Of the many impressive things the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have done amid their eight-game winning streak, clobbering the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Pittsburgh Steelers' stadium has to be right up there. No. 9 Notre Dame has to win out to make the playoff, while No. 22 Pittsburgh effectively punted away their chances of it with a third loss. Pat Narduzzi made a complete joke of this ballgame.
It did not matter to him that ESPN College GameDay was in town for this one. It was not an ACC game, therefore not important to the Pittsburgh head coach. Marcus Freeman, who leads a team that does not play in a conference, has to treat every game with the utmost respect. Notre Dame played for a national championship in the same season that it lost to Northern Illinois at home back in September.
So clearly Freeman had no use for Narduzzi's unbelievably weak attempt at a bro hug near midfield.
— Locked On Irish (@LockedOnIrish) November 15, 2025
The 37-15 final score was closer than what the game actually was. Jeremiyah Love continues to play like the frontrunner to win the Doak Walker Award, possibly sneak into the Heisman Trophy conversation in the 11th hour. Narduzzi may be one of the better head coaches at Pittsburgh in recent years, but he is not even in the same galaxy as Freeman is as a championship-caliber coach.
Notre Dame has one of the best in the country, while Pittsburgh only has a bona-fide excuse-maker.
Marcus Freeman has no time for pleasantries after crushing Pitt's soul
There is no way around it. Pitt fans should be embarrassed by how Narduzzi treated this Notre Dame game coming in. Yes, Pitt could still technically win the ACC, but why would the Panthers not want a potential resume booster working in their favor with a home win over Notre Dame? The Irish were more than happy to take an unexpected ranked win on the road to boost their resume just a bit more.
As far as Notre Dame is concerned, the Fighting Irish can only control what they can control when it comes to making the playoff. Losing early on to Miami and Texas A&M are not the worst losses one could have. Getting a ranked win over Pitt gives them another quality one to pair with the win over rival USC. There is not a ton of wiggle room left for the Irish, but they have been above the cut line.
Ultimately, Notre Dame has been one of the best programs in college football throughout the College Football Playoff era in part that its team and coaching staff takes just about every game seriously. Yes, they will occasionally lose a dumb one like it did to Northern Illinois last year. In a way, Freeman's crashing sense of urgency as a head coach with his back against the wall makes him such a rockstar.
While Freeman's coaching career is just starting to blossom, Narduzzi's bloom has come and gone.