Notre Dame’s defense shut down Purdue’s running game and harassed both Boilermaker quarterbacks all evening as the Irish cruised to a 38-10 victory. Tommy Rees led a balanced attack with three touchdown passes, Michael Floyd had 12 receptions and the tandem of Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray accounted for 285 rushing yards. Notre Dame did not commit a turnover and took advantage of 13 penalties by the hapless hosts.
The game was all but over in the first 24 seconds. Caleb TerBush tossed an interception on Purdue’s first play from scrimmage, and Rees hit Floyd on a 35-yard bomb two plays later for a 7-0 lead. The Boilermakers failed to mount a scoring threat as defensive pressure and a variety of mistakes kept the ball in Irish hands throughout the first half. Notre Dame came up empty after a blocked field goal on its second possession, but scored again as the first quarter ended when Gray ran it in from 2 yards.
Purdue coach Danny Hope inserted Robert Marve into the lineup during the second period, but his first series ended three plays later with a punt. Notre Dame took over and handed the ball to Wood, whose 55 yard burst stretched the lead to 21-0. Marve finally began to generate a few yards and scrambled his way into Irish territory. The Boilermakers managed a short field goal by Carson Wiggs to get on the board, but the strong-legged kicker missed a 54-yarder at the end of the half.
The Irish wasted no time putting the game on ice in the third quarter. Rees directed an efficient drive that was capped by a 6-yard pass to Tyler Eifert. Later in the period, T.J. Jones was the recipient of a Rees touchdown pass and Notre Dame held a 35-3 advantage. Meanwhile, the Irish defense held Purdue to fewer than 50 yards rushing and nothing of consequence through the air until the last three minutes of the contest.
Rees missed a chance to add another touchdown pass midway through the fourth stanza when he missed a wide open receiver in the end zone. David Ruffer tacked on a field goal with 8:06 left to complete the scoring for Notre Dame. The Boilermakers salvaged a bit of dignity when they drove 95 yards against the Irish third string defense for their only touchdown of the night in the final moments.
The victory gave Notre Dame fans a glimpse of the team’s potential when it does not commit turnovers. There were a few botched opportunities in the red zone and two missed field goals, but the Irish were able to run the same handful of plays all night for 551 yards. Purdue was overpowered on both sides of the ball and had no weapons to bring to the table.
The lopsided game also allowed Coach Brian Kelly to clear his bench. Dayne Crist saw action in the fourth quarter as did several freshmen and others for whom playing time is a precious commodity. Ethan Johnson left the game with an unspecified injury in the first half and did not return. It did not look to be serious.
Let’s review the answers to the pregame questions:
Will one of the quarterbacks for the Boilermakers rise to the occasion? Marve was a bit more effective even though TerBush led Purdue’s late game scoring drive, but neither had a chance when it mattered.
Can the Irish defensive line continue its dominance over an opponent’s running game? Definitely – Notre Dame suffocated Purdue ball carriers all night.
Will Notre Dame’s secondary make the appropriate adjustments to the ball in the air? The Irish forced the Boilermakers to throw short all night
Will Rees have the time and poise to pick apart the Purdue secondary? Rees had the cleanest uniform on the field. Although he missed a few easy throws, he faced minimal pressure and executed well enough to put five TDs on the board.
Can the Irish special teams finally get their act together? No, they were still ugly, but fortunately it didn’t matter this week.
Will the extra week of preparation make a difference for the Boilermakers? It looked as though Purdue had too much time off and forgot how to play football.
Will Notre Dame avoid its disturbing tendency to play at the level of a lesser opponent? Only for a brief moment when the Irish failed to score in the red zone after a long first quarter drive, but the defense made sure this one was in lockdown until the offense hit its stride.
Notre Dame returns home to play Air Force next Saturday before its bye week. The Falcons edged Navy in overtime this week and will bring a challenge to an Irish defense that has something to prove against an option attack.
Jimbo says:
Good solid win for the Irish. Let’s keep that running game cranked up.
NDMIKE says:
Here is the breakdown on this win over Purdue:
Quarterback – Tommy Rees was steady in the first half, and equally steady in the second half. His protection was excellent making it an easy night of pitch and catch.
Offensive Line – The offensive line was dominant in both the passing game and the running game. Only negatives were a Taylor Dever 15 yard penalty on a 20-yard first down run, and a Chris Watt 5 yard penalty on a first and goal at the five.
Running Backs – Cierre Wood was fantastic with seven runs over 10 yards, and a 55-yard touchdown run. Woods was exceptional screen pass plays as well. Jonas Gray had 8.4 yards per rush in the first half. Gray’s touchdown run broke through a big hit by Purdue’s linebacker on his touchdown. This is beginning to develop into a very stout running game.
Wide Receivers – Michael Floyds was unstoppable with 9 catches over 10 yards per catch and a 36-yard touchdown catch on the third play of the game. Tyler Eifert was exceptional especially on an 11-yard first down in the third quarter with great second effort. TJ Jones also had a touchdown.
Defensive Line – They applied continuous pressure on both Terbush and Marve all game, and shutdown the running game.
Linebackers – Manti Teo was in on play after play at the line of scrimmage. He had a sack as well as a tackle for a 5-yard loss in the second quarter. Ishaq Williams had two quarterback pressures and played very well in the passing game. This was a great effort by the linebackers.
Defensive Backs – Gary Gray had an interception on the first play of the game. Pass coverage was ok. Blanton played well again in both the passing game and running game. He added a big tackle for loss on a Purdue option play. Blanton is the one player who continues to excel at defending the option.
Special Teams –Two missed field goals by Ruffer is alarming. Brindza was very short on kick-offs all night unlike previous games. A very high snap on a 4th quarter punt, and poor kick coverage led to another weak performance in special teams.
Obviously, this was the type of play that was expected from this Notre Dame team. The next three games though will be great challenges. Notre Dame faces two very good option teams in Air Force & Navy, and then USC is the in-between game. These next three games will define this season by Notre Dame.
Scranton Dave says:
Great that they had a relatively clean game. Granted Purdue was an overmatched opponent but this game shows what the Irish can do. Let’s hope they continue to improve. A very good season is still possible.
Dave w says:
Dominant, impressive. Get rid of the penalties and we are a bcs team. GO IRISH!!
Jim says:
Congrats for not using “Lynch Mob” in this post.
Drasail2 says:
On the whole fine job.
The bad: the long snapper. I never thought about the position of long snapper ever until Weis recruited one. Now I notice we have the worst one in D IA. When he isn’t messing up Ruffer’s timing he’s hiking it over Turk’s head and getting in fights. He’s a disgrace to “Hike Notre Dame.” Zahm Morissey and loyal sons. All school tryouts Monday.
marleyman says:
This team should be undefeated. Saturday’s result is what occurs when the team eliminates penalties and turnovers. Discipline is key. Progress not perfection. I know, I know…woulda, coulda, shoulda. Will be up at South Bend for Air Force.
nb says:
A good win but still see the same troubling patterns that led to losses against USF and Michigan. Number 1 concern is No. 4. Despite his interception, there was at least one long pass where he again had his back to the receiver and never turned around, despite being in position to make a play. Had the ball been on target, it would have been a huge play (like the numerous ones he gave up against Michigan). Frankly, I see no improvement from him in pass coverage and fear that USC will throw at him all night. The other concern is Rees and dumb penalties. Yes, no interceptions but that was not through lack of effort. He should have had another two picks, one in the endzone where he was lucky that the 3 Purdue defenders could not make a play. Every time he rolls to his right he seems to make a bad pass into coverage. And Kelly’s halftime comment about the long snapper’s personal foul said it all. This post is not to be critical of the team over a nice win or be negative for the sake of negativity. I am merely expressing concern that the major shortcomings of the team that led to the losses against USF and Michigan have not been eliminated – only masked by a win against an inferior opponent. This team can be very good. Pitt crushing USF is an indication that ND probably could have done the same had it not had so many self inflicted problems. However, that loss eliminates any margin of error (from a BCS standpoint) and there is only one game now before USC. Not sure how the secondary improves with only a game against Air Force before the Trojans and their excellent QB come to town. And have we conceded special teams play to our opponents for the rest of the season? From punting to punt returning to field goals – all three phases make you hold your breath waiting for the other team to make a big play off of the poor performance of these units. Still, it was nice to beat Purdue. Go Irish.
martinjordan says:
A good coach would have had the team ready to play this way in game one – against USF. We wouldn’t have had to wait until game five to see this kind of performance. A good coach would have taken care of the penalty and special teams problems going into game two. Instead we’re still waiting for that to happen going into game six. A good win but Purdue is a VERY BAD team.
aj says:
1) cierra wood got serious ups!!
2) Best D since Holtz
3) Purdue is terrible
4) 10~2 maybe 9~3 Usc and Stanford??
5) like to see more ATKINS!! He was a shoelace from taking that screen to the house!!
6) still don’t like Rees’s game!!
7) Gonna miss floyd next year
8) BRING ON AIR FORCE!!!!!!!
Jimbo says:
I picked ND 8-4 and am sticking with that prediction.
aj says:
Good call, that’s what I meant too, 9~3 8~4 USC and Stanford are the only doubts left imo!!
BigE says:
Go Irish. They did what they should do against a lesser opponent. Rees still makes me nervous as heck, especially when he rolls out to throw. Get rid of that play! Luckily, Purdue’s DBs can’t catch.
Scranton Dave says:
Agree on Rees, I dont think he is very good. I see him struggling against USC again.
teo says:
Good win.
I thought we dominated this game at the line of scrimmage. On 2nd and on 3rd and 4 or 5, we almost always picked up 8 or nine. Our offensive line simply manhandled Purdue’s defensive front, the same defense that was ranked in the top 20 in stopping the run (granted, they played nobody, but even “nobody” is somebody). Likewise, defensively, we were difficult to contain even without Stephon Tuitt. Manti T’eo is becoming more aggressive and is doing a better job of reading the quarterback each week. It’s a becoming a very elite defense.
Cierre Wood is a man of a back. He’s fast and he plays big. I thought he had a great game.
Rees had his best game of the season. He isn’t perfect by any stretch but he does a solid job of running this offense. He did a nice job of reading defenses and finding the right coverages. And, he found open receivers when he needed.
I hear my laughing 7-month old. Have a great Sunda and Bring on Air Force!
Larry says:
Hopefully the D has been schooled in playing against the option with the two service academies coming up.
Donald Kaul says:
Twas a semi-serious stomping, thankfully. A question: Has anyone seen Theo Riddick? Has he been abducted? Why is he playing no roll in this offense?
Scott says:
He’s in the game. Just not making plays.
Jeremy says:
Yeah, I put a lot of this on Rees. Riddick is getting open, but Rees threw way off the mark a few times, and, otherwise, Rees doesn’t usually look for the slot receiver. If Rees would go through more of his progressions, I think we would see a lot more from Riddick. That said, I think the coaches need to find ways on sweeps or something to get the ball in his hands more instead of letting him get lost.
Scott says:
Agreed. He is a stick of dynamite with the ball in his hands. Rees is growing. Given time, I think he will start finding the slot man more often.
irishhawk50 says:
Was it just my set or have they painted the helmets a real gold color again?
Anyway, agree with rb. I am still worried about pass coverage. Still looks weak, lots of drops and bad throws by Purdue masks some real weakness. Still a work in progress, but real progress against a weak team still helps player development down the road. Will be interested the see the defense against option of Air Force next week.
Bob Darr says:
What in the world ever happened to Theo Riddick? I know he was on the field but I haven’t heard his name in forever. If he is such a talent why aren’t we using him somewhere. How about long snapper or punter? Can’t be worse!!
Domeranrian says:
This was a good win, but we very obviously beat a team that was not competitive with ND. I can’t believe that Kelly kept Rees in the game for so long. I assume he was trying to raise his confidence. Rees was not throwing well most of the night. Where was Hendrix? Why not see what he could do when the score was 35-3? I understand putting Crist in before Hendrix, but given that this game was totally one-sided early on, I think Rees should have sat the entire second half. If I were Hendrix I would start the transfer paperwork this morning.
BruceB says:
I hate to whine about a nice win, but there are still some worrisome aspects of the Irish game. A competent Purdue defense would have had at least two pics and ND put the ball on the ground twice, recovering both. Nobody seems to block on punt returns because there were always 3 or 4 Purdue guys in Goodman’s face. Purdue receivers dropped several wide open passes where coverage looked suspect. And the penalties were of the stupid type, as opposed to the aggressive type. That said, both lines looked very good, dominating on both sides of the ball. The play-calling seemed to keep Purdue confused the entire game (or else they’re really, really bad). And Rees showed some pretty good arm at times. A good win over an inferior opponent. And Pitt may be better than they get credit for.
terry says:
Good times beating up on a hapless opponent, but Air Force is coming to town and they are NOT afraid of Notre Dame.
They’ll give ND all they want – and more.
Scott says:
Looking forward to Manti, Cwynar, Flemming and the gang stomping a hole in the Falcons rushing attack.
Fitz says:
Great game! Solid defense. Potent offense and a terrific run game. Michael Floyd had a monster game. Good job by Rees. Way fewer mistakes. A few too many penalties but finally no turnovers. It’s sad we’re not sitting at 5-0 right now and in the top 10. Only complaint is the special teams still stunk. It’s a little unnerving that Ruffer is starting to miss kicks. He needs his confidence back. Turk still looks like a punter on a bad high school team. Goodman is simply no punt returner. Might as well have a scarecrow back there catching the ball. What happened that one time when the punt bounced around the 30 yard line but he faked a fair catch and ran away from the ball like it was landing at the goal line? I know Riddick fumbled a punt game one but could he really be any worse? Goodman’s fumbled one too. I’m afraid special teams will cost us a close game down the road if something’s not done. Luckily against Purdue our offense had no problems overcoming the bad field position. Plus (with the exception of the 4th quarter against Michigan) this is the best defense we’ve had in a long, long time! Well, onto Air Force and not to be too overconfident yet but I’m predicting another easy win. Go Irish!
Scott says:
I agree on another easy win. I do not think that Air Force is quite as good as they are given credit. We’ll see. They do have a superb ground game… but it is easy to run on the likes of Navy, Tenessee State, South Dakota and a floundering TCU. Here’s to ND notching another win to finish the first half of the season strong!!
Brad says:
I was impressed with the discipline of the team (other than the long snapper, LOL). The drastic cut in penalties showed me what the Irish can do when they aren’t hindered by themselves.
KellyK says:
The skill position players, other than Rees, are Weis recruits. I love watching this offense. It seems so much better than a Weis offense. Gone are the days of all the receivers going long on 3rd and 4. We actually have some receivers running 5 and 8 yard routes and making catches over the middle in those situations, something that didn’t exist under Weis.
I am said about the death of ND special teams, however. Where do I send my condolences?
Scott C says:
Not sure why so many people are still down on Turk. He had a pretty bad game against USF and one bad punt each against Michigan and MSU. Other than that he’s been near perfect. Excluding the USF game here is his production:
14 punts, 8 inside the 20, 7 of which were inside the 15, 3 of those inside the 10, and two of those inside the 5.
The 6 other punts averaged 42.8 yards, 4 of the punts downed inside the 20 were 41 yards or longer, so he’s not just doing it with a short field.
Even throwing in his awful performance against USF and it looks like this:
19 punts, 9 inside the 20, 8 of those inside the 15, 4 inside the 10, 2 inside the 5.
The 10 punts not downed inside the 20 averaged 38.7
One bad game, in which Turk punted more than any other games thus far, has skewed his numbers downward….its seems the perception of his performance is tied to the USF game rather than what he has done since.
Thomas Burke says:
Let’s enjoy the W. Yes, there are definatley concerns. Special teams, where’s Ruffer the FG stuffer? Wow, that was chessy! Tommy needs to sharpen up the precision passes, however the kid is a proven winner and is still a work in progress. I wanted him to start from the begining based on these facts alone. Another fact is that we are 3-2 compared to last year’s 2-3 record at this time. Pitt stomped USF, skunk bears shalacked Minn, and sparty beat up OSU. The stage was set for a ND statement game, and they came through. Like it or not, progress is progress. And I belive we have the right thing going w/ Kelly. Steady progress back to the top minus the smoke and mirror quick fixes of 00′,02′,05′, and 06′. We should be 9-2 heading into the night game w/ Cardinal. If we pull it off, were top ten, and probally headed to the fiesta to play Boise St. Again, lets enjoy the W and stay positive.
Aaron says:
Nice to have a breather game. We still need to keep improving. GO IRISH!
vaNDelay says:
One nit: there is no “dignity” in scoring on the scout team with one’s starters.
Scott C says:
And yet, it’s still those 3rd stringers duty to stop Purdue, They had opportunities, but didn’t execute. Hopefully, next time they’re called upon, this bit of playing time will help them succeed.
Scott says:
You’re right. It is their job to stop them. However, the first time you see the game at “game speed” they’re bound to blow assignments and make a few mistakes. I expected that they would yeild at least one score to Purdue’s starting offense.
Ohioirish says:
It was nice to see the coaching staff still coaching up the reserve players. One coach was about 5 yrds onto the field to rip Kendal Moore when he did not follow his assignment.
Scott C says:
That’s good. The guys who are riding the bench now need to understand that not only are they part of the team, but are expected to perform like they don’t want to ride the bench too much longer.
Dan says:
For the first time in a few years, I could actually leave this game at half time and not worry about the outcome. Purdue is not at its best this year, but every year they come out to play us hard. With the exception of this year because of our talent.
Rees is fine. He is still growing, and I would like to say at a faster pace than the last several QB’s. At the end of the game he just wanted to push to see if he could make the play even though he should not have made some of those throws. It was Purdue he could get away with it.
Defense…will not be tested until USC. Still concerned with Gary Gray, but much better play this time.
BK haters can just leave this post be…its obvious that he is a good fit for the next few years.
Next week: Air Force squeaked a win out against Navy because Navy beat themselves. They are going to need something better than Patriot missles to stop our aerial attack. Ground game will not be as explosive, but consistent because of our O line size. Defense will struggle against the ground game for at most the first half. I want to say they will stuff them in the second, but that will be wishful thinking. Special teams are going to be “special” until changes are made. Ruffer will be back.
ND 30+ AF 21-28
ND 9-3 with chance for 8-4 same prediction at the beginning of the season.
Old Notre Dame wil win over all!
Kevin says:
I was really impressed with the play calling this time for our offense. I really like how Coach Kelly incorporated a play action attack this game. It works great, especially with Rees style of QB play. I have been waiting for that nice play action all season. I hope we continue to use it. It freezes opposing safeties, even for split second thats all we need to get Floyd the ball. I was really happy with Rees performance. Yes he had a few throws that were yikes, but not many. Overall he managed game brilliantly. He starts off with a bang, and finishes with a bang. Thats what we need. We just need to get our kicking game consistent.Air Force does not stand a chance against us. they are smaller and lack talent. i know ND has tendency to give away games against lesser opponents as of lately, but I think they continue to gel together and they will roll over Air Force 41-14. Air Force has not seen a rush defense like ND all season long. ND made Purdue look nasty but honestly I dont think Purdue is horrible. I don’t think they are BCS quality but they are an average big ten team not horrible. they upset Ohio state a few years ago so they can win a big game. If Purdue ends up with a losing record then they will be considered crappy but lets not say that Purdue is cream puff just yet. I think Purdue has chance to finish with winning record. Barely. 6-6 7-5. Purdue is definitely better than Akron, the team Ohio State played first week. USC’s defense is suspect, ND should have field day, especially if Arizona can score like that. ND’s defense just have to show up and play hard, if they do I say ND beats SC 37-17
Colin says:
ND ranks 15th in the nation in total offensive yards. Consider that 1) we put the breaks on in games we could add another 50-100-150 total yards (like the Purdue game) and 2) we don’t open the season with The College of Charleston. 898 on the ground with CW at 584 for the season averaging 5.7 a carry and JG averaging an amazing 8.2 per carry in the number 2 slot with 326 total yards. We have 1347 yards in the air with Rees accountable for all but 150 of those yards. He’s thrown some bad pics, for sure. But he’s now 7-1 as a starter and the last QB in recent history to hang an L on USC as well as winning a bowl game. If you are a Rees doubter, then doubt in silence because he’s our man for ’11. The turnover mess at the beginning of the season was almost inexplicable. When it rains, it pours. If we can tighten up the special teams to the point where they simply do not make mistakes and finish on plays that should be finished (basically not making any turnovers and playing average special teams football), I think our offense and defense are both strong enough to get us to another BCS bowl. If we can get a full head of steam (no losses) going into that USC game and hang a W on the Trojans, then the Stamford game to end the season will be one that nobody on this list will catch a wink of sleep before -one of those magical ND games with a lot riding on one W…. Fired up for the last 3/4’s of the season. COME ON IRISH!
barbara reinard says:
Please enjoy the win-complain when they lose.
lcj kredyt says:
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