches, but I knewhim before so it was more of acomfort zone coming rightin.”

Fitting right inRiddick said the first time

he actually felt like a receivercame over the summer —even though it may have beenapparent to his teammates

first.“I started to see the devel-

opment and a lot o f otherplayers did as well,” Riddicksaid.“They started like chuckling

and saying s ide commentslike, ‘Hey, you’re starting tolook like a wide receiver,’ andI didn’t really see it at thetime, but now I do.”His growing comfort at the

new position was becomingclear to the coaching staff aswell.“Back in the summer even, I

said that I thought he wasgoing to really come on andbe pretty good and I thinkthat’s held true,” offensivecoordinator Charley Molnarsaid. “We could see it duringsummer camp that he wasreally close.”Riddick’s abil i ty to adapt

quickly was essential to theIrish offense, because as theslot receiver, he’s expected tobe one of the most versatileplayers on the field.“In our offense, he’s a guy

that we can get the ball tovery quickly a number of dif-ferent ways. We haven’t hand-ed the ball off to him verymuch, but we can do that,”Molnar said. “He’s in closeproximity to the quarterback,he’s in a good posi t ion tothrow screens to — bubblepasses — and also the numberof times he’s working againstlinebackers rather than cor-ners, so sometimes we have areal physical mismatch.”Kel ly speci f ical ly noted

Riddick’s ability essentially toneutral ize Boston Col legelinebacker Mark Herzlich lastweekend.“You take a Herzlich out of

the game against B.C. becausehe’s got to stay out over TheoRiddick the whole game,”Kelly said. “I don’t know if hehad a couple of tackles, buthe was effectively taken out ofthe ballgame.”Riddick is a lso valuable

when teams elect to doublecover Floyd or Rudolph,because it will leave Riddickin single coverage, often times

against a mismatched line-backer.“[Floyd and Rudolph] both

have been double covered anumber of times, and whenthose things happen, that usu-ally singles up somebody andthat’s what’s really happeningright now with Theo,” Molnarsaid.

Turning it onThrough two games this

season, Riddick caught onlyfour passes for 52 yards. Inthe last three, he’s caught 26balls for 268 yards and threetouchdowns.“We knew that it would take

a game or two to really gainthe confidence that he neededand so far so good,” Molnarsaid.Riddick echoed his coach,

saying he simply needed tof ind his comfort zone as areceiver.“I’m just getting more com-

fortable — completely, com-pletely comfortable in a sense— knowing what I have to doand reading the defense bet-ter than I was,” he said.Last year, Riddick rushed

for 160 yards on 29 attemptsand returned kicks for theIrish. He said the experienceof simply being on the field,even if it was at a differentposition, has helped him excelthis year.“The game is a lot slower,”

Riddick said. “Coming out as afreshman, everything was alot quicker, everything movedquicker.“Just being out there and

knowing that I could performon that level gave me thatconfidence.”Even throughout inconsis-

tent playing time a year ago,

Riddick said he never stoppedlearning the game.“I mean, even though I was-n’t in, I was always in tune onthe sideline, trying to knowwhat the call was to envisionwhat was going to go on, sonothing really changed,” hesaid.Now that he’s ingrainedhimself at the receiver posi-tion, all that’s left to do isturn the Irish into a winningfootball team.“I’m just trying to win ballgames,” he said. “If my playcan develop to a victory, that’sall I care about.”When the Irish fell to 1-3two weeks ago, the criticisminevi tably s tarted to swir laround campus. Riddick saidhe tried to ignore the negativevibes and just focus on foot-ball and his teammates.“We were 1-3 and somepeople started to give up onus and stuff like that, but wedon’t real ly worry aboutthat,” he said. “We just go outthere and play for one anoth-er.”After the win against BostonCollege, though, he said themood inside the football pro-gram has changed dramati-cally.“Everyone’s happy, a lot ofsmiles definitely and more tocome,” Riddick said.Riddick said that he didn’thave any specif ic personalgoals for the season, only thathe wanted to become the bestreceiver he could be.“I just want to get a lot bet-ter, and be able to catch everyball,” he said. “I don’t want tocatch 90 and drop one.”

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, October 8, 2010 page 3

Quick adjustment

Contact Sam Werner atswerner@nd.edu

Sophomore running back-turned-receiver Theo Riddick is ready to take his game to the next level

By SAM WERNERSports Writer

YUE WU/The Observer

Sophomore receiver Theo Riddick turns to run upfield after acatch in Notre Dame’s 31-13 win over Boston College on Oct. 2.

“Back in the summereven, I said that I

thought he was going toreally come on and bepretty good and I think

that’s held true.”

Charley MolnarIrish offensive coordinator

SARAH O’CONNOR/The Observer

Sophomore receiver Theo Riddick sheds a tackle in Notre Dame’s 37-13 loss to Stanford onSept. 25. Riddick leads the Irish in catches (30) and touchdowns (3) so far this year.

HEAD T The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 4 Friday, October 8, 2010

Irish Offense vs. Panthers Defense

Brian Kellyhead coach

First season at Notre Dame

career record: 173-60-2

record at ND:2-3

against Pitt: 2-1

Notre DameFighting Irish

Record: 2-3AP: NR Coaches: NR

Despite a decisive 18-point vic-tory against Boston College, theIrish passing attack did not lookstrong after the first quarter.Quarterback Dayne Crist threwfor only 84 yards in the finalthree quarters, and the Irishoffense scored only one moretouchdown after putting threeacross in their first four drives.

Still, Crist is 12th in the nation inpassing yards, and with 10 touch-downs to four interceptions, his num-bers are impressive for a first-yearquarterback. Tight end Kyle Rudolphhas been quiet recently, but is stillCrist’s favorite target, and widereceivers Theo Riddick and MichaelFloyd have been reliable.Pittsburgh’s defense has struggled

when facing capable quarterbacks,giving up five touchdowns in twogames to Miami’s Jacory Harris andUtah’s Jordan Wynn. The Irish willlikely look to pass early and often likethey did against Boston College and, ifgiven time, Crist should have a biggame against the Panthers secondary.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Usually a spread offense doesnot lend itself to a game-after-game 100-yard back, and BrianKelly’s is no exception. Runningback Armando Allen’s most pro-ductive game came in the firstweek against Purdue, when heran for 93 yards on 18 carries.That being said, Allen is averag-ing 4.9 yards per carry, and the

Irish will need his spark to set uptheir passing game.The Pittsburgh run defense has

been its strength. The Panthers aregiving up only 97 yards per game,which puts them 15th in the nation.Miami ran for 100 yards in their 31-3 win over the Panthers, the mostyards Pittsburgh has given up on theground this season.

It seems unlikely that the Irish willchange their game plan this week,especially against as staunch a rush-ing attack as Pittsburgh’s. Look forsome early runs to set up the pass-ing game, but the Panthers will like-ly keep Allen and Co. in check mostof the game.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

Brian Kelly’s strategy ofscoring fast worked like acharm against BostonCollege. An aerial attack islikely to be the strategy thisweek, and Kelly is in his ele-ment when Crist has the ballin his hands. He might usethe run to set up the passinggame, but the Irish will prob-

ably abandon the run infavor of the pass soonerrather than later. Kellysaid that Notre Damegot back to the charac-teristics of a spreadoffense last week. Lookfor that to continue.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Kicker David Rufferhas done all that theIrish have asked ofhim this season, mak-ing all eight of his fieldgoal attempts and all13 of his extra pointtries. He has become asure thing in theoffense, and Notre

Dame will continue to relyon him.Pittsburgh is in the top 12

in kick return defense andthe top 5 in punt returndefense, an area that theIrish have struggled in sofar this season.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

Sept. 4

Sept. 11

Sept. 18

Sept. 25

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 13

Nov. 20

Nov. 27

Purdue—W

Michigan — L

@ Michigan St. — L

Stanford — L

@ Boston College — W

Pittsburgh

Western Michigan

@ Navy

Tulsa

Utah

Army

@ USC

2010 Schedule

ND PASSING

Statistical LeadersND OFFENSEQB DAYNE CRIST

113-194, 1358 yards, 10 TDRB ARMANDO ALLEN

80 rush, 392 yards, 2 TDWR MICHAEL FLOYD

28 rec., 408 yards, 2 TDWR THEO RIDDICK

30 rec., 320 yards, 3 TDTE KYLE RUDOLPH

23 rec., 290 yards, 3 TD

PITT DEFENSELB MAX GRUDER

11 solo, 24 totalDB JASON HENDRICKS

13 solo, 21 total, 1 TFLDL JABAAL SHEARD

14 solo, 20 total, 3 sackDL CHAS ALECXIH

8 solo, 14 total, 4 sackDB JARRED HOLLEY

11 solo, 14 total, 3 INT

Head-to-HeadND OFFENSEScoring: 24.60 ppg (82nd)

Total: 404.0 ypg (48th)

Rushing: 111.0 ypg (97th)

Passing:293.0 ypg (17th)

Turnovers against: 12 (106th)

Fumbles lost: 6 (98th)

Interceptions: 6 (92nd)

Sacks Allowed: 9 (56th)

T.O.P. for: 25:36 (117th)

PITT DEFENSEScoring: 22.75 ppg (56th)

Total: 341.75 ypg (53rd)

Rushing: 97.0 ypg (15th)

Passing: 244.75 ypg (92nd)

Turnovers for: 7 (69th)

Fumbles rec.: 3 (61st)

Interceptions: 4 (61st)

Sacks: 10 (36th)

T.O.P. against: 28:18 (28th)

Bob DiacoDef. Coordinator

Charley MolnarOff. Coordinator

ND RUSHING

NDSPECIALTEAMS

NDOFFENSIVE

COACHING

Notre Dame may have beaten BostonCollege, but the Irish did not exactlyinspire confidence with their perform-ance.Only two weeks removed from thedebacle known as the Irish loss againstStanford, it is hard to think aboutNotre Dame as a strong team already.That being said, playing Pittsburgh

provides a unique opportunity — BrianKelly knows the Panthers better thanhe knows any other team in the coun-try, excluding Cincinnati. That simplefact, along with continued progressionteam-wide, provides enough hope topick the Irish.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 23

The Irish offense finally found theaccelerator against Boston College, scor-ing three early touchdowns and showingwhat Kelly’s attack can look like. Butthey seemed to release the gas pedal asquickly as they found it, and they’ll needto avoid that Saturday.Heading into the season, I thought

Dion Lewis was the best player on theIrish schedule. And while DenardRobinson proved me wrong, I’m stillscared of a Lewis-Ray Graham combothat gives me visions of the Connecticutground game last season. Still, this Pittteam is just not that good, and NotreDame has a chance to get on a roll.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 38, Pittsburgh 17

Notre Dame looked great againstBoston College, scoring touchdownson three of its first four drives, whichis a change, but also exactly whathas been expected from this team allyear. Boston College was nowherenear as good as the Irish, and NotreDame defeated the Eagles, as itshould have.Pittsburgh may not be as bad asBoston College, but the Panthers arestill not as good a team as NotreDame. If the Irish can stay focused,concentrate only on this game andget off to a good start again, theyshould win handily.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 38, Pittsburgh 27

DouglasFarmer

Sports Editor

Matt Gamber

Sports Writer

Eric Prister

AssociateSports Editor

HEAD TO HEADThe Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, October 8, 2010 page 5

Panthers Offense vs. Irish Defense

Dave Wannstedthead coach

Sixth season atPittsburgh

career record: 32-27

record at Pitt:32-27

against ND: 2-1

PittsburghPanthersRecord: 2-2

AP: NR Coaches: NR

Sept. 2

Sept. 11

Sept. 23

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 11

Nov. 20

Nov. 26

Dec. 4

@ Utah — L

New Hampshire — W

Miami — L

Fla. International — W

@ Notre Dame

@ Syracuse

Rutgers

Louisville

@ Connecticut

@ USF

West Virginia

@ Cincinnati

2010 Schedule

Statistical LeadersPITT OFFENSEQB TINO SUNSERI

63-100, 689 yards, 4 TD

RB RAY GRAHAM

52 rush, 492 yards, 5 TD

RB DION LEWIS

47 rush, 143 yards, 2 TD

WR JON BALDWIN

15 rec., 211 yards, 2 TD

WR MIKE SHANAHAN

14 rec., 190 yards

ND DEFENSEMLB MANTI TE’O

32 solo, 64 total, 4 TFL

LB CARLO CALABRESE

38 total, 2.5 sack, 5 TFL

DB ROBERT BLANTON

18 total, 1 sack, 1 INT

S HARRISON SMITH

22 solo, 36 total, 1 INT

CB DARRIN WALLS

15 solo, 23 total, 2 INT

Head-to-HeadPITT OFFENSEScoring: 27.25 ppg (65th)

Total: 353.0 ypg (77th)

Rushing: 169.75 ypg (52nd)

Passing: 183.25 (88th)

Turnovers against: 7 (32nd)

Fumbles lost: 3 (26th)

Interceptions: 4 (42nd)

Sacks Allowed: 9 (83rd)

T.O.P. for: 31:42 (28th)

ND DEFENSEScoring: 24.80 ppg (70th)

Total: 401.0 ypg (89th)

Rushing: 152.80 ypg (68th)

Passing: 248.20 ypg (96th)

Turnovers for: 8 (53rd)

Fumbles rec.: 1 (110th)

Interceptions: 7 (16th)

Sacks: 13 (31st)

T.O.P. against: 34:24 (117th)

Frank Cignetti Jr.Off. Coordinator

Phil BennettDef. Coordinator

Redshirt sophomore Tino Sunseri hasstruggled passing the ball so far this year,throwing only four touchdowns and twointerceptions. He passed for more than 200yards in only one game and was pulled inthe fourth quarter of Pittsburgh’s gameagainst Miami, a game in which Sunserifinished with just 61 passing yards.Receiver Jonathan Baldwin is thePanther’s biggest offensive threat. Baldwin

caught 57 passes for 1,111 yards and eighttouchdowns last season, but has struggledso far this year, partially due to the sporadicplay of Sunseri. Kelly compared thematchup between Baldwin and Irish cor-nerback Darrin Walls to Randy Moss versusDarrelle Revis, and Baldwin’s 6-foot-5stature could give him an edge.Notre Dame has had trouble at points

against the pass, and stopping Baldwin

could be a challenge. The Irish haveintercepted seven passes this season,and playing against an inexperiencedquarterback could give them theopportunity for more. If they can keepBaldwin in check, the Irish defenseshould be able to keep Pittsburgh’spassing attack in check.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Pittsburgh’s offensive strength is mostcertainly the run, and they have twoexplosive running backs who canchange a game. Sophomore Dion Lewishad an incredible freshman year, win-ning both Big East Rookie of the Yearand Offensive Player of the Year. He ranfor 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns, buthas struggled to break loose so far thisseason. He is averaging only three yards

per carry, and the longest of his twotouchdowns went for only 18 yards.Sophomore running back Ray Graham

has been the spark for the Panthers’offense so far this year. Last weekagainst Florida International, he ran for277 yards and three scores, his thirdstraight 100-yard rushing game. He andLewis will both see significant carries,and it will be up to the Irish front seven

to slow them down.The Irish gave up only five yards

rushing to Boston College last week,but have also struggled at times.They are giving up 153 yards pergame, and will need to continue tostay focused if they are going to stopPitt’s attack.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

Pittsburgh kicker DanHutchins has made eightof his 11 field goalattempts, missing allthree from 40 yards orlonger. He also punts forthe Panthers, and his46-yard per punt aver-age is the eighth bestaverage in the league.

Graham returns kicks forthe Panthers, and though hehas not taken a kick backfor a score yet this year, heaverages 31 yards per kickreturn, and his speed andagility always make him athreat.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

PITT PASSING

PITT SPECIAL TEAM

S

PITT RUSHING

Pittsburgh will be a step up interms of quality of opponent afterlast week, but this is still a verywinnable game for the Irish. If NotreDame can exhibit the same tenacitystopping the run as they did againstBoston College, it's doubtful thatPanther quarterback Tino Sunseriwill be able to beat the Irish on hisown. Notre Dame will have to run theball — and stay committed to run-ning the ball — against a toughPittsburgh rushing defense. Still, theIrish got a win under their belts, andthat newfound confidence will go along way.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 30, Pittsburgh 21

Notre Dame did exactly what itshould have done last week inbeating a far inferior team and willdo the same this week.Pittsburgh has been disappoint-

ing so far this season, winning onlyagainst the l ikes of F lor idaInternational and New Hampshireand losing badly to Miami. NotreDame is not Miami, but it is notFIU, either. The Irish defense willnot a l low the kinds of holesPittsburgh's running backs areused to finding. The Irish shouldhave no problem starting its firstwin streak of the season.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 27, Pittsburgh 13

Sam Werner

Sports Writer

Laura Myers

Sports Writer

Offensive coordinatorFrank Cignetti’s offenseaveraged 32 points pergame last season, oneof the best marks inschool history. ThePanthers have struggledso far this season, butCignetti has weaponsand knows how to use

them. Sunseri is still a workin progress at quarterback,so the running game willlikely be highlighted againstthe Irish. If they can estab-lish the run, that will openthings up and allow Baldwinto become a focus.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

PITT OFFENSIVE

COACHING

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 6 Friday, October 8, 2010

Pittsburgh sophomore run-ning back Dion Lewis earnednearly every accolade a fresh-man could receive in 2009.Among other honors, he wasnamed the Big East offensiveplayer of the year and a unan-imous freshman All-American. But when Lewis was unableto play Saturday againstFlorida International afterbeing “banged up” in practice,Panthers coachD a v eW a n n s t e d tgave his others o p h o m o r erunning back,Ray Graham,his first start. Graham tookadvantage ofthe opportuni-ty, running for277 yards on29 carries. Hescored threet o u c h d own s ,including a 79-yard run, and returned twokick returns for 78 yards. Theperformance earned him BigEast player of the week hon-ors. “The running game with RayGraham was as good of aneffort as I have ever seen byan individual,” Wannstedt saidin his post-game press confer-ence Saturday. Graham, who did not play inPittsburgh’s opening gameagainst Utah, now leads theteam with 495 yards on 52carries, an average of 9.5yards per carry. He is first inthe Big East with an average

of 164 rushing yards pergame, a figure that is thirdnationally. He also leads thecountry in all-purpose yards,with 236.33 per game. “What they do offensively

has been evolved around arunning game that has fea-tured Dion Lewis in the past,”Irish coach Brian Kelly said inhis Tuesday press conference.“Now it’s Ray Graham.”Wannstedt said Lewis was

held out of the FloridaInternational game on pur-pose, but he could have played

if necessary. “I expect

Dion to be finethis week,” hesaid in aTuesday pressc o n f e r e n c e .“Ray Grahamand DionLewis will bothpract ice andthey will bothplay … We’refortunate tohave boththose guys,and we’ll con-

tinue to play them both.” The Irish defense allowed

Boston College just five rush-ing yards Saturday in their 31-13 defeat of the Eagles. WithLewis and Graham in thegame, the run defense willneed to step up once again,Kelly said. “Having both those backs

obviously presents a greatchallenge,” he said.In 2009, Lewis carried the

ball 325 times for 1,799 yards,the second most ever by a Pittfreshman. As Lewis’ backup, Graham

rushed 61 times for 349 yards,

an average of 5.7 yards percarry. “I think that Ray showed

what kind of person he is ,with how he handled every-thing with Dion last year hav-ing all the success week afterweek,” Wannstedt said.“There’s no more humbleplayer on our team.”

Having two stars is both apositive and a negative, hesaid. “They both want the ball,”

Wannstedt said. “Whetheryou’re a receiver, a tight endor a running back, big-timeguys want the ball. They feelthat if they get the ball theycan make a difference. That’s

the way you want them tothink. The great ones thinkthat way. … Their relationshipis good, but at the same timethey’re both going to be anx-iously wanting the footballcome Saturday.”

Sophomore Graham takes advantage of new role

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers2@nd.edu

By LAURA MYERSSports Writer

“What they do offensively has beenevolved around a

running game that hasfeatured Dion Lewis inthe past. Now it’s Ray

Graham.”

Brian KellyIrish coach

AP

Pittsburgh running back Ray Graham outruns the New Hampshire defense in the Panthers’ 38-16 win onSept. 11. Graham ran for 277 yards and three touchdowns last week against Florida International.

What is the best horoscope you've gotten from

The Observer?

It's hard to say but I will say I'm a huge

Horoscope guy. I always make sure I grab The

Observer and look out for any four- or five-star

days out there.

Who's your favorite person to follow on Twitter?

Probably [freshman nose guard] Louis Nix. He's

funny on Twitter and he's easily one of the funni-

est kids, if not the funniest kid, on the team. ...

LNix67. Got to check it out.

What did you think of Tuesday's episode of

Glee?

It was very deep. I couldn't get enough of it. Got

me a little choked up, I'm not going to lie.

Are you rooting for Finn and Rachel?

I am rooting for Finn and Rachel. I know a lot of

previews before the season hinted at other things,

but I like what has happened so far. We'll see what

happens so far. Maybe the "Grilled Cheesus" will

keep answering his prayers.

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, October 8, 2010 page 7

Youthful offensive line begins to gain confidence

In Brian Kelly’s spread offense, thequarterback repeatedly hears heneeds to get rid of the ball quickly.But no matter how quickly Irishquarterback Dayne Crist releases thefootball, his offensive line needs togive him enough time to do so.In the first few games of the sea-son, especially during the 37-14 lossto Stanford, Crist was pressuredmore often than Kelly would haveliked, and both the Irish passing andrushing attacks suffered.Against Boston College, the Irishoffensive line consistently gave Cristtime to throw and to run the Irishoffense. Notre Dame needed thosefew games of adjustment becausethree of the five starting linemenwere starting their first game againstPurdue, offensive coordinatorCharley Molnar said.“During summer camp, when talk-ing about our youth, how these guyshad never taken a snap, now all of asudden these guys have over 300plays,” Molnar said. “I just think thatthe continuity helped. Really, up untilSaturday the same five guys virtuallytook every single rep at the sameposition. So they got a ton of work. …They’ve played half a season. Theyare quickly becoming veterans.”Sophomore tackle Zack Martin,junior center Braxston Cave and sen-ior tackle Taylor Dever all startedtheir first game against Purdue, withonly fifth-year guard Chris Stewartand junior guard Trevor Robinsonholding experience on the line.Nonetheless, each of those threefirst-timers has progressed as theirconfidence grew.

“Definitely every game your confi-dence is going to grow,” Martin said.“Confidence from your teammatesand coaches. Each game you feel abit more comfortable in there.”The youngest of the three, Martin,

has particularly impressed Kelly ashe has learned on the fly, confrontingnew defensive looks and challengesin each game.“There are things happening each

week that he has never seen before,”Kelly said in his Tuesday press con-ference. “When you look at ZackMartin as a first-time starter, eachweek he sees new things and maybedoesn’t handle it like a veteranstarter, but those things that he hasencountered already, he’s playing ata high level. He’s grading out as ourtop lineman at this point.”Of the three offensive line new-

comers, the one with the mostresponsibility, and pressure, hasbeen Cave. He holds the job of identi-fying defensive looks and blitzes, aswell as matching Crist’s cadence andsnap count. Against Stanford, Cavesaid he did not do an adequate job atthese tasks, and it cost the Irish.“It was just the fact of holding onto

[the ball] when I needed to so Daynecould see the blitzes coming,” Cavesaid. “In the Stanford game I didn’tdo a good job of that. They were tim-ing things up well. We just switched itup and worked on it every day inpractice.”Those growing pains have receded

as Cave has gained more and moreexperience, in those 300 snaps,offensive line coach Ed Warrinersaid.“Playing experience. Just being

able to play, watching film, that hasled to maturation in playing thatposition.”

Against Boston College, Cavemissed a handful of snaps afterrolling his ankle. In his place steppedjunior Mike Golic, Jr. Golic is also theback-up at right guard, behindRobinson.“[Backing up two positions] helps

me more than anything else,” Golicsaid. “Knowing what I have to do atguard helps me know what I’mdoing at center by knowing what theguy on either side of me is thinking.”That level of comfort showed in his

few snaps Saturday.“There wasn’t a big drop-off

[between Cave and Golic],” Molnarsaid. “I’d say in the last five or sixweeks, we’ve been commenting onhow Mike has been getting a betterunderstanding of the offense andbeing more physical.”That confidence and depth will be

necessary against Pittsburgh, a foeKelly has faced each of the past threeseasons.“It’s a tough, physical defense, and

again, they can do some very goodthings with their front four,” Kellysaid of the Panthers. “They givegreat pressure on the quarterbackwith their front four.”Fortunately for Kelly, the confi-dence his offensive line has gainedhas inspired some confidence in him.“I feel pretty good at the offensiveline,” Kelly said.

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Editor

Contact Douglas Farmer at dfarmer1@nd.edu

YUE WU/The Observer

Sophomore guard Chris Watt, 66, junior center Braxton Cave, 52, and junior guard Trevor Robinson, 78,protect quarterback Dayne Crist in Notre Dame’s 31-13 victory over Boston College on Oct. 2.

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