With its 42-30 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame football accomplished part one of the four-stage sequence standing between the Irish and a playoff berth after they debuted at No. 5 in this week’s College Football Playoff ranking.
“We need to win three more games,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly answered succinctly when asked what Notre Dame needs to do to solidify playoff positioning.
And on Saturday in the Steel City, Notre Dame turned in a thorough offensive performance en route to the victory. The Irish chalked up 437 yards of total offense and committed just one turnover—backup quarterback Brandon Wimbush’s fumble with less than two minutes to play in regulation.