After the devastating loss to Northern Illinois a week ago, the Irish went into West Lafayette with something to prove: to show that the loss was only a fluke and this team is still good enough to make the playoffs. Sure, there isn’t much to gain from a win against Purdue. Purdue football hasn’t been the model of football dominance over the past few seasons. Coming off a sub .500 season on paper, this should be a game Notre Dame has no problems winning.
However, even the most optimistic Notre Dame fans couldn’t have predicted what happened on Saturday. An absolute shellacking of the Boilermakers 66-7. It was a perfect bounce back from one of the worst losses in program history. This game was over before halftime. Like in the final two minutes of the first half, the Irish were cruising with a 21-0 lead, then you blinked and it was 42-0 going into the locker room, ending any hope Purdue had of making a comeback.
Although this was an impressive win for Notre Dame, it would be not very smart to say this team is back. Sure putting up 66 points and holding the other team to seven might seem like a dominating performance. However, it’s unknown how much of this win comes from the Irish being one of the best teams in the country or is Purdue just that bad of a football team. It’s an important win to help get back on track and could be the start to get Notre Dame back into the playoff conversations. However, don’t get too ahead of yourself. Here are the major takeaways from Notre Dame’s victory.
Running Could Become the Offense Identity
One of the main problems in the first two weeks for the Irish had been the underwhelming performance of their offense. In the previous two games, the offensive left a lot to be desired. Things were so bad that there were serious questions about whether drastic changes needed to be made in coaching and at quarterback.
However, this Purdue game showed us what the Irish offense could look like for the rest of the season: an emphasis on the running game. Notre Dame ran the ball 43 times on Saturday for 364 yards and six touchdowns. That’s an average of 8.5 yards per rushing attempt. Part of this could be because Purdue doesn’t have a great run-stopping defense. However, when you have nearly 400 yards on the ground, something is working. It’s something you have to pursue and build your game plan around if your OC Mike Denbrock.
Two guys stood out in the running game. The first was quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard had probably the roughest week of anyone on the Fighting Irish roster. Now he didn’t silence any of his critics, mostly because he still underperformed in the passing game. However, we saw the athleticism being hyped up all offseason. On eleven carries, he ran for 100 yards and three touchdowns. The second one was sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on ten attempts. Love earned high praise from NFL scouts, calling him the best player on the field.
Budding Stars on Notre Dame Defense
The story of Notre Dame in 2024 centered around how far this defense could carry them. Coming into the season several of their position groupings ranked in the top ten. Plus two weeks into the season, it seemed like the hype was warranted for this defense. The win against Texas A&M can be attributed solely to the defense. They weren’t as dominant in the NIU loss but still put the Irish in a position to win.
After another dominant performance on Saturday, the talk has been about the potential future stars of the Irish defense having big games. One of the guys who had a breakout performance was freshman safety Kennedy Urlacher. Son of former NFL Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, Kennedy showed he could be as dominant as his dad was. He had three tackles, two of which were solo. He also got involved in the pass coverage, deflecting a pass.
However, the breakout star was defensive lineman Boubcar Traore. Traore had another big game racking up two solo tackles and a sack. He also had a pick-six returned for 34 yards. An impressive stat line for a sophomore lineman. Traore has been the biggest surprise and positive for the Irish this season. He was one of the lone bright spots in the loss to NIU. If he can continue this hot stretch, he’ll be a focal point of this defense for years to come.
Brian Germinaro is a sportswriter for Belly Up Sports. Follow him on Twitter/X for more sports coverage and Belly Up Sports for even more college football content. Feature image credit: Icon Sportswire.
