Pitt Snap Counts Reveal Surprisingly Even Game vs. Notre Dame

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers were embarrassed at home in the 37-15 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this past weekend. And if it weren't for a last-second touchdown, the score would've been 37-9.

However, the Pro Football Focus snap counts revealed that the Panthers had equal possession opportunities as the Irish, despite what the final score would suggest.

In Pitt's other two losses this season, there was a discrepancy between offensive and defensive snap counts. Against West Virginia, Pitt played 74 snaps of offense and a whopping 93 snaps on defense. Against Louisville, that margin nearly doubled when the Panthers played just 56 snaps on offense and 88 snaps on defense.

But this loss was different. Pitt and Notre Dame each played 72 snaps of offense, but one team made the most of its opportunities and the other did not.

For reference, PASS is passing snaps, PBLK is passing blocking snaps, RUN is rushing snaps and RBLK is run blocking snaps, offensively. RDEF is run defense snaps, PRSH is pass rushing snaps and COV is coverage snaps, defensively.

Quarterback

Mason Heintschel — 58 snaps (46 PASS, 1 RUN, 11 RBLK)
Eli Holstein — 14 snaps (8 PASS, 1 RUN, 5 RBLK)

Running Back

Desmond Reid — 39 snaps (28 PASS, 3 PBLK, 6 RUN, 2 RBLK)
Ja'Kyrian Turner — 22 snaps (13 PASS, 4 PBLK, 5 RUN)
Juelz Goff — 12 snaps (6 PASS, 5 RUN, 1 RBLK)

Wide Receiver

Kenny Johnson — 60 snaps (46 PASS, 14 RBLK)
Cataurus "Blue" Hicks — 58 snaps (43 PASS, 15 RBLK)
Raphael "Poppi" Williams — 52 snaps (41 PASS, 11 RBLK)
Bryce Yates — 18 snaps (12 PASS, 6 RBLK)
Tony Kinsler — 15 snaps (11 PASS, 4 RBLK)
Deuce Spann — 14 snaps (11 PASS, 3 RBLK)

Tight End

Justin Holmes — 39 snaps (28 PASS, 3 PBLK, 8 RBLK)
Jake Overman — 17 snaps (12 PASS, 1 PBLK, 4 RBLK)
Malachi Thomas — 14 snaps (8 PASS, 6 RBLK)

Offensive Line

BJ Williams — 72 snaps (54 PBLK, 18 RBLK)
Ryan Baer — 72 snaps (54 PBLK, 18 RBLK)
Lyndon Cooper — 72 snaps (54 PBLK, 18 RBLK)
Ryan Carretta — 60 snaps (46 PBLK, 14 RBLK)
Kendall Stanley — 57 snaps (40 PBLK, 17 RBLK)
Jeff Persi — 15 snaps (14 PBLK, 1 RBLK)
Isaiah Montgomery — 12 snaps (8 PBLK, 4 RBLK)

Offense Observations

The offense was just bad all around.

This game was particularly bad for the offensive line, though. Mason Heintschel was sacked four times and pressured 11 times. Plus, the top three players with the highest PFF pass protection grades were backup guard Isaiah Montgomery, who played eight snaps, and running backs Desmond Reid and Ja'Kyrian Turner.

It was also a tough game for the pass catchers. The group tied their season-high of four drops, with two from Raphael "Poppi" Williams and one from Caturus "Blue" Hicks and Justin Holmes.

The running backs weren't a bright spot either, with an abysmal 70 yards on 2.8 yards per carry. Juelz Goff wound up being the leading rusher with 35 yards, all of which came after contact.

Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Juelz Goff (8) runs the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

All of this led to Heintschel playing the worst game of his young career. The true freshman had no help whatsoever and as a result, he completed 48% of his throws for a career-low 126 yards passing yards, an interception and no touchdowns.

Heintschel and the offense were so bad that ESPN's QBR — a statistic that measures a quarterback's overall performance by accounting for passing, rushing, decision making, turnovers and situational context, among other factors — gave Heintschel an 8.7 score on a scale from 0-to-100, with 50 being an "average" quarterback.

Defensive End

Isaiah Neal — 51 snaps (25 RDEF, 25 PRSH, 1 COV)
Jimmy Scott — 44 snaps (20 RDEF, 23 PRSH, 1 COV)
Joey Zelinsky — 25 snaps (12 RDEF, 13 PRSH)
Blain Spires — 9 snaps (5 RDEF, 4 PRSH)
Jaeden Moore — 8 snaps (4 RDEF, 3 PRSH, 1 COV)
Nate Temple — 7 snaps (4 RDEF, 2 PRSH, 1 COV)

Defensive Tackle

Nick James — 53 snaps (24 RDEF, 29 PRSH)
Francis Brewu — 51 snaps (20 RDEF, 22 PRSH)
Jahsear Whittington — 35 snaps (17 RDEF, 18 PRSH)

Linebacker

Rasheem Biles — 72 snaps (35 RDEF, 14 PRSH, 23 COV)
Braylan Lovelace — 72 snaps (35 RDEF, 11 PRSH, 26 COV)
Kyle Louis — 72 snaps (35 RDEF, 7 PRSH, 30 COV)

Cornerback

Rashad Battle — 51 snaps (25 RDEF, 26 COV)
Tamon Lynum —45 snaps (22 RDEF, 2 PRSH, 21 COV)
Shadarian Harrison — 30 snaps (13 RDEF, 17 COV)
Shawn Lee Jr. — 18 snaps (10 RDEF, 8 COV)

Safety

Javon McIntyre — 72 snaps (35 RDEF, 37 COV)
Kavir Bains-Marquez — 70 snaps (35 RDEF, 1 PRSH, 34 COV)
Josh Guerrier — 7 snaps (1 PRSH, 6 COV)

Defense Observations

Some injuries on the defensive side were reflected in this week's snap counts. Blaine Spires made his return after missing a handful of games, and Jaeden Moore made his second appearance this season after missing the majority of the season due to an injury. They played a minimal role, though, playing a total of 17 snaps between the two.

Nick James saw an increase in reps after Sean FitzSimmons did not appear in warmups, and so did safety Kavir Bains-Marquez with no Cruce Brookins.

The defense wasn't nearly as bad as the offense, forcing two turnovers, two turnover on downs and holding Notre Dame to scoring on four of its 11 drives. The defense also had 20 run stops, which was the third most this season, and forced 10 pressures on CJ Carr.

But there were still some costly errors, like allowing a Jeremyiah Love 56-yard rushing touchdown and two Malachi Fields touchdowns.

Shawn Lee Jr. island was also invaded for the first time this year, as he allowed a season-high three catches for 36 yards and allowed his second touchdown of the season. Lee, a true freshman, was playing like a true shutdown corner, allowing just 27 total yards all season before this game.

Rashad Battle also struggled in the secondary, allowing 61 yards on four catches and a touchdown.

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