After narrowly escaping a crushing Pittsburgh defense only a week ago, the Irish offense left lingering questions and doubts about the future success of the team. On Saturday, the Irish responded with some resounding answers and new guidance for the remaining season.
On a cool, Indiana night the Fighting Irish blew away the competition by unloading a potent offensive spread on a weakened Purdue team. The game began quickly after cornerback Gary Gray picked off a Robert Marve pass minutes into the first quarter. The Irish would never look back. Two plays later, Tommy Rees would connect with Michael Floyd on a 35-yard pass to complete the score.
“Getting Mike Floyd the ball early on really gave us a lot of confidence” said Head Coach Brian Kelly. “Mike has to get the ball.”
For once this season the Irish who were not the ones committing turnovers. Following Saturday’s game, Notre Dame no longer leads the nation in turnovers committed. By holding onto the ball, the offense was able to acquire 551 yards of total offense. This marked the highest total since a 2009 win over Washington State (592 yards). Breaking down the numbers, the Irish had a good balance of rushing and passing yardage at 289 yards and 262 yards, respectively.
Sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees also seemed to find his footing throwing for three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Rees currently has 8 turnovers this season.
Notre Dame’s defense also stepped up their performance, holding Purdue to one touchdown that came late in the fourth quarter against a second-team squad. Defensive performance will likely be critical next week as the Irish face an Air Force offense that ranks third in the nation in rushing offense.
The Irish had an advantage of playing to a largely friendly crowd. Many Notre Dame fans and students made the two and a half hour drive down to West Lafayette to cheer on the Irish. The majority of the stadium notably filed out in the third quarter as Purdue fans decided against weathering the cold to cheer on the struggling Boilermakers.
The win was a much needed one for the Irish who now break the .500 win percentage for the first time this season. Notre Dame hopes to capitalize on this building momentum by bringing it into next weekend as they prepare to take on Air Force (3-1) at home.
Neeta Kamat is a senior accounting and anthropology major with sweet dance skills. Contact her nkamat1@nd.edu.
