Notre Dame at Purdue review.

            Notre Dame took care of business Saturday night as the Fighting Irish dominated the Purdue Boilermakers, 38-10. On the first play of the game, Notre Dame intercepted the ball. On the third play of the game Irish receiver, Michael Floyd caught a 40-yd touchdown pass and Notre Dame never looked back. Nobody was really surprised by the Irish victory, except maybe a few Purdue fans. Notre Dame is now 3-2.

3 things I liked

No Turnovers- Hallelujah praise the Lord! For the first time this season the Irish offense committed zero turnovers. Although there were two passes by Notre Dame quarterback, Tommy Rees that were nearly picked off.

Running game- There has to be a way to give a Heisman Trophy to a team’s backfield. Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray are one of college football’s best 1-2 punches. Wood ran for 191 yards and a touchdown, and Gray ran for 94 yards and a touchdown. So far this season Wood has 584 yards and five touchdowns, and Gray has 326 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Defense- The Irish defense held the Boilermakers to 278 total yards and just three points until late in the 4^th quarter. Purdue used two quarterbacks but neither could get anything going for their offense. Linebacker Manti Te’o continues to be the heart of the defense. He finished the game with 8 solo tackles, three tackles for a loss, and a sack. Freshman Aaron Lynch continues to be a presence as he had three tackles and a sack.

3 things I didn’t like

Penalties- Notre Dame committed 8 for a combined 85 yards. The calls ranged from holding, false start, and unsportsmanlike conduct. I’m not sure what conference the officiating crew was from, but they stayed busy. If you think the 8 were a lot for the Irish, Purdue committed 13.

Field Goals- It seems like Notre Dame can never get a consistent place kicker. Last year David Ruffer was pretty solid, but this year he hasn’t been as good. Against Purdue he hit all the P.A.T.’s (point after touchdown) but went 1/3 on field goals. So far this season he is 3/7, which is totally unacceptable. A few years ago Notre Dame held a campus-wide field goal tryout when one of the kickers was struggling. Luckily for Ruffer, Notre Dame’s offense is scoring enough touchdowns to win.

Associated Press Rankings- The AP Rankings for Week 5 came out earlier today and Notre Dame did not make the Top 25. I can live with that. The part I can’t live with is how Michigan State earned 154 votes while Notre Dame earned just 24. Seriously? Did everybody already forget the solid victory Notre Dame had over Michigan State in Week 3?

My keys for a victory

            Here were the three keys I listed in my preview and how they affected the game

Balance on offense- In the first half Notre Dame ran the ball 16 times and passed 23 times. In the second half, they ran 16 times and passed 17 times. That’s 32 runs and 40 passes in the entire game which is pretty balanced. It’s evident now that Notre Dame’s offense really likes to pass the ball. That’s not a bad thing though, as long as Tommy Rees stays consistent and doesn’t try to force the ball to his receivers.

Stop the pass- The Fighting Irish defense held Purdue’s passers to just 192 yards and one touchdown. They also got an interception in the first quarter. Purdue was never able to get any kind of drive going until the 4^th quarter when the game was already decided.

No Turnovers- I already talked about this.

            There wasn’t a lot that Notre Dame had to focus on to win the game because they are a much better team than Purdue. It was an impressive victory for Notre Dame though as their record is now 3-2 and finally above .500.

            Notre Dame begins a three-game home stand this Saturday against Air Force. After that the Irish have a bye week to prepare for the USC Trojans. Then on October 29^th Notre Dame takes on the Navy Midshipmen in a game I will be attending. Can’t wait!