Wednesday July 30th, 2025 5:46AM

Pittsburgh Overpowers No. 24 Notre Dame

By
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Tyler Palko became the first quarterback to throw five touchdown passes against Notre Dame, four in the first half alone, and Josh Cummings kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1 second left to give the Panthers a 41-38 victory over the 24th-ranked Irish on Saturday.<br> <br> The Irish tied the game with a 45-yard field goal by D.J. Fitzpatrick with 1:11 left, but couldn&#39;t stop the Panthers.<br> <br> On Pitt&#39;s next play from scrimmage, Palko threw to Erik Gill for what appeared to be a short gain. But Irish linebacker Mike Goolsby tried to strip the ball and Gill broke free for a 36-yard gain. Palko completed two more passes to Gill on the drive to help set up the winning field goal.<br> <br> The Panthers (6-3), who became bowl eligible with the victory, won at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time since 1986, ending an 0-6 streak. It was just Pitt&#39;s second win in its last 13 games against the Irish. The 41 points were the most ever by the Panthers against Notre Dame.<br> <br> The Irish (6-4) lost three games at home for a second consecutive season, only the second time that&#39;s happened. The Irish have lost three home games in a season only eight times.<br> <br> Palko was 26-of-42 for 334 yards, with no interceptions. Eleven previous quarterbacks had passed for four TD passes against the Irish, most recently Purdue&#39;s Kyle Orton earlier this season.<br> <br> After throwing four TD passes in the first half, Palko didn&#39;t throw another until he found Erik Gill in the back of the end zone with 2:24 left. Gill finished with 89 yards on six carries and Greg Lee had five catches for 95 yards.<br> <br> After the game, an excited Palko used an expletive in a post-game interview on NBC. The network&#39;s announcers quickly apologized.<br> <br> The Irish secondary struggled throughout the game, repeatedly giving up big plays and making mistakes that kept Pitt drives alive. On Pitt&#39;s final TD drive, the Irish secondary was called for two pass interference calls - including one that wiped out an interception.<br> <br> Brady Quinn passed for three touchdowns for Notre Dame, including a 36-yard pass to Matt Shelton midway through the fourth quarter. Quinn and Shelton also connected on a pair of 46-yard catches to set up two first-half scores.<br> <br> Quinn was 16-of-26 for 259 yards, with two interceptions. Shelton had three catches for a career-high 128 yards receiving.<br> <br> The Irish tied the score at 28 early in the third quarter on a 19-yard pass from Quinn to Rashon Powers-Neal. Carlyle Holiday set up the touchdown with a 68-yard punt return to the 19-yard line.<br> <br> The Panthers scored on four of their six first-half possessions. Palko threw touchdown passes of 1 and 20 yards to Steve Buches, and 3-yard TD passes to Derek Kinder and Greg Lee.<br> <br> The Irish defense, which entered the game giving up an average of 226 yards a game passing, gave up 214 yards passing in the first half alone as Pitt receivers repeatedly leaped over smaller Irish defenders to make big catches.
  • Associated Categories: Sports
© Copyright 2025 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.