Game Preview: Purdue
Tiller debuted with a 36-22 loss at home
to Toledo.
The Turnover Tale
Nothing better defined Notre
Dame's turnaround from 8-5 in 2011 to
12-1 in 2012 than slicing its turnovers
from 29 two years ago to 15 last year
(only the seventh time it had 15 or
fewer turnovers in a season).
Meanwhile, Purdue was 2-6 in 2012
when it did not have more takeaways
than its opponent. This included the
20-17 loss at Notre Dame when it
had two turnovers compared to one
by the Fighting Irish — a fumble by
quarterback Everett Golson that set
up the tying touchdown at 17-17 with
2:12 left. That led to the insertion of
Tommy Rees for the game-winning
65-yard march in which he converted
a couple of crucial third downs.
When Purdue had more takeaways
last year — it was 4-1 with the lone
loss coming in the aforementioned
overtime to Ohio State in which the
Boilermakers seemingly had the game
in hand.
In this year's opening-game, a 42-7
loss at Cincinnati, Purdue turned the
ball over four times compared to three
takeaways.
A Kick-Charge
A major reason why Purdue was
able to hang with Notre Dame drown
to the wire last year was because of its
punter, Cody Webster. Six of his seven
Dangerous kick returner Raheem Mostert led the nation with a 33.5-yard average and had four returns of
71 yards or more as a freshman in 2011.
photo courtesy purdue media relations
