Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1411895
26 SEPT. 25, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT After failing to take advantage of excellent field position, Notre Dame was forced to punt with just more than eight minutes remaining in the game while clinging to a 20-13 lead. Junior Jay Bramblett delivered a perfectly placed punt that was downed by junior Kyle Hamilton at the 1-yard line. After Purdue escaped the shadow of its goal line with a 27-yard pass play, the Fighting Irish defense stiffened. Graduate student defensive lineman Myron Tago- vailoa-Amosa pressured Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell into an incompletion on a third-and-five play from the Purdue 33, and the Boilermakers were forced to give the ball back to the Irish with a little more than six minutes remaining in the game. Purdue punter Jack Ansell's 41-yard boot was returned 23 yards by junior running back Kyren Williams to the Notre Dame 49. On the ensuing play, Williams broke off a game-clinching 51-yard touchdown run. STAT OF THE GAME It was not the most efficient performance by the Notre Dame offense, but that unit made enough big plays to help secure the victory. In fact, the Fighting Irish's three touchdowns cov- ered a total of 152 yards. That represented 44.3 percent of the Fighting Irish's offensive output. The first score came early in the second quar- ter on fourth-and-three from the Purdue 39, when junior running back Kyren Williams lined up in the slot and ran a quick slant. Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan threaded the needle between two defenders and then Wil- liams did the rest. On Notre Dame's first possession of the second half, Coan hit graduate student wide receiver Avery Davis in stride for a 62-yard touchdown — the longest reception of his career — to give the Irish a 17-6 lead. Then in the fourth quarter, Williams sealed the win with his 51-yard touchdown run. MILESTONE VICTORY Head coach Brian Kelly began his career at Notre Dame with a 23-12 win over Purdue on Sept. 4, 2010, so it was only fitting that win No. 105 with the Fighting Irish — tying him with the legendary Knute Rockne for the most in school history — came against the Boilermakers. Kelly himself would tell you that he is no Rockne, but there is something to be said about the type of stability and consistency he has brought to the program. As Kelly pointed out in his post-game press conference, look no further than archrival USC. With Clay Helton being fired earlier in the week, the Trojans have made three coaching changes since Kelly took over in South Bend. Since 2018, Notre Dame is 36-5 (.878 winning percentage) — behind only Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State — with two College Football Play- off appearances while USC is just 20-14 (.588) with no bowl wins and only one top-25 finish. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY STEVE DOWNEY LB JD BERTRAND The junior from Alpharetta, Ga., has become a permanent fixture in this section. For the third time in as many games to start the season, Bertrand led the team in tackles. He had 12 stops (one for loss), becoming the first Irish defender with three straight games in double digits since Alohi Gilman (the last two of 2018 and the opener in 2019). WR AVERY DAVIS The graduate student and team captain went into the game with three catches for 29 yards. He turned in the best performance of his career with five catches for 120 yards and a touchdown. Gradu- ate student quarterback Jack Coan fit the ball into tight coverage in connecting with Davis multiple times, and Davis beat his man on a post route for a career-long 62-yard touchdown. DC MARCUS FREEMAN The stat sheet will say Purdue gained more yards than Notre Dame — 348-343. The Boilermakers, though, only averaged 4.4 yards per play to the Irish's 5.2. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman's unit held Purdue to 57 rushing yards and also forced starting quarterback Jack Plummer to the bench because of inef- fectiveness. It was the kind of performance Freeman needed to right the ship. S KYLE HAMILTON Is there anything Hamilton can't do? The junior totaled 10 tackles for the second time in his career, and he also recorded his third interception of the season with less than three minutes remaining. Purdue was on the move, but Hamilton came across the back of the end zone and picked off a deflected pass to all but seal Notre Dame's victory. RB KYREN WILLIAMS The junior walked into the media room for his postgame press conference with a big smile on his face. It was easy to discern why. Williams scored two touchdowns, the first on a 39-yard reception on fourth-and-three and the second on a 51-yard rush on the first play of a fourth-quarter drive. He finished with 138 yards from scrimmage and also finihsed 30 yards on two punt returns. GAME BALLS BY TYLER HORKA Junior linebacker JD Bertrand was the Fighting Irish's leading tackler for the third straight game. He made 12 stops against the Boilermakers. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER