Notre Dame will look to once again compete for a national championship in 2025, but to get there the Irish will need to go through a challenging schedule. Over the next couple of weeks Irish Breakdown will take a first glance look at the upcoming Irish opponents.
Let’s take a look at the Pittsburgh Panthers, Notre Dame’s tenth opponent of 2025 who they play on the road for the first time since 2020.
HEAD COACH – Pat Narduzzi (11th season)
Record at Pittsburgh: 72-56
Pat Narduzzi is headed into his 11th season as the head coach for the Panthers. During his tenure, they have only had two losing seasons (2017 and 2023) and have been at .500 or above in every other season. They have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in seven different seasons and have made post season appearances seven times during Narduzzi’s tenure. He is 2-5 in the post season with his biggest win being in the Sun Bowl in 2022. This season, he looks to turn around their misfortunate to end the year in 2024. If this team can stay healthy, they are difficult to beat, a major reason they started the season 7-0. They return 14 of their 22 starters on offense and defense, a solid foundation for the upcoming season.
PITTSBURGH OFFENSE
Offensive Coordinator: Cade Bell (2nd season)
Starters Lost: WR Konata Mumpfield, TE Gavin Bartholomew, LT Branson Taylor, LG Ryan Jacoby
Starters Returning: QB Eli Holstein, RB Desmond Reid, WR Kenny Johnson, WR Raphael Williams, C Lyndon Cooper, RG BJ Williams, RT Ryan Baer
Offensive coordinator Cade Bell returns a lot of talent and experience going into his second year at the helm of the Panthers offense. Down the stretch, quarterback Eli Holstein was unable to stay healthy, a big reason for the major downfall in November. Holstein was injured early in the Louisville game and missed the remainder of the season. His healthy return to the Panthers should bode well for this experienced group this upcoming season.
Desmond Reid is one of the key pieces to this offense that is returning for the upcoming season. He led the team in rushing with 966 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. He, along with Holstein, were the team’s two leading rushers, and they will be running behind an offensive line that remained somewhat intact from a season a go. They will have to replace left tackle Branson Taylor and left guard Ryan Jacoby. They brought in Kendall Stanley, a 6-3 320 pound interior lineman from Charlotte, and Keith Gouveia, a 6-4 305 pound tackle from Richmond, to battle for starting positions in the offseason. The return the entire right side of their offensive line from center on over.
Pitt returns three of their five receiving targets from last season, but Coach Bell will be tasked with replacing their top target in Konata Mumpfield. Last season, he hauled in 52 catches for 813 yards and five touchdowns. He, along with tight end Gavin Bartholomew, will not be on the 2025 roster. However, they have several key returning receivers including Kenny Johnson and Raphael Williams, starters from last season, as well as Censere Lee who is a favorite to replace Mumpfield in the starting lineup.
PITTSBURGH DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator: Randy Bates (8th season)
Starters Lost: DE Nate Matlock, LB Brandon George, CB Ryland Gandy, SS Donovan McMillan
Starters Returning: DT Sean FitzSimmons, DT Nick James, DE Jimmy Scott, LB Braylan Lovelace, LB Kyle Louis, CB Rashad Battle, FS Javon McIntyre
The Panthers return key pieces and will have to replace key pieces at every level of their defense. They return three of their four starters along the defensive line, two of their three starters in the linebacking room, and two of their four starters from the secondary. There’s a lot to work with for defensive coordinator Randy Bates heading into his 8th season as Pitt’s defensive coordinator. Heading this defense will be linebacker Kyle Louis who had a breakout season in 2024. Louis led the team in sacks, tackles for loss, interceptions, and was second on the team in total tackles.
The teams tackle leader from a season ago, safety Donovan McMillan, will not be on the 2025 roster. His production will be difficult to replace finished the year with 115 tackles and seven pass deflections, but defensive back transfer Kavir Bains from UC Davis will have an immediate impact on this secondary. Bains tallied 77 tackles, 13 passes defended and three interceptions last season for UC Davis.
Transfer Joey Zelinsky from Eastern Michigan and Blaine Spires from Utah State will battle it out for the defensive end position left vacated by Matlock. Zelinsky is the more proven of the two, but Spires has good size and athleticism to make this an interesting offseason battle to follow over the course of the spring through fall camp. Returning the majority of your front seven will make this experienced defense a difficult one to move the ball on in 2025.
RETURNING PRODUCTION
Rushing: RB Desmond Reid – 184 att., 966 yards, 5.3 YPC, 5 TD; QB Eli Holstein – 81 att., 328 yards, 4.0 YPC, 3 TD; RB Derrick Davis Jr. – 27 att., 70 yards, 2.6 YPC, 2 TD
Passing: QB Eli Holstein – 180-291, 61.9%, 2,225 yards, 7.6 YPA, 17 TD, 7 INT, 140.6 Rating
Receiving: RB Desmond Reid – 52 rec., 579 yards, 11.1 YPC, 4 TD; WR Kenny Johnson – 46 rec., 537 yards, 11.7 YPC, 3 TD; WR Raphael Williams – 37 rec., 426 yards, 11.5 YPC, 6 TD; WR Censere Lee – 19 rec., 254 yards, 13.4 YPC, 3 TD; TE Jake Overman – 17 rec., 160 yards, 9.4 YPC, 1 TD; WR Daejon Reynold – 15 rec., 189 yards, 12.6 YPC, 1 TD
Tackles: LB Kyle Louis – 100; LB Rasheem Biles – 81; DB Transfer Kavir Bains (UC Davis) – 77; LB Braylan Lovelace – 53; FS Javon McIntyre – 51
Tackles For Loss: LB Kyle Louis – 15.5; LB Rasheem Biles – 14.5; DE Jimmy Scott – 12.5; LB Braylan Lovelace – 10.5
Interceptions: LB Kyle Louis – 4; DB Transfer Kavir Bains (UC Davis) – 3; Cruce Brookins – 2; LB Rasheem Biles – 1