The Pittsburgh Panthers fail all expectations as they are dismantled by the Irish 42-7 on the grass of Notre Dame Stadium
By Jim Kuser
1991 Scholastic Football Review
1991 NDFB Pittsburgh Final Stats
The Pittsburgh Panthers came roaring out of the tunnel of Notre Dame Stadium, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish proved them toothless. Final score: Notre Dame 42 and Pitt 7.
Why were the twelfth-ranked Panthers wiped out so easily by the Irish? Linebacker Demetrius DuBose answered.
“Tackling is an attitude. Today we had serious attitude.”
Pitt, boasting a bountiful running attack, recorded a meager 59 yards on 24 rushes. DuBose, linebacker Pete Bercich, and linemen Eric Jones, Germaine Holden, and Junior Bryant all recorded tackles for losses in the game. A shutout performance by the Irish defense was spoiled when Pitt quarterback Alex Van Pelt hit his tight end Eric Seaman for a 51-yard touchdown.
The Irish special teams blocked a punt and forced a fumbled punt in this game. Both became Notre Dame touchdowns, but the better one of the two was the blocked punt junior special teams star Reggie Brooks blocked a punt and recovered it 26 yards down the field in the Pitt end zone for a touchdown.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Brooks. “The ball went right through my hands and then hit me right in the face.”
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz revealed that this block was a planned play.
“We work on it day after day,” he said. “On the first kick we disguised our blocking scheme, and on the next one we went for it. Reggie came clean and did a great job of getting the ball.”
Despite the 42 points put on the board by the Irish, the Notre Dame offense had to take a bow to the Notre Dame defense and special teams as the stars of this game. Quarterback Rick Mirer gave the worst passing game of his career as he completed only four of 15 passes for 40 yards and two interceptions.
“It was good to win the game,” said Holtz. “The score was very deceptive. We had trouble on offense. We had no rhythm and could not get the passing game going.”
But they could get the running game going, as seen by the 340 yards that the Irish gained on the ground, including 125 yards cashed in on carries by sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis. Do not tell Pitt Coach Paul Hackett that the Notre Dame offense had an off day.
“Notre Dame is one hell of an offensive football team,” said a coach in awe of the opponent who had so thoroughly whipped his squad. “You stop…