Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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187.0 yards per contest and 5.0 yards per carry — and that was against two Mid-American Conference teams. The Irish produced 139 yards and 3.7 yards per carry, and its most effective rushing play was quar- terback Everett Golson improvising and scrambling out of the pocket, highlighted by his 15-yard scoring scamper right before halftime to give the Irish the lead for good. He kept a few times on the zone read, too, but otherwise the offensive line consistently had no surge or push, and seemed out-muscled most of the night in an attack that saw Notre Dame's runners go mostly east-west. The backfield trio of Cam McDaniel, Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant managed a tough 83 yards on 24 carries (3.5 yards per attempt). ADVANTAGE: Purdue NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PURDUE PASS DEFENSE Although Golson has had more accurate and better days, the receiving corps compensated with several leaping catches, including sophomore Corey Robin- son (three receptions for 52 yards) on his 15-yard second-half score. The wealth again was spread out well with Golson's 25 completions going to eight different receivers. Although he was sacked four times, Golson could have been sacked about a half-dozen other times, but his elusiveness saved the game. It was a bad night overall for the line, but Golson's abil- ity to extend the play and ad-lib compensated for its woes. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Senior Amir Carlisle's 47-yard return of the open- ing kickoff set up shop in Purdue territory right away and quickly led to a 7-0 advantage. Other than a missed 50-yard field goal and one kickoff that went out of bounds, senior Kyle Brindza made a difference again with his punts (two placed inside the 20), three field goals (one from 48 yards) and five touchbacks on his seven attempts. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS This is where Golson's value was at its highest. On the touchdown drive to make it 24-14 in the first half, he completed a 24-yard pass to a leaping C.J. Prosise on third-and-seven. Then on third-and- eight, he evaded a corner blitz and scrambled 16 yards, and then found Robinson on a touchdown the next play. On the first Irish TD drive, Folston ran for three yards on third-and-three, and on the second Golson connected with senior tight end Ben Koyack for five yards on third-and-five. The Irish converted on 8 of 17 third-down attempts (47.1 percent), while Purdue was 6 of 15 (40.0 percent). ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Notre Dame's first and still lone turnover this sea- son set up a 26-yard Purdue touchdown drive in the first half. The Boilermakers, however, had three (one of them a fumble inside the Notre Dame 10), although they resulted in only three points by the Irish. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SUMMARY The first bye week comes at a good time for the Irish to get some healing in, but especially to evalu- ate where they are headed with the running game. Against the better opponents, the offensive line most assert itself much better to avoid another 8-4 regular-season outcome. It's extremely difficult to be a top-10, major bowl-caliber team with a ground attack that has a difficult time achieving any push or rhythm, as was the case each of the past two weeks. Having Golson carry five more times than any- one else is not the recipe Brian Kelly wants on of- fense. Purdue played its typical tough, scrappy game against Notre Dame, but its personnel was not as strong across the board. ✦ ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI