Notre Dame Rush Offense vs. Purdue Rush Defense

The majority of the success that the Irish have had offensively has been on the ground as they are averaging. Jeremiyah Love is the leading rusher with 25 attempts for 170 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 6.8 yard average. Riley Leonard has 23 attempts for 79 yards with 1 touchdown and a 3.4 yard average. Jadarian Price has 12 attempts for 68 yards with 1 touchdown and a 5.7 yard average. The amount of rushing attempts by Riley Leonard is concerning through two games as he has almost double what Price has and is just two attempts short of what Love has.

With only one game played thus far against Indiana State, a Division 1-AA team, Purdue has allowed a total of 104 yards (48th in the nation) on 43 attempts for an average of 2.4 yards per rush. Last season, the Boilermakers allowed 140.6 yards per game (45th nationally) with 22 touchdowns allowed and a 3.9 yard average . Even with Nic Scourton moving on to Texas A&M, the Boilermakers were still able to make plays behind the line of scrimmage with 11 tackles for loss and the tackles for loss happening from seven different players as well. Overall, 21 different players recorded at least 1 tackle. Will Heldt was the impact player on the Purdue defense as he had 7 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.

With the run game having been the main success for the offense so far this season, the Irish could lean more on Love and Price while the passing game continues to sort itself out. Purdue was effective in stopping the run in their only game so far this season, but the opposition had an astounding 43 rushing attempts as they avoided throwing the ball (see below) in a shutout loss. Even though there have been some struggles offensively at times, Jeremiyah Love has really come to play this season as he stepped into the starting role with effectiveness. The main thing to keep an eye on is making sure to get successful runs on first and second downs as that will be critical to minimize and hopefully avoid any third and long situations.

Edge: Notre Dame

Purdue Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Run Defense

The Boilermakers ran for 248 rushing yards (21st nationally) over Indiana State on 31 attempts for an 8 yard average with 3 touchdowns. Last season, they primarily relied on Devin Mockobee and Tryone Tracy (now in the NFL) who had around three quarters of the total rushing yards. Devin Mockobee had 11 attempts for 89 yards for an 8.1 yard average while Elijah Jackson nearly matched his rushing total on just 3 attempts for 83 yards with 1 touchdown and a 27.7 yard average as most of that yardage came on a 69 yard touchdown run. Reggie Love also added 38 yards on 7 attempts with 1 touchdown and a 5.4 yard average. Quarterback Hudson Card did not have to run much with 3 attempts for 16 yards with a yard average.

The Irish are 101st in the nation against the run allowing 168 yards per game on 83 attempts with 1 touchdown allowed and a 4.1 yard average per rush. After allowing 146 yards to Texas A&M, they surrendered 190 on the ground against Northern Illinois. It is surprising so far with how experienced the defensive front is this season, but there has been some good talent in both teams they have faced thus far. Getting into the backfield has been a challenge so far with just 6 tackles for loss this season so far. Jack Kiser has so far had the most tackles with 14 tackles, and five players have had at least 10 tackles so far this season.

Even though the Irish allowed a lot of yards in the loss to Northern Illinois, they did not allow a run longer than 28 yards. Purdue saw a decent drop off in terms of returning rushing yardage. Without Tyrone Tracy to help share the load, the Boilermakers will likely lean heavily on Devin Mockobee. With that being said, the Irish have allowed a decent amount of yards on the ground so far, but this could be an opportunity to see the best performance against the run so far.

Edge: Even

Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. Purdue Pass Defense

The Irish have been stuck in neutral with passing through two games this season as they are 114th nationally with 160.5 yards per game and are one of five teams without a passing touchdown (ironically future opponent Miami is one of those five as of writing). Riley Leonard has completed 38 passes on 62 attempts for 321 passing yards with 2 interceptions and a completion rate of 61.3 percent. Of the three transfers in the passing game, only Beaux Collins has made a significant impact so far as the team’s leading receiver with 10 receptions for 107 yards with a 10.7 yard average. Jaden Greathouse is next with 8 receptions for 67 yards with an 8.4 yard average while Kris Mitchell has 4 receptions for 44 yards with an 11 yard average. Tight end Mitchell Evans made his first catches of the season this past weekend with 2 catches for 26 yards and will continue to see more and more time as the season goes on.

The Boilermakers did not face the pass very much in the win over Indiana State as they allowed 5 completions on 10 attempts for 50 yards as they heavily favored the run. Last season, they were 97th in the nation and allowed 200 or more passing yards in eight out of twelve games. Even with the minimal amounts of passing, Purdue was still able to get 3 sacks, with 2 coming from Will Heldt. Of the 50 passing yards allowed, 38 of it came on two plays for 23 and 15 yards.

It is really hard to say what will happen in this area. On one hand, the passing game by the Irish has not been as productive so far this season with a struggle to throw downfield. On the other hand, Purdue has only played one game so far and saw a minimal amount of passing. On a positive note, Jordan Faison is expected to play in this game after missing the loss to Northern Illinois. While one player does not make a team, Faison was shown to be a strong playmaker as the previous season went on and had he played last weekend, could have made a difference in a difficult loss. Riley Leonard did suffer a shoulder injury to his non-throwing arm during the loss to Northern Illinois, but seems to be expected to play. Whether he plays or does not play could wind up being a game-time decision as of writing this.

Edge: Purdue

Purdue Pass Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense

The Boilermakers completed 30 passes on 35 attempts for a total of 335 yards for a completion rate of 85.7 percent. They are led by Hudson Card, a Texas transfer, who had a near perfect passing performance with 24 completions on 25 attempts for 273 yards with 4 touchdowns and a completion rate of 96 percent in the win over Indiana State. Most of the receiving unit had to be replaced, but the top performance went to tight end Max Klare who had 5 receptions for 71 yards with 1 touchdown and a 14.2 yard average per reception. Overall, each of the 4 touchdown passes thrown by Card went to a different player and 12 different players caught at least one pass as well.

Notre Dame is 40th nationally against the pass with 149 passing yards per game allowed with a completion rate of 44 percent along with 1 passing touchdown and 2 interceptions. If one were to take away the two long passing plays to Antario Brown, the Irish would have allowed only 72 passing yards. The 83 yard play that was allowed early on was certainly a fluke play and it was rather surprising to see Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asu opposite of the Huskies best player in coverage on that specific play. Brown would get 43 yards on another reception, but aside from that, the Irish managed to keep the passing game in check. The Irish have had some challenges getting into opposing backfields with just 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 5 quarterback hurries through two games this season.

The Irish have been very strong against the pass aside from those two plays in the loss against Northern Illinois. They have largely avoided big plays so far this season and is something that no opposing offense should overlook. Purdue should also not be overlooked as well with the ability to spread the ball to different players so far. With that being said, the receiving unit is not as experienced as the previous season so far and have only had one game to play so far this season.

Edge: Notre Dame

Special Teams

For the Irish, Mitch Jeter is 3 for 5 so far this season with the accuracy of 60 percent. He started out the season making all 3 field goals against Texas A&M before having two kicks blocked against Northern Illinois. James Rendell has punted 10 times for a 39.8 yard average while Jayden Harrison has returned 4 kickoffs for 99 yards with a 24.8 yard average.

Spencer Porath has not yet attempted a field goal for Purdue, but made every extra point he has attempted. Keelan Crimmins has punted 3 times for an average of 46.7 yards while Dillon Thieneman and Andrew Sowinski have combined for 4 punt returns for 43 yards with a 10.8 yard average.

Stronger Unit: Even

Final Thoughts

The Irish are not the first team nor are they the last team to lose to a team from one of the non-major conferences such as the MAC or the Sun Belt. Even teams such as Alabama, LSU, or Michigan have fallen to these schools at some point this century. How the Irish respond after this loss will be important for the rest of this season. If Northern Illinois were to keep winning games, as they are a team expected to compete in the MAC this season, it would look more favorable for the Irish. Right now, the Irish need to win this game against Purdue, take it one game at a time, and never overlook any opponent. This team will need to play effective and mistake free football while winning convincingly to appeal to the rankings. One thing of note is that Purdue had 11 penalties in their only game so far this season. Regardless of who is under center for the Irish, this will be a good time to bounce back after last weekend.

Prediction: Notre Dame 34, Purdue 15

As always, GO IRISH!