Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 25, 2021 23 Junior linebacker JD Bertrand led the team in tackles (12) for a third straight week, while junior safety Kyle Hamil- ton tied a career high with 10 and also snagged his team-leading third inter- ception of the season. Kelly was particularly impressed by Hamilton's tackle for loss on a fourth- and-short play in the first quarter with the Boilermakers on top 3-0. He showed impressive closing speed to stop a jet sweep for no gain and end a Purdue drive that had reached the Irish 34-yard line. "There is only one guy that can make the plays he did today," Kelly said of Hamilton. "You guys watched it. That fourth-down play, how good was that? That was pretty good, wasn't it? I thought it was, too, and I was standing right there. "I would pay to watch him play." Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan was sacked four times and missed some key throws, but he stayed poised and completed 15 of 31 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and no in- terceptions. He outplayed Purdue red- shirt junior Jack Plummer, who con- nected on 25 of 36 throws for 187 yards with one touchdown. Plummer was replaced by the Boilermakers' backup, fifth-year senior Aidan O'Connell, in the fourth quarter. O'Connell threw two costly interceptions. Junior running back Kyren Williams' two touchdowns — one on a reception (39 yards) and another on the ground (51 yards) — were the difference on the scoreboard, but Kelly said that margin came about in the days leading up to the game. "Our level of preparation rose this week, and certainly our performance did," Kelly said. FIRST QUARTER PURDUE 3, NOTRE DAME 0 Top Moment(s): Purdue went for it on fourth-and-short from the Notre Dame 34-yard line. A conversion would have opened the door for the Boiler- makers to open up a two-score lead, but junior safety Kyle Hamilton made a stop behind the line of scrimmage to give the ball back to a struggling Notre Dame offense. Right on cue, graduate student quarterback Jack Coan rifled a bullet by multiple defenders to gradu- ate student wide receiver Avery Davis for a gain of 20 — the Irish's longest play from scrimmage to that point. Stats: Both teams struggled to move the ball. Purdue gained 60 total yards on 19 plays. Notre Dame gained 36 total yards on 12 total plays. The Irish only gained 11 yards on their first 10 plays. Items: Coan was sacked for a loss of nine yards on the first play from scrim- mage … Notre Dame also had a false start on its first series, which ended in a three-and-out … Purdue drove deep into Notre Dame territory on its first drive, but the Irish defense stiff- ened and forced a 34-yard field goal attempt. … Hamilton and senior de- fensive lineman Justin Ademilola made key third-down tackles on Purdue's next two drives. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 10, PURDUE 3 Top Moment: Facing fourth-and- three from the Purdue 39, Notre Dame elected to line Coan up in an empty formation. He fired a strike to a well- covered Williams running a quick slant from the slot. Williams caught it, shed two defenders and sprinted into the end zone to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game at the 13:51 mark. Stats: Notre Dame dominated on both sides of the ball, outgaining Purdue 115-37. The Irish held the Boilermakers to zero rushing yards in the quarter. Items: Graduate student defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa blew up a Purdue rushing play on third- and-one, stopping the ball carrier in the backfield for a loss of two … Coan missed senior wide receiver Kevin Aus- tin Jr. open in the end zone, and Notre Dame had to settle for a 28-yard field goal from graduate student Jonathan Doerer to extend the Irish lead to 10-3 with 8:45 left until halftime … Doerer missed a 45-yarder on Notre Dame's next drive. … Junior linebacker JD Ber- trand got in on the third-down defense action with a three-yard tackle for loss late in the quarter … Notre Dame freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner escaped pressure on his own goal line on third-and-16 and rushed for 20 yards and a first down. The gain pre- vented Purdue from getting the ball in prime field position with plenty of time to try to tie the game at halftime. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 17, PURDUE 13 Top Moment: On third-and-seven from the Irish 38, Coan stepped up in the pocket and set his eyes downfield. He saw a streaking Davis with a step on his defender in man-to-man coverage. Coan let the ball go, and it landed per- fectly in Davis' breadbasket in stride. The speedy Davis pulled away from the Purdue defensive back and ran into the south end zone in style, just as Williams had a quarter earlier. The touchdown Junior safety Kyle Hamilton tied a career high with 10 tackles and notched his team-leading third interception of the season in Notre Dame's 27-13 win over Purdue. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER