SOUTH BEND, Ind. - You can't win when your opponent manages more than twice as many first downs as you, can you? You can't win when your opponent more than doubles your offensive yardage, can you? You can't win when you manage only 1.3 yards per carry and put up only 40 rushing yards in the game, can you?

Apparently, you can.

Unbeaten Notre Dame, as evidenced by its 14-6 victory over Pittsburgh at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, no longer bows down to the probable.

According to the numbers, the Irish (6-0) probably should have lost to Pittsburgh (5-2), which had 21 first downs to Notre Dame's 10 and outgained the Irish 402 yards to 185.

In the first quarter, eighth-ranked Notre Dame was outgained 162 yards to 16. But the Panthers managed nothing more than a field goal and led only 3-0.

"Our guys just stay the course," Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham said. "They realize that a football game is for 60 minutes, and not 15, not 30, but a full 60 minutes. And if we can continue to stay the course and do the things, make the adjustments that we believe we can make, that in the end, we'll win."

And in the end, that's just what they did.

They did it because sophomore defensive end Justin Tuck came up with four sacks (overall, the team had eight). They did it because quarterback Carlyle Holiday, making his first start in almost a month after hurting his left shoulder Sept. 21 at Michigan State, finished 16-of-25 for 145 yards with one interception.

They did it because free safety Glenn Earl was able to both cause and come up with Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford's fumble five minutes into the fourth quarter.

"As soon as I hit him, it seemed like the ball just gravitated toward me, like the ball wanted me to have it," Earl said. "I'll take it."

So would the Irish offense, which took the ball 12 yards into the end zone and created some breathing room with a 14-6 lead.

And they did it because, with slightly more than a minute to play, defensive end Ryan Roberts broke through the line and chased Rutherford from the 21-yard line to the 42, forcing him to throw the ball away as he backpedaled. Nickel back Preston Jackson came down with that ball at the 20-yard line, sealing the victory with the interception.

"Coach Willingham said in his first meeting, `Who wants to be a star?'" defensive line coach Greg Mattison said. "And I think these kids all understand that if they do their job, good things are going to happen."

Pittsburgh center Chad Reed said to "call it the luck of the Irish." Besides execution, the Irish needed a touch of luck to survive a tenacious and talented Pittsburgh team.

Rutherford completed only 19-of-43 passes but threw for 313 yards. Receiver Lamar Slade came up with seven receptions for 127 yards, and freshman Larry Fitzgerald added seven catches for 83 yards.

The Panthers opened the scoring by capping their first possession with a 29-yard field goal.

Flanker Arnaz Battle put the Irish on top 7-3 early in the second quarter, beating corner Torrie Cox and coming down with Holiday's fade pass in the left corner of the end zone.

"That catch was just a great play," Willingham said.

Kicker David Abdul connected on a 25-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the first half, closing the gap to 7-6.

In the second half, the Irish defense tightened, forcing an interception and taking away two fumbles, the second of which led to the game's final score.

"We found a way to lose," Rutherford said. "And they found a way to win."