An excitingly boring win for Notre Dame
There were no sparkling highlights. There were no gaudy statistics. There were no fourth quarter comebacks. Had Notre Dame’s 23-12 win over Purdue this Saturday not been the debut for Brian Kelly and a revamped Irish football team, it would’ve been forgettable.
[picappgallerysingle id="9522460"]Notre Dame seem poised to blow things wide open a few times, but failed to do so thanks to a (properly) reversed call on a fumble recovery for a TD and a Michael Floyd fumble inside the 10-yard line. Purdue responded with a safety and a Robert Marve touchdown on 4th and short to keep the outcome in question. But, Kelly’s Irish appeared to be calm, cool and in control from start to finish.
“We were all making our debut today. It was a completely new feel, it was a new era so to speak,” quarterback Dayne Crist said.
Crist completed 19 of 26 passes for 205 yards in his debut at the helm of a very methodical Irish offense. Crist connected with seven different receivers and only twice did they pick up more than 20 yards on a single play. After five years of a “schematic advantage” that consisted of a sputtering offense periodically bailed out by 60-yard touchdown strikes, Irish fans should be excited about an offense that consistently moved forward. Notre Dame went 3-and-out only once on Saturday.
The driving force behind the Irish offense this weekend was not a quarterback or a flashy wide receiver, but the five big uglies up front. Despite having three first-time starters, the offensive line held Purdue’s tough defensive front to two sacks and opened holes consistently for running backs Cierre Wood and Armando Allen.
Allen picked up 98 yards on the ground including a 22-yard touchdown run. The line provided a second dimension to Notre Dame’s offense that did not exist under Charlie Weis. The Irish rushed 36 times compared to 26 pass attempts.
“I think we did well today,” said Irish center Braxston Cave. “There were many opportunities that we left out on the field but that is what practice is for. We’re going to come out here next week, get after it and get ready for Michigan.”
Michigan took care of UConn without much of a problem with new quarterback Denard Robinson running wild on the Huskies’ defense. Notre Dame will have their hands full next week, but if this week is any indication they won’t have to rely on big plays and last second comebacks like last year.
New Blood for Notre Dame against Purdue
Irish head coach Brian Kelly won’t be the only one bleeding blue and gold for the first time this Saturday. Kelly recently released an updated depth chart for the season opener against Purdue which was full of fresh faces, including true freshman TJ Jones who will be starting at wide receiver.
[picappgallerysingle id="8624365"]Jones is one of six first-time starters on the offensive side of the ball for ND. The Irish starting line-up comes into Saturday’s Purdue game with a combined zero starts at the following positions: quarterback, center, both tackles and two of the three wide receiver spots. That reads like a recipe for disaster, but Kelly said he things the newness and excitement will ultimately be good for the Irish. (more…)
