Notre Dame got past Temple, 24-20, in a physical road matchup last week. Now the Irish get a physical Pittsburgh team coached by Pat Narduzzi. He was Michigan State's highly respected defensive coordinator and knows the Irish well.

Pittsburgh has played Notre Dame very tough. The Panthers won the last meeting, 28-21, at home two years ago. The Panthers also covered against the Irish in 2011 and 2012 losing each of those games by three points.

Notre Dame is 8-13 ATS during its last 21 road contests.

The Irish have been riding backup quarterback DeShone Kaiser. He's played well for the most part, but doesn't always make wise decisions.

Pitt has gotten steady play from junior quarterback Nathan Peterman, who has completed close to 68 percent of his throws and has a 10-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Panthers also have one of the best wide receivers in the nation, Tyler Boyd. He's just 49 yards away from holding Pitt's school record for receiving yards.