Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 SEPT. 25, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. A Start For The Defense Save for a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, this was the advertised Marcus Freeman defense. Notre Dame had 14 havoc plays (tackles for loss, passes defended, fumbles forced) for a decent 17.7 percent havoc rate, but that sells short its disruption. Pressure on Purdue quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Aidan O'Connell was consistent. Purdue was 4 of 16 (24.0 percent) on third downs, averaged just 4.4 yards per play and mustered only 8.1 yards per completion. Notre Dame was content to let Purdue throw short passes and attempt to put together a double- digit play scoring drive. The Boilermakers never did. And they rushed 25 times for merely 57 yards, including three sacks. The defensive line was the standout unit with it is ability to generate pressure with four rushers. Graduate student nose tackle Kurt Hinish finished with three tackles and received the game ball from coach Brian Kelly in the locker room. Backup junior nose tackle Howard Cross III burst his way into the backfield on a few occasions. Seniors Jayson and Justin Ademilola were active, with six combined tackles. Starting defensive ends Isaiah Foskey and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa combined for nine tack- les (2.0 for loss), a sack and three hurries. Notre Dame's front overwhelmed Purdue on a fourth-quarter third-and-10 from Purdue's 21-yard line for a sack. Junior safety Kyle Hamilton sniffed out a fourth-and-one jet sweep in the first quarter and intercepted a pass in the end zone to seal the win. Junior linebacker JD Bertrand thwarted a third-down screen pass for a two-yard loss. Bertrand posted his third straight game with double-digit (12) tackles. His rise from a player blocked by depth in front of him this spring to in- dispensable piece remains one of the most impres- sive individual feats of this season. After Hamilton, there might not be anyone more crucial to the Irish's defensive success than him. 2. Boom-Or-Bust Passing Game Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan began his day under duress when he was hit at the top of his drop back and sacked on Notre Dame's first play. It felt like the start of another long day for the offensive line. The pass protection, though, was adequate the rest of the way. The line gave Coan enough time to throw. His placement was hit-or-miss on a day the passing offense was boom-or-bust. He did not complete a pass to senior wide receiver Kevin Aus- tin Jr. despite targeting him seven times. He found sophomore tight end Michael Mayer just once for five yards on four targets. But he connected on one shot and made it count — he found graduate student wide receiver Avery Davis for a 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave Notre Dame a 17-6 lead. Coan wasn't his sharpest, but one long touch- down can make up for several misses. And it's a good sign for Notre Dame's passing offense that it can function enough to beat a team with a pulse despite quiet days from its best weapons. 3. The Tyler Buchner Package This was the first game where an opposing de- fense had time to prepare for freshman quarter- back Tyler Buchner, who played 19 surprise high- leverage snaps in the win over Toledo Sept. 11. One wondered how it would fare when Purdue knew it was coming. Buchner's first two plays yielded four yards. Pur- due appeared ready for the read-option. Buchner then uncorked a 20-yard run on third-and-16 — a called quarterback draw — where he slipped past Purdue All-America defensive end George Karlaftis at the line of scrimmage. That was the last action Buchner received due to a hamstring tightness, head coach Brian Kelly said. Notre Dame's run game did just enough with- out him on the field, capped by junior running back Kyren Williams' 51-yard touchdown where he snaked through the entire Purdue defense. 4. Offensive Line Improvement Kelly indicated during the week Notre Dame would rotate on the interior line. That turned out to be just two first-half series for junior Andrew Kristofic, who subbed in at left guard for classmate Zeke Correll. Freshman offensive tackle Joe Alt made his college debut, but as a blocking tight end. He set a key block on Williams' touchdown run. The line gave Coan enough protection to throw the ball downfield and provided the Irish running backs enough room that the rushing attack didn't shut down late without Buchner as a run-game crutch. It was far from perfect. Passable might be the most generous descriptor. But it's a start. It's something when Notre Dame needed to find anything off which to build. 5. Throwing To The Running Backs Remember how upfront Kelly and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees were about their desire to give even more work to Williams and sophomore running back Chris Tyree? For the third straight game, the backfield duo surpassed 28 total touches. And a few were catches in key spots. Coan connected with Tyree for 19 yards on a wheel route. He found Williams for a 39-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-three. Notre Dame ran the play with an empty backfield and Williams lined up in the slot. That was an automatic run sit- uation in 2020. Notre Dame knows short-yardage runs aren't going to be a 2021 strength, but they can get their skilled running backs the ball in those spots in other ways. All told, Notre Dame targeted Williams and Tyree seven times. They had six catches. Tyree has 10 catches through three games, two more than his 2020 total. FIVE THOUGHTS FROM NOTRE DAME'S WIN OVER PURDUE BY PATRICK ENGEL It was not the most efficient game for graduate student quarterback Jack Coan, but he made enough plays — including a 62-yard touchdown toss to graduate student wide receiver Avery Davis in the third quarter — to win the game. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER