PITTSBURGH \u2014 Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman didn\u2019t want to hear it. Pat Narduzzi probably wasn\u2019t worth listening to, anyway.<\/p>\n
When the head coaches met at midfield for a perfunctory postgame handshake following a 37-15 Irish win<\/a> on Saturday afternoon, Freeman brushed off Narduzzi as the Pittsburgh coach attempted to pull him in, possibly to explain his final timeout that helped set up a meaningless last-second touchdown for the Panthers. After making headlines this week by calling Saturday\u2019s game anything but a must-win and wondering aloud whether Pittsburgh would be fine giving up 100 points<\/a>, Narduzzi seemed adamant in keeping up appearances.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to go celebrate,\u201d Freeman said about the exchange, although the smirk as he spoke told more. \u201cTo each their own, you know what I mean? I don\u2019t ever comment on another program, but also I don\u2019t have time to think about that. Like if they call the timeout, all right guys, let\u2019s get them stopped, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus Freeman had other places to be. https:\/\/t.co\/LO9uCRlZZ3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) November 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Freeman has bigger items on his to-do list than stopping Pittsburgh backup quarterback Eli Holstein from throwing a touchdown pass against Notre Dame\u2019s second-team defense on the game\u2019s final snap. Maybe the Panthers are nothing more than another middling ACC program serving as cannon fodder on an Irish schedule without much luster. That\u2019s fine. Because Notre Dame now feels like a program hitting its stride in November, just in time to make its case that it\u2019s equipped for bigger things in December and January.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s trip to Acrisure Stadium was supposed to be a potential trip wire for Notre Dame, facing an opponent on a five-game win streak with a freshman quarterback who looks like the program\u2019s future and \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d visiting for the first time in 20 years. Pittsburgh retired the No. 97 jersey of Panthers legend Aaron Donald. So much about the proceedings felt like a trap, right up until Irish safety Adon Shuler lowered his shoulder into Pitt receiver Cataurus Hicks to force an incompletion on third down of Pitt\u2019s opening drive.<\/p>\n Notre Dame delivered the first shot, and Pitt never recovered.<\/p>\n The Irish rolled from there, whether it was Malachi Fields catching jump balls, Tae Johnson producing a pick six, the defense finishing with four sacks or Jeremiyah Love going for 147 yards against a Pitt defense that entered the weekend as the nation\u2019s best in yards allowed per carry (2.39). Love went for 56 all at once in the first half with a spin move that left Pitt\u2019s defense grasping at nothing on his way to the end zone.<\/p>\n ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE\u2618\ufe0f<\/p>\n THERE. HE. GOES. #GoIrish<\/a>\u2618\ufe0f | @JeremiyahLove<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/C2cSTYLo2N<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMe personally, I feel like there was a little bit of, they didn\u2019t respect us,\u201d Love said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t really talk about how aggressive we were as a team. They didn\u2019t really talk about how much we were basically just dominators. That was a little bit disrespectful.<\/p>\n \u201cDidn\u2019t use it for motivation. I really could care less.\u201d<\/p>\n Putting aside the inanity of poking a bear dressed as a leprechaun, the bloodless nature with which Notre Dame took care of business should be what sticks with Freeman most. This was a professional performance against an opponent who barely gave it the old college try. Notre Dame played violent football in a way Pittsburgh couldn\u2019t handle. Love delivered the lead block on Carr\u2019s five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that finished off the Panthers, but when Love met Kavir Bains-Marquez in the hole, the senior defensive back wanted nothing to do with the contact.<\/p>\n Even as its head coach was calling timeout to save face, Pitt\u2019s roster was making business decisions all over the field.<\/p>\n Notre Dame was hardly perfect. Carr threw two interceptions, including a ghastly pick six in the shadow of his own end zone. The field goal operation is still a massive question. But as much as Freeman will want to drill down on what went wrong, he also has to acknowledge what\u2019s happening. Notre Dame is a football team on the rise as the season enters its final act. Process begets results, and results become trends. Enough time has passed since those season-opening losses to Miami and Texas A&M to see Notre Dame for the College Football Playoff team that it is. Regardless of what happens with Miami down the stretch. Whatever USC does or doesn\u2019t do in November. No matter how the SEC race shakes out in its final weeks. Notre Dame may not have reached its full potential, but its momentum feels inexorable.<\/p>\n \u201cI think sometimes you got to pull back and look at a quality win over a good opponent,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard because you evaluate every single play. That\u2019s why you say, we\u2019re getting better, but we\u2019re not perfect. You want to evaluate every single play, and you want plays that you don\u2019t win. Why didn\u2019t we win, and what do we gotta do to make sure that happens? And then over time, you look and say, \u2018OK, this team is getting better. We\u2019re getting better at executing at a higher level.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to assume Notre Dame\u2019s recovery act was inevitable. The Irish did it last year, losing to Northern Illinois in Week 2 before winning 10 straight regular season games to put themselves into the CFP. And this does feel similar, with the Irish moving toward another 10-game win streak to close the regular season, likely to win all 10 by double digits. (Saturday\u2019s win pushed their Playoff odds to 98 percent, according to\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s projections.)<\/a> Just like last season, nobody seems to get open against the Irish secondary. Just like last year, Love feels like a force of nature. Like last year, Freeman is pulling the strings.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s an edge to this year\u2019s team that feels different. Notre Dame doesn\u2019t turn the other cheek, doesn\u2019t mind talking back in class. Freeman seems to get energy from all that, too, something Narduzzi experienced postgame. Yes, the necessity of winning out is just as urgent this season as last year. But how Notre Dame is getting there feels more cutting than last season\u2019s blunt force trauma.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really just getting started of playing Notre Dame football. We feel we can improve a lot more offensively,\u201d Love said. \u201cI don\u2019t really say there\u2019s any secret to it. We\u2019ve just got great people in our program.\u201d<\/p>\n No, Notre Dame doesn\u2019t feel like a program that\u2019s all that impressed with itself heading toward its home finale against Syracuse and a Thanksgiving weekend trip to Stanford. But maybe it should be. Every game for Notre Dame has been a \u201cmust-win\u201d since mid-September. And it\u2019s clear the Irish know how to handle their business, no handshake required.<\/p>\n