ISAIAH FOSKEY

No one should expect Notre Dame and South Carolina to look — or probably play — like they did late in the regular season.

Drew Pyne passed for two touchdowns and 150 yards in his first career start and Notre Dame overcame numerous mistakes to beat California 24-17 Saturday to give Irish coach Marcus Freeman his first victory.

Jack Coan threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a half and No. 6 Notre Dame had two defensive touchdowns in winning its sixth straight game, 55-0 over beleaguered Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Kyren Williams scored two long touchdowns, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05 remaining, as No. 12 Notre Dame held off Purdue for its 26th straight victory at home.

Notre Dame wide receiver Ben Skowronek (11) celebrates as he goes in the end zone past Pittsburgh defensive back A.J. 3 Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no such issues while handling the Panthers (3-4, 2-4) their fourth consecutive loss. The Fighting Irish effectively ended any hope Pitt — which has developed a reputation in recent years of being the occasional giant killer — might have had late in the second quarter. Three Pitt plays went nowhere and Irish sophomore defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey raced in untouched to block Kirk Christodoulou’s punt. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi called Notre Dame “as good a team we saw on the football field in six years.”“I thought we'd stack up better," Narduzzi said.