Rees, Notre Dame wake up just in time

PITTSBURGH -- Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees shrugged off a miserable start to hit tight end Tyler Eifert on a 6-yard touchdown pass with less than 7 minutes to go and lift the Irish to a 15-12 win over Pittsburgh yesterday.

The score and subsequent two-point conversion -- also to Eifert -- capped 4:40 of perfection from Rees as the Irish (2-2) won their second straight. Rees went 8-for-8 on the winning drive, remaining patient even as the Panthers (2-2) bottled up Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd.

"You've just got to make the right decisions," Rees said. "We did some good things getting the ball underneath and just kind of chipping away at their defense."

Rees finished 24-for-41 for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception and running back Jonas Gray scored on a 79-yard run for Notre Dame, which overcame eight penalties and two costly turnovers.

"Yeah there's some frustration when you're not putting points on the board," Eifert said. "But at the same time, you've got to keep grinding . . . Our defense stepped up big and our offense scored just enough points."

Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri threw for 165 yards and a score but was sacked twice on his final drive. The Panthers let a second-half lead slip away for the second week in a row.

A roughing-the-punter flag against the Irish near the start of the second half turned a Pitt fourth-and-20 into a first down and the Panthers went on a 19-play drive that ended more than 8 minutes later with Sunseri finding tight end Hubie Graham for a 3-yard touchdown to put Pitt up 12-7.

Cierre Wood ran 23 times for 96 yards for Notre Dame.

Ray Graham ran for 82 yards and added 43 yards receiving for Pitt.-- AP