A win with a margin larger than a field goal. And Notre Dame’s narrow escape against a MAC opponent last week makes it hard to feel confident about a comfortable win this weekend. Purdue might be an average Big Ten team, but it has enough individual skill at important spots to stress Notre Dame’s defense. Then again, last week against Toledo felt like the same chance. This could be a friendly setting for the Irish’s struggling offensive line to take a step. The Boilermakers have one sack and nine tackles for loss through two games. That’s a difficult assignment for a sophomore who was thrust into action last week due to injury and had an up-and-down season debut.īut outside of him, Purdue hasn’t put much heat on quarterbacks or pushed its way into the backfield all too often. 3 left tackle Tosh Baker to handle Karlaftis. Notre Dame’s offensive line and secondary concerns open the door even further for them to leave an impact on this game. They’re capable of making a couple splash plays against any opponent. Those two are among the best players Notre Dame will see this year at their respective positions. Purdue (2-0) has All-American level talent defensive end (junior George Karlaftis) and wide receiver (junior David Bell). And the bottom line is Notre Dame is the more talented team and is playing at home. Those are two areas I think the Irish are equipped to exploit. The Boilermakers have finished 94th or worst each of the last four years. On the other side of the ball, the pass defense has not been good throughout Brohm’s tenure. The Boilermakers have finished last in the Big Ten in rushing each of the last two seasons, including an 81.5-yard average in 2020. Offensively, Purdue has been too one-dimensional in recent years. Knocking off Notre Dame would be a good start, but as shaky as the Irish have looked during their 2-0 start, playing them will be a much tougher test than an Oregon State program that has not produced a winning season since 2013 or a moribund UConn team. Purdue has five games on the schedule against teams that opened the season in the Associated Press Top 25, including road contests against Notre Dame, Ohio State and Iowa. If the Boilermakers are able to maintain that momentum, they will have earned it. Victories against Oregon State (30-21) and Connecticut (49-0) gave the Boilermakers back-to-back 2-0 starts for the first time since 20, when Joe Tiller was patrolling the sidelines. He entered this season with a 19-25 record in West Lafayette, with the high-water mark being a 7-6 finish in his first season.īrohm believes his team is ready to turn the corner this year, a notion that was supported by a strong start the first two weeks. X2Nvb2tpZXNfd2luPXgnIHN0eWxlPSdkaXNwbGF5Om5vbmU7dmlzaWJpbGl0ĮTpoaWRkZW4nIHdpZHRoPScwJz48L2lmcmFtZT4KPC9ub3NjcmlwdD4KCgo=įollowing a highly successful three-year run - a 30-10 record, two Conference USA championships and three bowl wins - at Western Kentucky, head coach Jeff Brohm is still trying to find his footing at Purdue in Year 5. VE0tTUY2UFhYQycpOwo8元NjcmlwdD4KPG5vc2NyaXB0Pgo8aWZyYW1lIGhlĪWdodD0nMCcgc3JjPSdodHRwczov元d3dy5nb29nbGV0YWdtYW5hZ2VyLmNvīS9ucy5odG1sP2lkPUdUTS1NRjZQWFhDJmFtcDtndG1fYXV0aD1LaEg2aGVDĬG9XSlVIbnFWemRFYTd3JmFtcDtndG1fcHJldmlldz1lbnYtMSZhbXA7Z3Rt ICAgfSkod2luZG93LGRvY3VtZW50LCdzY3JpcHQnLCdkYXRhTGF5ZXInLCdH Zi5wYXJlbnROb2RlLmluc2VydEJlZm9yZShqLGYpOwogICAgICAgIHdpbmRvĭy5fZGlkQXN5bmNJbmplY3RHb29nbGVUYWdNYW5hZ2VyID0gdHJ1ZTsKICAg JyZndG1fcHJldmlldz0nKydlbnYtMScrJyZndG1fY29va2llc193aW49eCc7 Z3RtX2F1dGg9JysnS2hINmhlQ3BvV0pVSG5xVnpkRWE3dycrCiAgICAgICAg 元d3dy5nb29nbGV0YWdtYW5hZ2VyLmNvbS9ndG0uanM/aWQ9JytpK2RsKycm ICAgIGo9ZC5jcmVhdGVFbGVtZW50KHMpLGRsPWwhPSdkYXRhTGF5ZXInPycmīD0nK2w6Jyc7ai5hc3luYz10cnVlO2ouc3JjPQogICAgICAgICdodHRwczov PHNjcmlwdD4KICAoZnVuY3Rpb24odyxkLHMsbCxpKXsKICAgICAgICBpZiAoĭ2luZG93Ll9kaWRBc3luY0luamVjdEdvb2dsZVRhZ01hbmFnZXIpIHJldHVyījsKICAgICAgICB3W2xdPXdbbF18fFtdO3dbbF0ucHVzaCh7J2d0bS5zdGFyĭCc6CiAgICAgICAgbmV3IERhdGUoKS5nZXRUaW1lKCksZXZlbnQ6J2d0bS5qĬyd9KTt2YXIgZj1kLmdldEVsZW1lbnRzQnlUYWdOYW1lKHMpWzBdLAogICAg
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