Sam Hartman vs. Pitt: Revisiting Notre Dame QB's 2021 ACC championship game vs. Panthers

Gabriela Carroll, USA TODAY NETWORK

The last time Sam Hartman faced Pitt, he was one of two star quarterbacks facing off in an improbable ACC championship game between the Panthers and Wake Forest.

Unfortunately for the current Notre Dame signal-caller, he was outdueled by current Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, who led Pitt to a win over Hartman's Demon Deacons team to give the Panthers their first-ever ACC title (and cost Wake Forest its first since 2006).

The performance was the worst of Hartman's career up to that point, and in the worst spot. Hartman declined to be interviewed after the game, and later said the game played a significant role in why he returned to Wake Forest the following season.

"It's one of the reasons I came back. It's a legacy, right?" Hartman said at ACC Media Days prior to the 2022 season. "Wake Forest invested in me and I want to invest back in Wake Forest. I felt like I owed it to them and their belief in me. ... I wanted to make it right."

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Hartman never did get the chance to take Pitt on again while at Wake Forest. But he gets one final shot when the Panthers (2-5, 1-3 in ACC)

Sam Hartman stats vs. Pitt

  • Passing stats: 21 of 46, 213 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions (five sacks)

  • Rushing stats: 11 carries for zero total yards, one 11-yard rushing touchdown

The start of the 2021 ACC championship game between Wake Forest and Pitt seemed as if both teams would score at will. Pitt scored touchdowns on each of its first two drives before missing a field goal on the third. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives, including two that ended with touchdowns from Hartman (a 5-yard touchdown to A.T. Perry and 11-yard rushing score).

But Hartman started the second quarter with an interception, and all went downhill from there. They failed to score another point in the game, and Hartman threw three more interceptions in the second half (including one for a pick-six). It is tied for the most he has ever thrown in a game.

Pickett and Pitt on the other hand scored 31 points across the final three quarters — and performed the now famous (and illegal) fake slide — to win the 2021 ACC championship game 45-21.

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Sam Hartman highlights vs. Pitt

Despite what was overall a subpar day for Hartman, he did have display some flashes of his high-octane passing acumen vs. Pitt. Here's a look at how he performed, good and bad, in his last game vs. Pitt:

Pat Narduzzi on Sam Hartman

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi coached against the Demon Deacons in the 2021 conference title game, but he said this week that he expects to see a different offense than the one Hartman ran for Wake Forest.

“Obviously a totally different offense," Narduzzi said. "He’s in a pro-style offense. He’s actually huddling up and taking snaps under center. If he’s going to play in the NFL, it’s going to be in that type of offense, not what they are doing at Wake Forest. I think he’s probably enjoying it.

"I think it’s every childhood kid’s dream to play in the National Football League, and he’s going to have an opportunity just by being able to make run checks, sit underneath the center and do all the things that they ask him to do there. I think he’ll obviously have a better opportunity in that atmosphere and circumstances. He throws the ball well. He’s a calm guy. He can run. He can scramble. He’s still a great athlete. You don’t see anything abnormal there.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Sam Hartman vs. Pitt stats, highlights from 2021 ACC championship game

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