Notre Dame @ Purdue preview
Ross-Ade Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 8, 2012 ) Purdue 17, Notre Dame 20
This year's Notre Dame defense isn't as good as the one that propelled the Fighting Irish into last year's BCS National Championship game. But the 41-30 loss at Michigan won't force Irish coach Brian Kelly to make drastic changes before the No. 21 Irish travel to Purdue on Saturday. "We're not a finished product," Kelly said during an early-week press conference. "We got some work to do."
A game against Purdue, which struggled to beat Indiana State and is ranked near the bottom nationally in several offensive categories, might be what the Irish need. The Boilermakers have scored just two offensive touchdowns and were outgained in both games. "Stay on schedule and red-zone offense, those are probably the two biggest things (we need to fix) right now," first-year Purdue coach Darrell Hazell told the media.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Purdue 20.5.
ABOUT NOTRE DAME (1-1): The mistake-prone Irish are allowing 411 yards per game, more than 100 yards more than last year's seventh-ranked defense (305.5). "You've got some new players that are growing," Kelly said in a recent conference call. "We've got to coach some things up, we've got to clean some things up fundamentally." The Irish leaned on quarterback Tommy Rees (45-of-74 for 660 yards and five touchdowns this year) while playing catch-up at Michigan, throwing the ball 53 times and recording 19 rushing attempts.
ABOUT PURDUE (1-1): The Boilermakers are ranked 116th out of 123 FBS teams in total offense (255 yards) and tied for 113th in points (13.5) and have just four scores (two touchdowns and two field goals) in seven red-zone trips. Purdue lost junior safety Landon Feichter to a broken leg and sophomore Anthony Brown will likely take his place. The Boilermakers' schedule doesn't get any easier with three ranked teams in the next five games (No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 15 Nebraska and No. 3 Ohio State) after Notre Dame.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Irish have won five straight against Purdue, including two games decided on Notre Dame's final drive.
2. Irish RBs Amir Carlisle (19 carries for 132 yards), George Atkinson III (13-71) and Cam McDaniel (13-69) have combined for one rushing touchdown.
3. Purdue senior P Cody Webster leads the country with a 49.9-yard average and the Boilermakers are second in net punting (50.4 yards).
PREDICTION: Notre Dame 30, Purdue 13