Jimmy Clausen got the attention of the college football world in 2006 when he announced his decision to attend Notre Dame at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. If that wasn't over the top enough, the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country arrived at the hall's doorsteps in a stretch Hummer limousine.

The brash, Hollywood-style entrance riled the sport's purists and created an unrealistic set of expectations for the Southern California native. But 3 1/2 years after his controversial announcement -- and two seasons of up-and-down performances -- Clausen finally is living up to the hype.

A 6-foot-3, 223-pound junior, Clausen is having one of the best seasons for a quarterback in Notre Dame's illustrious history. He has completed 68 percent of his passes for 308 yards per game for the 6-3 Fighting Irish entering the nationally televised showdown with No. 8 Pitt (8-1) at Heinz Field tomorrow night.

Clausen has thrown for more than 300 yards in all but three of Notre Dame's games this season, including a career-high 452 yards in the Irish's 23-21 loss against Navy last week. With 20 touchdowns passes and three interceptions, he might be the best pure passer in the college game.

"I think that Jimmy Clausen is as good as any quarterback around," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said.

It has not always been this way. As a freshman in 2007, Clausen threw seven touchdowns and six interceptions in a season when the Irish lost nine games for the first time in school history. Last season, the Irish improved to 7-6 and made it to a bowl game. Clausen was better -- 25 touchdowns and 17 interceptions -- but he had two disastrous performances in losses to Boston College and Southern California. He threw four interceptions in a 17-0 loss at Boston College and two more in a 38-3 drubbing at Southern California.

"I think I'm just being more careful with the ball this year than the past two years, just taking what the defense gives me," Clausen said. "I've had to learn the hard way to get to where I am right now."

But Clausen has been about more than statistics this season. He has engineered memorable comebacks in several games. Most notably against Purdue, when he threw the winning touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph with 25 seconds remaining for a 24-21 victory. Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said that performance convinced him that Clausen was among the best quarterbacks in the country.

"I think when you have quarterbacks, there comes a moment in their career when their perception changes," Weis said. "And the reality of the matter is that this kid is one of the best players in the country who is not only a talented player, but tough.

"And until that game, the only question marks you could have with this kid were: Could he run that two-minute drill at the end of the game to win? And did he have that all-day toughness that most of the great ones have? In that game against Purdue, those two things both [happened]. I think he showed toughness and showed that he could have that great drive to win a game at the end of the game."

Clausen showed more toughness last week against Navy when he was hit hard and fumbled at the Navy 1-yard line at the end of the third quarter with the Irish trailing, 21-7. He stayed in the game and led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

"The best thing you know is, when you have a quarterback like Jimmy Clausen there isn't a game you go into that you weren't expecting to win," Weis said. "Most people after the game were feeling sorry for themselves. He was mad at himself because he felt that he had lost the game.

"And that's what really good players do. They don't look at any other reason than themselves. I mean the kid's texting me at one in the morning about fumbling on the 1-yard line. He had just thrown 450 yards, going up and down the field. That meant nothing to him."

Pitt defensive coordinator Phil Bennett called Notre Dame's prolific passing game "maybe the best in the country." Panthers cornerback Aaron Berry said of Clausen: "Every time he is throwing the ball, he is making the right decision."

Clausen is on pace to break Brady Quinn's single-season school career record for passing yards. Clausen needs to average 287 yards over the final three regular-season games and a bowl game to break Quinn's mark of 3,919. And Clausen needs 12 touchdown passes to break Quinn's single-season record (32), which was set in 2005.

"You can tell that his maturity level as a person and as a player has really gone to another level," said Wannstedt.

He said that when he and his staff watch videos of the opposing quarterback "we try determine what throws can this guy makes, what throws does he have difficulty with. We try to create a game plan around that. [Clausen] can make all of the throws. There are no holes in this guy. He'll be playing on Sundays. There's no doubt about that."

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