Cavalier Corner Digital

✦ on paper touchdowns to 10 interceptions in his career and has yet to reach the end zone through the air in 2013. Advantage: Notre Dame By andrew owens Purdue Running Game Vs. Notre Dame Run Defense Boilermaker backs Akeem Shavers and Ralph Bolden have graduated, so the running duties belong solely to junior Akeem Hunt this season. Hunt, who produced just 103 yards on 29 carries (3.6 yards per attempt) in the first two games, boasts excellent speed (he's also the team's kick returner), but at 5-9 and 184 pounds he has to prove he is durable enough to last an entire season. Fifth-year senior quarterback Rob Henry held the starting role in 2010 and led the Boilermakers in rushing with 547 yards. He will likely try to follow the formula of Temple quarterback Connor Reilly (65 yards on 12 rushing attempts) and Michigan signal-caller Devin Gardner (13 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown), who both consistently moved the chains against the Irish with their legs in the first two games. Although they trailed most of the game and thus relied on the passing attack, the Boilermakers gained a meager 65 rushing yards in the season-opening 42-7 loss to Cincinnati. They followed it up by averaging just 2.9 yards per carry against Indiana State last Saturday. Looming for Purdue this week is an Irish defense that is stout against the rush with a talented front seven. Senior nose guard Louis Nix III is used to having to deal with double- and triple-teams, and he faces an inexperienced offensive line this week. Advantage: Notre Dame Purdue Passing Game Vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense Henry's career at Purdue has come full circle. An injury and an academic issue with the team's veteran quarterbacks propelled him into the fire as a redshirt freshman in 2010. He missed all of 2011 after tearing his ACL during fall camp and did not reclaim the starting role in 2012. Instead, he was used intermittently as a running back, wide receiver and quarterback. This year, the position is all his, but it began with a rocky start in the lopsided loss to Cincinnati in which Henry threw for 161 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Last week against Indiana State, he was just 15-of-24 passing for 150 yards, but did not throw any picks. Last year's leading receiver Antavian Edison has departed, but fifth-year seniors Gary Bush and O.J. Ross Junior running back Akeem Hunt ran for just 103 yards on 29 carries (3.6 yards per attempt) the first two weeks of the season, but had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the victory over Indiana State. photo courtesy purdue media relations return after combining for 97 catches, 814 receiving yards and nine touchdown grabs a year ago. The Irish defense held a pass-happy Boilermakers offense to 198 yards through the air in the 20-17 Notre Dame win in 2012. Expect Notre Dame to employ a similar strategy against Purdue that it used in the season opener against Temple: Don't worry about surrendering lots of yards as long as the opponent is denied the end zone. Any turnovers will devastate Purdue's chances at pulling off an early-season upset, and Henry will have to avoid coughing up the football — he has thrown just 11 ✦ Page 3 Notre Dame Running Game Vs. Purdue Run Defense When these two teams met last year, the Boilermakers' front controlled the line by limiting Notre Dame to 52 yards rushing, highlighted by five sacks. Purdue lost a valuable component when defensive tackle Kawann Short graduated. Yet even with his presence a year ago, the Purdue front allowed 182.3 rushing yards per game — the program's most since 2006. Five of the front seven return, led by linebacker Will Lucas, who finished with 66 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in 2012. Three of the team's top six linebackers graduated, but the returning players are an experienced group of mostly juniors and seniors. Along the line, the Boilermakers believe junior end Ryan Russell (seven tackles, 2.5 for loss, at Notre Dame last year) can develop into an elite player like Short or All-American Ryan Kerrigan in 2010. Against Cincinnati, the Boilermakers surrendered 221 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry. Purdue will face as dangerous a rushing attack as it will see in 2012 against Notre Dame's five running backs. The bulk of the carries are still up for grabs on a weekly basis, and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is adamant that each of the three juniors and two freshmen will get a fair shot until the production sorts itself out. This could be an ideal situation for Kelly to get each involved to try and sort out the personnel. Advantage: Notre Dame Notre Dame Passing Game Vs. Purdue Pass Defense Purdue returns three of four players in the secondary, losing only second-team All-Big Ten cornerback Josh Johnson from last year's unit. Senior cornerback Ricardo Allen has compiled four interception returns for touchdowns during his career to set the school record, and if he gets a fifth it would tie a Football Bowl Subdivision record. Last week against Indiana State, Allen intercepted a pass in Purdue territory in the final minute that sealed the Boilermakers' 20-14 win versus Indiana State. It's mandatory for the Boilermakers to pressure senior quarterback Tommy Rees and force him into poor decisions. He played one of his best games as a starter in

• Cover