SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Dayne Crist ran for a TD and passed for another and David Ruffer stayed perfect on field goals by kicking three more Saturday as Notre Dame held on to beat Pittsburgh 23-17 on Saturday.
Ruffer’s three field goals, one from 50 yards after Pitt failed to convert on a fake punt in the third quarter, made him 16-for-16 over two years, breaking the previous school record of 14 straight set by Nick Tausch a year ago.
Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri completed 27 of 39 for 272 yards, hitting Jon Baldwin on a 56-yard TD to bring the Panthers within 23-17 with 7:23 left.
Pitt (2-3) got the ball back twice thereafter — at its own 10 with 3:15 to go and again at its 7 with 1:37 remaining. But on its final series, Gary Gray broke up a fourth-down pass intended for Baldwin with 1:07 left and Notre Dame (3-3) ran out the clock for its second straight win following a three-game losing streak.
Crist completed 12 straight during one stretch of the first half as Notre Dame took a 17-3 lead and finished 24-of-39 for 242 yards.
