Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 SEPT. 14, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: PURDUE "The thing about ball is there is never going to be a perfect play," he said. "There's a wrong step or hand place- ment, bad eyes, a bad angle. There is a litany of things to correct. It's just good to correct off of a performance like that." DEFENSE FOR REAL? Purdue hopes this isn't one of those "take a picture, it'll last longer" type of moments. Through Week 1 of the college football season, the Boilermakers had the No. 11 total defense in the FBS, having allowed only 154 yards to Indiana State. Purdue hasn't finished a season as high as 11th in total defense since, well, maybe ever. Over the last 15 seasons, Purdue has fin- ished with a total defense ranking of around 77th. It was only one game, and it was an FCS opponent, but this is the year the Boilermakers want it to be different. Feel it can be different. Are adamant about making sure it is different. They had 3 sacks and 11 tackles for loss against the Sycamores. Nothing got behind them. There's an art to shutting out anyone, even if it's someone from the FCS level. "For the most part it's third downs and just being disciplined and every- body doing their job," said sophomore defensive end Will Heldt, who led Pur- due with 7 total tackles including 2 sacks and 3 for a loss. "Last year we'd get first down, second down, get them to third-and-6 and then we'd give up a bust. We didn't have that much today. Everybody around, doing their job." It was a long day for Indiana State in 1. A Veteran Quarterback Senior quarterback Hudson Card played in 22 games with five starts in three seasons at Texas from 2020-22. He learned from Sam Ehlinger as a freshman, couldn't beat out Casey Thompson for the true No. 1 job as a sophomore, then lost a quarterback competition to Quinn Ewers as a junior. That prompted a move to the Midwest, which has worked out favorably so far. Card has completed 239 of 390 passes (61.3 percent) for 2,660 yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in his first 12 games as a Boilermaker. He's a pass-first signal-caller, but he can try to beat you with his legs in certain situations. Card has run 96 times for 219 yards and 5 touchdowns during his time in West Lafayette. Coming out of powerhouse program Austin Lake Travis High School in Texas, the same institution that produced Baker Mayfield, Card was the No. 5 quarterback in the class of 2020 according to the On3 Industry Ranking. There were rumors Notre Dame was interested in him after the 2022 season. The Irish instead went with Sam Hartman. In an alternate universe, Card is starting for Notre Dame in his second season in South Bend. Instead, he's going against them as the established starter at Purdue. "We trust what we're doing here," Card said. "We trust our coaches and the training that we're putting in. I'm excited about it. We'll be ready to roll." 2. Hitting The Portal Hard Purdue has 45 players on the 2024 roster who were not on the 2023 team. Eighteen of them are transfers, and they came in from all over — including Notre Dame. Former Fighting Irish offensive lineman Joey Tanona, who isn't a starter but is on the two-deep at left guard, has resettled in West Lafayette. Four of the 18 transfers came from the Georgia Bulldogs. Not a bad place to pluck players from. That quartet includes wide receiver De'Nylon Mor- rissette, who caught 2 passes for 27 yards and a touchdown in the season opener. Edge rusher CJ Madden also arrived from Athens, and he had 2 tackles in his Boilermakers debut. Head coach Ryan Walters' philosophy on roster building sounds a lot like that of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. It's just easier to get transfers on campus at Purdue than it is at Notre Dame, which is why the Boilermakers nabbed 10 more transplants than the Irish. That also has to do with how many players Purdue lost, so augmentation was necessary even with a full high school class. "I think it just depends on your positional needs," Walters said at Big Ten Media Days. "Recruiting high school still matters in terms of setting a foundation and building culture, and making your program a developmental program. "But at the end of the day, if a guy is not ready, you've got to go get an experienced guy. It's a case-by-case scenario based on who you retain, who leaves and what that position's depth chart looks like." 3. Entering On A Bye Week Wait. Huh? What? Yeah. Purdue already has a bye week. The second Sat- urday of the season, and the Boilermakers didn't even play in Week 0. Notre Dame must be coming to town. Teams purposely scheduling their off week the week before they play the Irish has become a common theme over the years. It's not always a bye week. Sometimes it's just extra rest. Last year, for instance, Notre Dame played in Week 0 then opened at home the following Saturday. That was a fresh Tennessee State team's season opener. In Week 2, Notre Dame traveled to NC State. The Wolfpack opened their season on a Thursday in Week 1. There's a few extra days to get ready for the Irish right there. Louisville played on Friday the week before hosting Notre Dame on Saturday. The obvious advantage this week as it pertains to Purdue is that the Boiler- makers were able to start an advanced scout of the Irish a week ahead of time. Walters said Notre Dame introduction began on Wednesday. The Irish were still very much in a Northern Illinois frame of mind at that time. Sunday's practice was the equivalent of a game-week Tuesday practice, Walters said, making Tuesday's an extra session and so on. It's an upper-hand if used correctly. — Tyler Horka Three Things to Know About Purdue Purdue head coach Ryan Walters brought in 45 new players, including 18 transfers, after a 4-8 debut last season. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE