Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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On Paper By Dan Murphy Purdue Running Game Vs. Notre Dame Run Defense Without veteran running back Ralph Bolden in the lineup, Purdue is counting on a pair of Akeems to carry its rushing attack. Bolden tore his ACL late last year and did not play in the season opener this fall. Senior Akeem Shavers took over in his absence. He ran for 149 yards on 22 carries at the Little Caesars Bowl last season in his first official start. Sophomore Akeem Hunt will also play a bigger role after getting 33 carries in his rookie season. Experience isn’t the running game’s strong suit despite returning three starters on the offensive line. On the other hand, Notre Dame has plenty of miles on its defensive front seven. Senior Carlo Calabrese returns to the mix this week after serving his one-game suspension. He and fellow inside linebackers Dan Fox and Manti Te’o helped hold the Boilermakers to 84 rushing yards a year ago in a 38-10 victory. The Irish will also have a little bit more beef up front this season with sophomore Stephon Tuitt at defensive end. He missed last year’s game for violating team rules. Advantage: Notre Dame Purdue Passing Game Vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense Notre Dame’s secondary took hit after hit this offseason, most recently losing expected starter junior Lo Wood to injury at the end of fall camp. The young group didn’t face a real passing threat in its debut against Navy last week. The challenge will ramp up, but not too much against the Boilermakers. Purdue lost its top receiver from a season ago in Justin Siller. They have a crew of speedy players to replace him, all of whom are under six feet tall and 190 pounds. Senior Antavian Edison — 44 catches, 584 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2011 — is the offense’s most versatile threat and will be quarterback Caleb TerBush’s top target. TerBush doesn’t rank near the top of the list of talented arms the Irish will face this season. He does, however, take care of the ball. He completed 61.7 percent of his passes and threw only six interceptions in his first season as a starter last year. Advantage: Even Notre Dame Running Game Vs. Purdue Run Defense Purdue’s biggest weakness on defense this season is a thin linebacker corps. Top tackler Joe Holland graduated this spring. Numbers two and three on that list were Dwayne Beckford (91 tackles) and Will Lucas (82 tackles), who were both expected to be returning starters. However, Beckford was arrested for the fourth time in late August and has been suspended indefinitely. All-American candidate senior Kawann Short does provide a lot of help from his spot at defensive tackle. Last year, Purdue finished as the No. 82 rushing defense in the country, giving up 174.9 yards per game — with a whopping 287 to Notre Dame. Senior Cierre Wood ran for a career-high 191 yards in that game. He will be serving the last of his two-game suspension this season, but his partners Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III should be able to stay fresh enough to attack Purdue’s lack of depth. All five of the Irish starters on the offensive line weigh in at more than 300 pounds. They should help wear down the Purdue defensive front as well. Advantage: Notre Dame Notre Dame Passing Game Vs. Purdue Pass Defense The Irish have plenty of youth in the passing game between sophomore quarterback Everett Golson and young receivers like sophomore DaVaris Daniels and freshman Davonté Neal, all of whom played their first college game a week ago. Senior tight end Tyler Eifert, arguably the best at his position in the country this season, negates a lot of that inexperience and could have a big day against a pair of young Purdue safeties. Those new safeties are flanked by two of the best cornerbacks in the Big Ten. Junior Ricardo Allen and senior Josh Johnson combined for five interceptions and 18 passes broken up last season. They will get help again this season from junior Normondo Harris, who started four games last year. That trio will be Golson’s first big test on taking care of the football. Advantage: Purdue Special Teams Atkinson was Notre Dame’s main bright spot on special teams a year ago while averaging 26.14 yards per kick return. Purdue’s Raheem Mostert led the nation in kick returns with 33.48 yards per attempt and one touchdown. Both sophomores will be back on kicks again this season. Both teams struggled on punt returns last year, but Purdue was statistically better there as well, finishing 88th in the nation compared to Notre Dame’s No. 112 ranking. The Irish kicking game balances the special teams battle this year thanks to senior Nick Tausch, who despite kicking only one field in the last two seasons does have some proven success on Saturdays. He was 15 of 18 in his career heading into this season. The Boilermakers will rely on unproven freshman Paul Griggs or walk-on Sam McCartney, depending on the situation. Advantage: Even Coaching Danny Hope enters his fourth season as Purdue’s head coach on a small upswing. Hope’s team won three of its last four games in 2011 to provide their coach with a little bump in job security after two losing seasons. He hired defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar this spring from the Canadian Football League to bring a more traditional 4-3 look to the Boilermaker defense. This might be a make or break year for Hope at Purdue, which is projected as a dark horse candidate to win the Big Ten’s Leader division. Irish head coach Brian Kelly and his staff have gotten the better of Hope and company during each of their first two meetings. Last season, Notre Dame outcoached Purdue as much as it outplayed them in a 38-10 win. A more-established and seemingly tighter-knit staff this season should give the Irish an X’s and O’s advantage. Advantage: Notre Dame Intangibles Purdue should be better rested than the Irish after playing Eastern Kentucky at home last week, rather than Navy on a different continent. Notre Dame took every possible measure to make sure they wouldn’t feel the aftereffects of their trip to Dublin and should find some extra energy for its home opener. More importantly, after two convincing wins in the last two years, the Irish enter their game against Purdue expecting to win. That attitude can go a long way in providing a mental leg up on an opponent. Advantage: Notre Dame Predictions Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 27, Purdue 20 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 31, Purdue 17 Wes Morgan: Notre Dame 35, Purdue 28 Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 28, Purdue 13