Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 SEPT. 18, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: PURDUE But finding cohesion along an offensive line that replaced four starters remains a work in prog- ress, and perhaps a longer-termed project than anticipated. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PURDUE PASS DEFENSE The top storyline for Notre Dame during the off- season was whether graduate transfer quarter- back Jack Coan could seamlessly replace three-year starter Ian Book and keep the winning ways rolling, and the early returns are positive. Coan aced his first and roughest early season test Sept. 5, in a tough road environment at Florida State when he threw for 366 yards — the most ever for an Irish quarterback in an opening game — and a career-high four touchdowns during a 41-38 over- time victory over the Seminoles. As expected, Irish sophomore tight end Michael Mayer is already emerging as a first-team All-Amer- ica candidate and Coan's favorite target, though Williams out of the backfield and senior wideout Kevin Austin Jr., have both become valuable targets as well. The Boilermakers were last in the Big Ten in sacks last season, a defensive deficiency that has plagued the program for years. The last time Purdue re- corded 30 sacks in a season came in 2010. Granted, it's only a six-game sample, but Purdue managed five sacks in 2020, with just two of those coming during the four-game losing streak that ended its season. Hopes are high in West Lafayette, Ind., that 6-4, 275-pound junior defensive end George Karlaftis — a first-team All-Big Ten preseason selection, per Athlon — will return to his freshman form and become a legitimate NFL pass-rushing prospect. COVID quarantines and nagging injuries limited Karlaftis to only four tackles and two sacks in two games as a sophomore last season after recording 54 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 17.5 tackles for loss as a frosh in 2019. Junior Jalen Graham, a hybrid linebacker/safety, flashed in the season-opening 30-21 win over Oregon State. He led the Boilermakers in tackles with six, broke up three passes and recorded a sack that forced a fumble. Cam Allen is a solid all-around safety and led the team in 2020 with two interceptions and tallied 27 tackles. Expect returning starting cornerbacks Cory Trice, a junior, and Dedrick Mackey, a gradu- ate student, to also bolster the Boilermakers' pass coverage. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Purdue was tasked with replacing kicker J.D. Del- linger this offseason, and a player nobody had ever heard of before his transfer in the spring landed the starting job, and he looks ready to hold onto it. A graduate of Samford University in Alabama, Mitchell Fineran didn't arrive at Purdue until May but wasted little time securing the starting job. He then sapped any debate out of his worthiness, at least for the time being, with a 3-of-3 field goal effort — including a 48-yarder — in the nine-point win over Oregon State. An area of continued concern for Purdue, its spe- cial teams allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and a blocked punt that set up a TD last season. Notre Dame already scored an important special teams moment this season when graduate student kicker Jonathan Doerer converted a 41-yard game- winning kick against Florida State to secure the three-point overtime win. Somewhat surprising is that Williams, Notre Dame's Heisman hopeful at running back, opened the season as the starting Irish punt returner. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Scoring points has never been a problem for Purdue under Brohm. What was missing during his first four seasons on the job was the sturdy defense and impactful special teams play needed to survive in the rug- ged Big Ten. Brohm entered this season 19-25 overall, put- ting some heat under his seat in 2021. Brohm's signature win remains a 49-20 home rout of No. 2 Ohio State in 2018. Presuming a home win for Notre Dame last week- end over Toledo — the Irish were a 16.5-point favorite — head coach Brian Kelly will carry into this matchup a 25-game home winning streak and a 34- game victory streak against unranked opponents, the second-longest such streak in the country. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES This Purdue team isn't good enough to leave points on the field and still stay competitive, and it showed last season with three of its four losses coming by seven points or fewer. Purdue finished tied for 108th nationally last season in red-zone offense, scoring on only 21 of 28 trips inside an opponent's 20-yard line, and it scored touchdowns on barely half of those trips (15 of 28). The Boilermakers were picked in the preseason to finish sixth in the seven-team Big Ten West Division, and Athlon rated Purdue at No. 60 in its preseason rankings. With only five Purdue players listed by Athlon on its extensive 2021 Big Ten preseason player rank- ings (44 offense, 44 defense, 16 specialists), the Boilermakers have the smallest representation of the any school in the league. Notre Dame's dominance at home, especially against unranked opponents will be tough for Pur- due to overcome. The Irish have won seven straight in this long- standing series and haven't lost to Purdue since 2007. Advantage: Notre Dame Graduate transfer Mitchell Fineran went 3 for 3 on field goals in his first game for the Boilermakers, providing the nine-point margin of victory against Oregon State. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE ATHLETICS