Pitt Suffers Embarrassing Defeat to No. 9 Notre Dame

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers fell to the No. 9-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 37-15 in Acrisure Stadium.

This had the makings of one of the best games in this historic series. Both teams were ranked and in the hunt for the College Football Playoff, ESPN's College GameDay hosted its popular pregame show across the street and Pitt retired Aaron Donald's jersey.

But the Fighting Irish took care of business and looked like a playoff-caliber team.

Jeremiyah Love had yet another impressive performance out of the backfield. The star running back had 147 yards, one touchdown and averaged 6.4 yards per carry. Malachi Fields also had a great game with seven catches for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Mason Heintschel struggled for the first time this season at home. The true freshman looked like a true freshman as he completed 48% of his passes for 126 yards, one interception and no touchdowns. It wasn't just Heintschel, though. The offense was outgained 387 yards to 219 yards.

Pitt's Disastrous Start

Pitt came into the game with six consecutive opening scoring drives. The Panthers started strong with a 19-yard catch and run from Heintschel to Desmond Reid on the first play of the game. Heintschel then hit tight end Justin Holmes for a gain of 12 two plays later to cross midfield.

Heintschel took a shot to Raphael "Poppi" Williams in the red zone, but it hit off his shoulder pads and fell incomplete. Heintschel then targeted Cataurus "Blue" Hicks over the middle on third down, but he was hit hard and dropped the pass.

Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Desmond Reid (0) runs after catch against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pat Narduzzi took a big risk and went for it on fourth-and-9, but Heintschel was sacked for a loss of 16 to give Notre Dame possession on the Pitt 46.

The Fighting Irish had two nice plays by Fields and Love to get into field possession until Isaiah Neal met Love in the backfield for a loss of seven, a play later.

Notre Dame sent the field goal team to take an early lead — something the Fighting Irish have struggled with all season. Erik Schmidt, who was 0-for-2 on field goal tries entering the game. pushed a 46-yard attempt to the right to keep it tied.

Pitt couldn't capitalize and went three-and-out. The Irish took over on their own 44-yard line and in one play, Love made a sweet spin move in the second level and had no one else to beat for a 56-yard rushing score.

Deuce Spann had a nice 40-yard kickoff return to give the Panthers favorable field position, but Heintschel's pass was intercepted by safety Tae Johnson and returned for a 49-yard touchdown.

Notre Dame all of a sudden had a 14-0 lead in just two plays and 13 seconds of game time.

Pitt's defense forced a big three-and-out to avoid going down by three scores. The offense got the ball back, but ended up punting after five plays.

It looked like the Panthers' defense was going to force another three-and-out after a Notre Dame holding penalty, but Braylan Lovelace jumped offsides to create a free play on third-and-15 and Carr hit Fields, who made a highlight reel one-handed catch for a gain of 35 to end the quarter.

Pitt Trails Big

The first play of the quarter turned into a disaster for Notre Dame when Carr fired over the middle and safety Kavir Bains-Marquez jumped in front and returned the interception 49 yards to the 12-yard line.

Pitt was in prime position to score a touchdown, but the offense was right back off the field after three plays, again. Sam Carpenter put the Panthers on the board with a 24-yard field goal for his first-career attempt and conversion.

Notre Dame put together a complete drive when it went 74 yards in 14 plays, with the help of a few big plays from tight end Eli Raridon, who had five catches for 52 yards on the drive. But the Irish couldn't finish when Carr tried to get it to Raridon one more time on the 1-yard line and the pass fell incomplete.

Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) passes against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pitt only gained three yards from the shadow of its own end zone and punted again. The Fighting Irish started to drive late in the first half. The Panthers' defense jumped offside again and Carr connected with Fields again, but for a 25-yard touchdown at the front right pylon this time to make it 21-3 for the away team.

The Panthers started to put together a drive that looked similar to the game's opening drive. Heintschel completed three straight passes for a total gain of 39 yards to move the offense down to the Notre Dame 36-yard line. But like the first drive, it stalled out and Carpenter missed a 53-yard attempt to keep it 21-3 at halftime.

Bad Turns to Worse

Notre Dame continued to pile it on in the third quarter. The Fighting Irish pieced together a nine-play, 54-yard drive to open the half. Carr hit Fields for the duo's second touchdown of the day to make it 28-3.

Pitt had by far its longest drive of the game when it drove 14 plays and 74 yards. However, zero points were scored. Heintschel and Reid connected for a gain of 27 on fourth down, but Reid was injured after the play and had to be carried off the field by his teammates.

Kenny Johnson drew a pass interference penalty on fourth down to get another first down opportunity, but Williams came up short of the end zone after a review on fourth down.

Notre Dame was stuck at the half-yard line, but managed to get some breathing room. Pitt finally made a big play with a 10-yard pick-six by Rasheem Biles, but the momentum was short-lived as the Panthers elected to go for the two-point try, and Heintschel threw an interception that was returned 100 yards for a two-point play for the Irish.

.@Rasheembiles picks it off and walks into the end zone 🙌

📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/Sf1XJsyQDL
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) November 15, 2025

The Suffering Ends

Carr capped a 12-play. 65-yard drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown. Pitt then turned it over on downs for the third time and Notre Dame did the same on its next drive.

Eli Holsten replaced Heintschel with a little over two minutes remaining in the game and scored a last-second touchdown on a 21-yard pass to Malachi Thomas.

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