PITTSBURGH — Brian Kelly needs more. Too often during a lackluster victory over Louisville last week, the Notre Dame coach watched the third-ranked Fighting Irish going through the motions.

“They have to play with a bit more sense of urgency,” Kelly said. “Sometimes the clock’s ticking and you need to play with that sense of urgency from the very first play. You learn about those things as we move along.”

Kelly hopes it’s a lesson that only needs to be taught once. A lethargic performance against Pittsburgh on Saturday and Notre Dame (4-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) could find itself quickly ushered out of the College Football Playoff conversations. While the Panthers (3-3, 2-3) have dropped three straight following a 3-0 start, they feature one of the best pass rushes in the nation and have developed a habit under sixth-year head coach Pat Narduzzi of pulling off the occasional stunner.

In 2016, it was a victory on the road at Clemson. In 2017, it was a decisive win over then-second-ranked Miami. Last season it was a heart-stopping last-second triumph over Group of Five darling and 15th-ranked UCF.

“I wish I could tell you I had my magic wand underneath here,” Narduzzi said while playfully reaching under the dais. “It’s not here ... I mean, there’s no magic to it. It’s getting your guys prepared mentally, physically.”

Doing both has become a bit of an issue for Pitt during its current slide.