After a blowout win against Navy, Notre Dame is set to visit Pittsburgh in a ranked matchup. This is one of the important games on Notre Dame’s road to the playoffs, as the contention gets tougher every week. With a crucial game ahead, CFB legend alerts CJ Carr of the major Panthers’ threat that could jeopardize their playoff hopes.

On the November 11 episode of Always College Football on ESPN, Greg McElroy alerted CJ Carr about the defensive challenge posed by two of the Pittsburgh elite linebackers, Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles. “If they [Kyle Louis & Rasheem Biles] can somehow slow down the rushing attack, it’s going to force the game into CJ Carr’s hands,” Greg McElroy said.

Pittsburgh listed Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles as starters in the game against Notre Dame, after missing a few games this season. Kyle Louis is an all-American contender who was banged up against Syracuse. Rasheem Biles, on the other hand, missed the last three games. They could be crucial in stopping Notre Dame’s potential rushing attack.

He acknowledged that CJ Carr’s passing game has improved, especially with deep throws, and wanted him to exploit the same play against Pittsburgh if the safeties tried to stop their running game: “He’s improved on the downfield passing attack, and that might be where you have to get it against Pitt. If those safeties get nosy, if those safeties come up and try to stop the run, he’s going to have to make them pay with some vertical shots off play action.”

The freshman QB indeed has good passing numbers this season. He completed 152 of 225 passes, with a 67.6% completion rate and 2275 passing yards for 19 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The NFL star believes that Notre Dame is legit, but warned of the defensive challenges they had to face, especially with a freshman QB on the board.

“I think the Irish are legit, but this will probably be the best team they’ve seen in a while on the defensive side of the football. I think Penn Pitt can and will be very sound against the run. I think their pressure packages could cause some problems for a young quarterback.”

This could be a big task on hand for CJ Carr, as the Panthers are in a position to decide the playoff path.

Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame playoff path

With a 49-10 win over Navy last week, the Fighting Irish are (7-2) and ranked No. 9 in the CFP rankings. Although they are within the playoff bracket, Marcus Freeman’s side should win Pittsburgh by at least 30 points to get the push. This is because of the things that went horribly wrong in the SEC, which is impacting the independent team.

The Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners, who had those mid-season struggles, bounced back stronger, with both having a 7-2 record. If the No. 9 Fighting Irish fail to pick up a big win against the Panthers, and both Texas and Oklahoma go 8-2, this could be a big concern for Freeman’s Fighting Irish.

The strength of the schedule for the Irish is not as impactful as Oklahoma and Texas, as Pittsburgh is the only ranked team on the remaining schedule, whereas No.11 Oklahoma is coming with a win over No. 21 Tennessee and is set to face Alabama this week. On the other hand, the No.10 Texas still has the No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M on its schedule.