Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Pittsburgh Panthers Match Player Stats On Nov 07, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Nov 7, 2015

PITTSBURGH -- DeShone Kizer threw five touchdowns passes, including three to Will Fuller, and ran for another score to lead No. 5 Notre Dame to a 42-30 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Some analysts were surprised that Notre Dame (8-1) was ranked so highly when the first College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday. However, the Fighting Irish convincingly ran their winning streak to four games since their loss, 22-20 at No. 1 Clemson on Oct. 3.

Kizer completed 19 of 26 passes for 262 yards as he continued to shine since taking over as the starting quarterback. Zaire Malik suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the second game of the season. Kizer ended up one short of the school record of six touchdown passes set by Brady Quinn in 2005 against Brigham Young.

Fuller, a junior wide receiver, had seven receptions for 152 yards. Wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. and running back Scott Adams also had a touchdown catch. Kizer pushed Notre Dame's lead to 42-17 with a 2-yard scoring run with 5:47 remaining.

Adams, a true freshman, rushed for 147 yards on 20 carries as Notre Dame scored at least 30 points for the seventh time in nine games this season.

Pitt (5-3) took its second loss in a row, falling by 12 points after each of its previous six games had been decided by seven points or less.

Freshman Jordan Whitehead ran for two touchdowns for Pitt in the first offensive action of his collegiate career as he lined up at running back in both basic and wildcat formations. He leads the Panthers in tackles this season from his strong safety position, including 11 on Saturday.

Quarterback Nate Peterman was 12-of-31 passing, though he finished with 223 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Tyler Boyd with 4:44 left.

Pitt defensive end Ejuan Price returned a fumble 32 yards for a touchdown three minutes later to cut the lead to 42-30 but Notre Dame recovered an onside kick and ran out the final 1:40.

Peterman was also Pitt's leading rusher with 60 yards on eight carries.

Notre Dame took a 21-3 halftime lead as Kizer and Fuller connected on scoring plays of 46 yards in both the first and second quarters and Hunter had a 12-yard touchdown catch in the second period.

Pitt's lone points of the half came on kicker Chris Blewitt's 22-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Whitehead got Pitt within 11 points twice in the third quarter with his touchdown runs of 10 and 3 yards. However, Kizer answered both scores with TD passes, connecting with Fuller on a 14-yarder in the third quarter and a 5-yarder to Adams with 12 1/2 minutes remaining that put Notre Dame safely ahead 35-17.

NOTES: WR Tyler Boyd, a junior and the ACC receptions leader, was held to three catches for 84 yards but became Pitt's all-time leader in receiving yardage with 3,097, breaking the mark set by Antonio Bryant (1999-2001). ... This was the first time Notre Dame had a noon ET kickoff since 2011 --- also at Pitt. ... Notre Dame hosts Wake Forest next Saturday while Pitt plays at Duke.