Beat Sparty

Purdue Recap

It took 11 quarters for #22 Notre Dame (2-1) to finally impressive and they picked a great time to do it. The Irish took on Purdue (2-1) last week in West Lafayette. Everybody expected the Irish to waltz into Ross-Ade and get an easy victory. That could not be further from what actually happened. The Boilermakers looked like a Top 25 team on Saturday night. Purdue led 10-3 at halftime but it felt like a much larger lead. Purdue had a 17-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. This is when the nervousness and reality of the situation set in. The Irish were looking dead on at a 1-2 start before a very tough stretch of games.

            Suddenly though, the Irish came alive. Tommy Rees started hitting his targets and the running game improved. The Irish scored a touchdown to tie it at 17. The Irish defense held Purdue to a first down then a punt. This is when the game turned. Rees threw a sideline pass to Davaris Daniels who broke a tackle and danced down the sideline for a 82-yard touchdown. On the ensuing Purdue possession, cornerback Bennett Jackson intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. In six plays, the Irish scored 14 points.

            The Boilermakers kept it interesting. They didn’t back down from the sudden deficit. Purdue marched down the field in three minutes and scored a touchdown to narrow the lead to 31-24. With eight minutes left in the game, the Irish needed to melt as much time as possible. Seems easy enough. On the first play of the drive Amir Carlisle fumbled the ball and Purdue got possession. This is when Irish hearts everywhere sank. Notre Dame’s defense hasn’t been able to stop anybody and now the game was on the line. To my surprise, they answered the challenge. The Irish forced a three-and-out and a punt. The Irish offense took possession and powered their way down the field and ran the game clock to 00:00.

            Even though this game should not have been this close it gave me hope that this team could be turning a corner. A win on the road is always difficult and this was one in the stadium of one of your biggest rivals. Add that to the fact that the Irish really had to fight to win and this was a tremendous victory. The road does not get any easier for Notre Dame but at least they will be back at home. This week they host the Michigan State Spartans (3-0). The Spartans have the #1 defense in the nation statistically. They are a talented unit but it should pointed out (or maybe shouted) that Michigan State’s first three games were at home and against terrible teams. Their game against the Irish is their first real test of the season.

Keys to the Game

Stuff the Run- Michigan State recently solved their quarterback controversy and named sophomore, Conner Cook, the starter. Even though he won the starting spot he is still not that great of a passer. The Irish need to stop the Spartans from running the ball and force Cook to pass. Make the untested QB beat you with his arm because he won’t.

Pressure the QB- This goes with the last key. The Irish need to get Michigan State’s offense into 2^nd and 3^rd downs with 7+ yards to go. These are obvious passing downs and instances when the Irish can blitz multiple defenders.

Rushing Attack- Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune had a great stat that I cannot remember. Basically, whichever team has the most rushing yards tends to win the ball game. Notre Dame has five talented running backs so hopefully at least one can break through with some big runs.

-While I’m talking about running backs, it is time for Brian Kelly to drop George Atkinson on the depth chart. Amir Carlisle looks great and Cam McDaniel earned some serious playing time last week.

My prediction: Notre Dame- 17. Michigan State-9.

Predictions

After three weeks I have a picking record of 21-9. I wrote last week that Alabama would crush Texas A&M. Alabama won but it definitely wasn’t a crushing victory. This week there is just one matchup of Top 25 teams. That’s #Stanford versus #23 Arizona State. This is game that Irish coaching staff will definitely be watching because they will have to game plan for both teams this season.

North Carolina Tarheels at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Ball State Cardinals at Eastern Michigan Eagles

Michigan State Spartans at #22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Tennessee Volunteers at #19 Florida Gators

Arkansas Razorbacks at Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Purdue Boilermakers at #24 Wisconsin Badgers

#23 Arizona State Sun Devils at #5 Stanford Cardinal

Missouri Tigers at Indiana Hoosiers

Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Longhorns

Utah Utes at BYU Cougars