Notre Dame looks to continue home dominance over Purdue
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
The Irish have dominated instate rival Purdue in Notre Dame Stadium, but Irish faithful be warned – this is the best Boilermaker team that has come to town in a while.
Purdue, 1-0 on the season after a 48-6 dismantling of FCS foe Eastern Kentucky last Saturday, has a veteran team led by its trio of quarterbacks, depth at the skill positions and an extremely talented defensive line.
The Boilermakers will be looking to spoil 22nd-ranked Notre Dame’s home opener and win at place where it has been victorious just once since 1974.
Interestingly enough, this year’s Boilermaker squad may be the school’s finest since 2004, the year Purdue beat Notre Dame handily (41-16) in South Bend behind the arm of Kyle Orton.
No doubt Purdue coach Danny Hope’s team has plenty of star power led by All-American defensive tackle Kawann Short.
Short, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound fifth-year senior, is the anchor of a defensive line that many consider Purdue’s best possibly ever.
On one side of Short is 6-2, 303-pound junior Bruce Gaston, who coming out of high school chose Purdue over Notre Dame among many others.
Flanking Short and Gaston at one end position is sophomore Ryan Russell (6-5, 275). He’s considered a definite star in the making and is expected to emerge as yet another terrific defensive end Purdue has produced.
The other end spot also features a talented player, whether it’s 6-5, 294-pound Ryan Isaac or Jalani Phillips (6-4, 260).
If you look at their defense, I certainly like their front four, Irish coach Brian Kelly said.
It goes without saying that Purdue’s front will be more difficult to run against than Navy was (the Irish gashed the Midshipmen for 293 yards on the ground).
In addition to Short, the defense boasts a pair of fine corners in Josh Johnson and Ricardo Allen. Allen, a junior, is one of the best Big Ten cover corners and has a knack for coming up with interceptions (six in his career).
These are two guys that have a lot of snaps, a lot of experience, said Kelly of Johnson and Allen. They are extremely athletic and we’re going to have to do a very good job of competing for the football and blocking them as well.
Irish quarterback Everett Golson got to pick and choose when he had to throw the ball last week. It will be interesting to see how he’ll perform if Purdue’s defense forces him into passing situations after he completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 144 yards and a score against Navy.
The big question mark with Purdue’s defense is its linebacking corps, especially since middle backer Dwayne Beckford was kicked off the team prior to the season opener for continually violating team rules.
It’s a very green linebacking corps and one that is very thin depth wise.
Offensively Purdue features a trio of quarterbacks all with starting experience. Since Caleb TerBush was serving a one-game suspension for violating team rules, Robert Marve got the start last week and responded by completing 30-of-38 passes for 295 yards with three touchdowns and an interception against Eastern Kentucky.
TerBush, however, will start against the Irish as he far outplayed his competition during fall camp.
Last season, TerBush completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,905 yards with 13 touchdowns and six picks.
Purdue will also utilize Rob Henry under center. Henry, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury, is more deadly running the football and provides the Boilermakers with yet another dimension opposing defenses need to worry about.
They’ve got three very capable quarterbacks and they do some things differently, Kelly said. We’ll attack the game plan knowing that we’ll have to defend all of them.
Purdue relies on two running backs primarily although it will at times line up a receiver in the backfield.
Akeem Shavers and Akeem Hunt get the bulk of the carries. Last week the duo combined for 110 yards on the ground, averaging more than 6.5 yards per attempt.
Purdue continues to be a spread offense that loves to throw it around the yard. They have a deep receiving corps led by O.J. Ross, Gary Bush and Antavian Edison. Plus, now the Boilermakers have a pair of tight ends they aren’t afraid to go to in the passing game in Gabe Holmes and Crosby Wright.
Without question, Notre Dame’s defense will face many more challenges this week defending Purdue’s offense than it did against Navy’s option attack.
One area where Purdue isn’t nearly as strong as it was a year ago is place-kicking. A trio of players – Sam McCartney, Paul Griggs and Thomas Meadows – are trying to fill the void left by Carson Wiggs. The Boilermakers’ punting is in good hands though with Cody Webster.
In the opener, the special teams were anything but special. Webster had a punt blocked, McCartney missed an extra point and the Boilermakers fumbled a punt return.
That fumbled punt was one of five Purdue turnovers on the day, something it must clean up if it wants to beat the Irish.
My Take
I feel as though Purdue’s suspect linebacking corps will be exposed thanks to Irish tight end Tyler Eifert and running backs Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III.
If you’re a Purdue fan, the Boilermakers’ special teams, particularly the kicking game, could spell disaster on a big stage, too.
Finally few Purdue quarterbacks have fared very well in their first start in Notre Dame Stadium so expect TerBush to continue that trend and account for at least one key turnover on the day.
Too much Eifert, Riddick and Atkinson. Irish won’t cover the 14-point spread, but will prevail.
Notre Dame 31, Purdue 21
ND Nuggets
– Since tickets have been returned, there are tickets available for the season opener against Purdue. Contact the Notre Dame ticket office at und.com/tickets/nd-tickets.html for more information.
The game is officially a sellout, marking the 226th straight sellout at Notre Dame Stadium.
– Since the start of the 2007 season, the Irish are just 17-16 at home.
– Notre Dame has owned Purdue, leading the overall series 55-26-2 and has triumphed 21 times in the last 26 meetings.
The series is even more lopsided in Notre Dame Stadium where the Irish hold a commanding 28-11 mark, including 16-1 since 1974.
– At 1:30 p.m. Saturday the Notre Dame football players and coaches will walk from the Guglielmino Complex to the Library (Touchdown Jesus), then down Library Quad into the Stadium.
– At 2 p.m. Saturday the Notre Dame marching band performs a 30-minute pre-game concert in front of Bond Hall.
– On Saturday you’ll notice on the back of Purdue’s helmets there is a sticker directly above the American flag. The sticker pays tribune to Neil Armstrong, a Purdue alum, who recently passed away.
– Hope has never been part of a winning team in Notre Dame Stadium. He’s 0-1 as Purdue’s head coach and was 0-2 as a Boilermaker assistant coach under Joe Tiller.
Hope, now in his fourth season in West Lafayette, has a 17-21 overall record at Purdue, including 10-14 in the Big Ten.
Related:
Purdue’s all-time best receivers
Purdue looks to regain national prominence against Notre Dame
Griffiths chats with Purdue play-by-play man Tim Newton
Purdue to start TerBush over Marve
