Ray Vinopal's interceptions keyed a big Pittsburgh win over rival Notre Dame. (Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports)
PITTSBURGH – Safety Ray Vinopal had been an easy target for opposing quarterbacks in some of Pitt’s losses earlier in the season.
But in a 3:38 span in the fourth quarter Saturday night against No. 24 Notre Dame, Vinopal turned into the hero when he made two interceptions, the first to thwart a Notre Dame scoring drive and the second to set up Pitt’s winning touchdown in a 28-21 comeback victory at Heinz Field.
Vinopal’s first interception came on a second-and-goal from the Pitt four-yard line when the score was tied at 21 early in the fourth quarter. He returned the second one 40 yards to the Notre Dame five-yard line to set up James Conner’s game-winning one-yard run with 9:36 remaining.
“Beating Notre Dame is a pretty big deal,” said Vinopal, a junior from Youngstown, Ohio. “It’s awesome to see the seniors so happy and emotional after the game. That’s what you play for.
“The coaches had a good game plan. All week they fed us tips that put me in the place to make the plays I made. I gave up a rough one to the tight end earlier. You have to put that stuff behind you. I think it was a big deal to put that behind me and keep going out there and keep competing every series to get the win.”
Pitt (5-4) snapped a two-game losing streak and needs one victory in its final three games to become bowl-eligible. Notre Dame (7-3) had a four-game winning streak halted, as well as a three-game winning streak in the series against the Panthers.
Pitt quarterback Tom Savage was 22 for 35 for 243 yards and two touchdowns, both to senior receiver Devin Street.
“I thought he made some big throws,” Pitt coach Paul Chryst said of Savage. “He competed and that kind of rubs off on the rest of the team. I thought he did a lot of good things.”
Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions proved to be the difference.
“The execution on offense was awful,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “Defensively, we kept drives alive with a pass interference penalty, a personal foul.
“We weren’t alert enough to get on a ball on a fumble and we gave up an explosive play in the passing game. And we didn’t coach well enough. It’s on everybody.”
The game had been decidedly defensive until late in the third quarter when 21 points were scored in the span of 1:35. Notre Dame led 14-7 at halftime, but Pitt tied the score with 3:37 to go in the third quarter when Conner bulled his way into the end zone for a 2-yard scoring run.
The tie lasted all of 18 seconds. On Notre Dame’s next play from scrimmage, Rees threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Jones, who got behind K’Wuan Williams and raced into the end zone.
Pitt answered quickly to tie it again with a long scoring strike of its own. Pitt quarterback Tom Savage found Devin Street for a 63-yard touchdown on the third play of Pitt’s series. It was the third touchdown in five plays from scrimmage.
The Irish scored first when Rees tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers tied the score when Street reeled in a three-yard pass from Savage with 10:20 left in the second quarter. Savage was the recipient of a head-to-head hit by Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt on the second play of the 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive. Tuitt, one of Notre Dame’s top defensive players, was ejected from the game for targeting the head.
Notre Dame took the halftime lead when Jones scored on a 1-yard run with 6:34 remaining. A 38-yard pass from Rees to junior tight end Ben Koyack set up the Irish at the 1 after a 13-yard punt return by Jones to the Pitt 39.
“Stephon Tuitt not being in this game had nothing to do with us losing this game,” Kelly said. “This was about our football team going on the road and executing poorly on offense and not being good enough when they needed to be on defense.”
NOTES: Kelly entered the game needing one win to become the first coach in school history to notch eight victories in each of his first four seasons. … Pitt WR Tyler Boyd entered the game needing one 100-yard receiving game to set the school record for most 100-yard receiving games by a freshman. Larry Fitzgerald set the record in 2002 with four 100-yard games, and Boyd tied it last week. … Former Pitt RB Tony Dorsett attended the game. Dorsett said this week that he suffers from a degenerative brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
