While most are still low on Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish returned to the win column on Saturday with a 66-7 clobbering of the Purdue Boilermakers. They looked like a completely different team from the mess on the field in Week 2, though many are still skeptical about where they stand after such a fall from grace.
For Purdue, the defeat marked a new type of valley that will leave the team with plenty to correct as they continue reviewing the film and make the adjustments needed to ensure there isn’t anything remotely close to this poor of a performance again as the season goes on.
Here’s a look at four things we took away from both sides and what it could mean for the Fighting Irish moving forward after so many knocked them after their loss to Northern Illinois.
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1. Notre Dame gets back on track despite unsettling Week 2 loss
There was nothing good about the upset loss Notre Dame suffered to NIU, who the Fighting Irish themselves paid over $1 million to come play to get that type of embarrassing outcome. One of the most important things in football, though, is the 24-hour rule, win or lose, meaning to forget about the previous game on the schedule within one day.
It is also to play the next snap and move forward through adversity with that type of mindset. Notre Dame showed confidence, rhythm, and improvement after a game with disappointing play in many aspects and a non-functional-looking offense.
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2. Riley Leonard bounces back as Fighting Irish rule the ground game
Leonard came under fire after he performed below standard in the loss to the Huskies. He was 20-for-32 passing, throwing for 163 yards with two interceptions and one rushing touchdown. In this one, Leonard was 11-for-16 passing with 112 yards through the air, also rushing for 100 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries as the Fighting Irish were able to do what they wanted to at will on the ground. Leonard needs to improve his downfield accuracy, but his mobility and what he was able to do in the short and intermediate passing game were an asset.
The Boilermakers had no response in this area (or much of any area) in the loss. Notre Dame gashed Purdue, rushing for 352 yards as a team with six rushing touchdowns. Of which 278 of those yards and five of those touchdowns came in the first half alone.
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3. Hudson Card falters without proper support
Card didn’t have his best game, but a lot of that had to do with the fact he didn’t have the proper support around him, as the quarterback was 11-for-24 passing for 124 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Previously seen as a potential darkhorse type of prospect who could rise through the ranks after an exciting Week 1 performance, Card’s offensive line and supporting cast didn’t help him to engineer much of anything on Saturday.
The Boilermakers managed a mere 162 yards of total offense for the entirety of the game.
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4. Purdue reaches new low
This is one of the worst games in recent history for the Boilermakers, especially considering that only time will tell the actual quality of Notre Dame’s formerly highly-touted football team that was given a chance at the beginning of the season to make the College Football Playoff. That’s in the air and will only be determined by how well NIU performs down the schedule and how the Fighting Irish fare over the same time period.
Regardless, the Boilermakers finished at the bottom of every statistical category of note that could be imagined, and need to go back to the drawing board in a big way as they prepare to face the Oregon State Beavers on the road.
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