Purdue Boilermakers – October 1st, 2011 7:00 CT, ESPN at Ross-Ade Stadium
Head Coach – Danny Hope
Career Record: 46-38
- 35-22 in five seasons at Eastern Kentucky (2003-2007)
- 11-16 in three seasons at Purdue (2009-2011)
2010 Season (4-8)
| Opponent | W/L | U-P | OPP |
| at Notre Dame | L | 12 | 23 |
| Western Illinois | W | 31 | 21 |
| Ball State | W | 24 | 13 |
| Toledo | L | 20 | 31 |
| at Northwestern | W | 20 | 17 |
| Minnesota | W | 28 | 17 |
| at Ohio State | L | 0 | 49 |
| at Illinois | L | 10 | 44 |
| Wisconsin | L | 13 | 34 |
| Michigan | L | 16 | 27 |
| at Michigan State | L | 31 | 35 |
| Indiana | L | 31 | 34 |
SERIES FACTS
The Fighting Irish lead the series 54-26-2.
STRENGTHS
- Balanced Offense – Offensively the Boilermakers have a fine balance between their rushing and passing games. They have rushed for 776 yards on 139 carries at an average of 5.6 yards per tote. The passing game has totaled 637 yards on 58 completions in 92 attempts.
- Quarterback Committee – Caleb Terbush has started the first 3 games of the season thus far. Robert Marve saw his first action last week. He was the starting QB last season for four games before suffering a serious knee injury. He completed 31 of 42 passes versus N.D. last year.
- Punting / Field Position – Punter Cody Webster is averaging 49.8 yards on his punting attempts. He has booted 7 punts over 50 yards. He has placed five kicks inside the opponents 20 yard line. Six kicks have wound up inside the opposition’s 10 yard line.
WEAKNESSES
- Inability to finish up offensively – No problems against Southwest Missouri, but this was critical in the first two games. A loss to Rice when a 31 yard FG attempt by Purdue was blocked at the final gun. In Rice territory late two other times and no points. Overall 19 of 44 on 3rd down plays.
- Trouble under the lights – Purdue is 16-17 in night games overall. 1-5 in night games at Ross-Ade Stadium. 0-2 in night games against Notre Dame. Usually a night game at home is a big event, but it seems to spell trouble for the Boilermakers.
- No home field advantage for Purdue in the Notre Dame series – The Fighting Irish are 25-14-2 against Purdue in West Lafayette. In Ross-Ade Stadium Notre Dame leads 20-12. Notre Dame is 2-0 in night games at Purdue. The Irish have won 8 of the past 12 games in West Lafayette.
GAME ANALYSIS
Purdue is 2-1, having defeated Middle Tennessee State by blocking a late FG try by State. Losing to Rice when the Owls blocked a short FG try by the Boilermakers at the end of the game. Then rolling over outmanned Southwest Missouri State. It would not shock me if Purdue were to upset the Irish. I don’t think it will happen. It’s not that I think Purdue is that good, it’s just that with last weeks showing versus Pitt, Notre Dame has a lot of question marks. A night game at home should account for some strength in this game for Purdue.
The Notre Dame performance against Pitt was not that good. Pitt did upset South Florida this week and are well coached by Todd Graham. However, for the talent on the N.D. roster, the results thus far simply don’t match that talent. Pitt could have easily beaten the Irish. Again critical mistakes cropped up. Mistakes by QB Tommy Rees really hurt. Eventually some consistency has to take over for Notre Dame. If it doesn’t, it will be a long and disappointing season for Brian Kelly. This is the type of game that Notre Dame needs to step up and dominate.
PREDICTION
The offense for Notre Dame will be more fluid this week. The defense looked good last week in holding down the Pitt offense. Let’s hope that the defense is here to stay. If so, that will help Notre Dame to overcome any bumbling ways that could possibly recur. At 2-2, Kelly’s team needs to start turning this season around.
NOTRE DAME 35
PURDUE 21
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