Purdue @ #12 Notre Dame '06: Games Notes // UHND.com

Purdue @ #12 Notre Dame Games Notes

I’ll get right to the bullets, but before I do I just want to say Notre Dame really needed this strong performance from their running game this week and they got it. With a real soft spot in the schedule coming up, I believe Darius Walker will get into a rhythm and flirt with 1,000 yards again this year. I know it’s been beaten into your heads, but if Notre Dame takes care of business and wins these next couple of games, they will go into California with 1 loss and a possible BCS championship bid on the line. I still have hope, which is something I could not say 2 weeks ago after the loss to Michigan.

Darrin Walls had a nice little kick return to start the game, he showed very nice vision.
Darius Walker got nailed out of bounds by a Purdue defender in the 1st quarter and like a team with class, Notre Dame did not fight and try to go after the player that did it. Because the Irish kept their cool, they got 15 extra yards and did not commit an offsetting penalty. Take some notes John L.
Freshmen George West showed us the explosiveness we all know he has on the end around for the touchdown. Great play call on the fake to Walker, as he got the football the previous 6 plays before that.
Great to see Weis pound the ball on the first drive. He threw just once and that was a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage.
Burkhart was on in kickoff duty for the first kickoff, and hit a line drive to the 5-yard line.
Travis Thomas was out of action for this one and was replaced by Brockington; Darrin Walls also got the start for injured Ambrose Wooden.
The Notre Dame defense did exactly what it needed to do following the Irish’s first offensive scoring drive. They held Purdue to a 3 and out consisting of a 1 yard pass, 1 yard run, and an overthrow which actually looked had it been thrown on the money, Walls would have been burned for a touchdown, but let’s let that slide.
David Bruton was brilliant on ND’s first punt of the ball game in coverage, closing in on the returning and just destroying him as soon as his hands hit the ball.
Walls was beaten badly by Lymon a few times, Purdue made it a point to go after the freshmen.
Once again, Walls bit on a fake screen leaving his man all alone for a 23-yard gain in the 1st quarter.
On the Purdue 1st touchdown drive, Curtis Painter looked like an absolute stud, hitting his receivers with razor blade accuracy and exposing Walls on a number of occasions.
Ryan Harris and Dan Santucci opened up a hole Weis himself could have ran through on the Walker 1st quarter touchdown run.
It looked like in the 1st quarter that Purdue was so concerned about getting beat deep that they let guys like McKnight, Carlson, and even Walker wide open underneath. Quinn took advantage of what the defense gave him.
Burkhart was replaced on the 2nd kickoff but eventually returned to kickoff duty. I’m seeing a KOS by committee in this game.
As I was watching Purdue’s 3rd drive of the game, I really started noticing how fast they were. From Cory Sheets to Lymon, to Keller, and even their offensive line, this is a very athletic team.
12-7 run-pass ratio fro the Irish in the 1st quarter.
Brady Quinn has a large role in how successful the draws are for this Notre Dame team. He does a great job of faking the pass and obviously works on it.
After the 3rd Irish touchdown drive, I started reazling how dominant the Notre Dame offensive line could be. Quinn was not touched for the better half of the game, and although Purdue racked up 4 sacks by the time it was all said and done, the Irish controlled the line for most of the ball game.
Terrail Lambert continued his tare in the 2nd quarter, forcing and recovering a Purdue fumble while they were marching into Irish territory.
The fake field goal was the perfect call for the situation. Carlson chipped in with a great block. Between that and the fake punt call a few weeks ago, it shows that Weis isn’t afraid to get creative with things.
Lymon against Walls in the first half = 4 catches 166 yards and a touchdown.
Hate to give up that late half touchdown, instead of sending Purdue into the locker room down 3 TD’s, they sent them in down just 2 TD’s and receiving in the 2nd half. Luckily it did not come back to bite us.
Quinn threw to 5 different receivers in the 1st half.
Walker did not have a 100-yard performance coming into this game, and rushed for 103 yards in the first half.
Purdue WR Greg Orton dropped a would be first down on Purdue’s first drive of the 2nd half on 3rd and 2…this killed their momentum that was left over from the late 2nd quarter touchdown.
After that drop, ND took the ball downfield, converted 2 3rd downs, and the Boilermakers went from potentially cutting the lead down to 7, to being down 3 touchdowns again at 35-14.
Again, on Quinn’s 2nd touchdown pass of the day he had all afternoon to throw the ball and used that time to find a wide-open Rhema McKnight.
On the 5th scoring drive, Notre Dame remained balanced with 4 passes and 4 runs. Hopefully they are making a habit out of it.
Because of the rough game, Walls was losing some playing time as the game wore on, and fellow freshmen Raeshon McNeil and junior Leo Ferrine were seeing extended PT.
The rain REALLY started coming down with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
I’ll say his name again, Terrail Lambert made another great play on 4th and 9 from inside the Irish red-zone, preventing a Purdue touchdown and keep the game at 21 points.
Rhema McKnight had 9 catches, a career high, through just 2 and a half quarters. He’d finish the game with 10 catches for 120 yards.
Heads up acting job by Geoff Price to draw the running into the kicker penalty during a 3rd quarter ND punt. This turned 4th and 6 into 4th and 1, and enabled the Irish to go for and convert the 4th down.
Walker had 28 carries through just 3 quarters. Again, let’s make a habit out of this.
For as good as Ryan Harris is, Purdue DE Anthony Spencer just mauled him on a few occasions. Spencer is just amazing, period.
Abiramiri was causing fits for Purdue all day, just blowing things up in the backfield.
What a weak attempt at trickery by the Purdue coaching staff, and an even weaker acting job by Curtis Painter on that 3rd and inches play in the 4th. Painter made believe he was calling an audible, with dramatic shoulder shrugs and hand movements, just to see the ball snapped elsewhere. I saw it coming the whole way, and so did the Irish defense as the play was stuffed for a loss of 4.
Painter’s 2nd touchdown pass to Lymon will be highly underrated by the media. Painter had an offensive linemen lying on his foot and still delivered a perfect ball to Lymon for a TD. It’s amazing how much Painter has improved the last year.
Another great play was made by Lambert, this time on the punt coverage team as he downed a punt inside the 10-yard line after knocking it out of the end zone.
Ginn, Manningham, and now Lymon. Lymon had over 230 yards receiving in this game, the most ever by a Notre Dame opponent.
It’s the end of the game, and I just want to say that Terrail Lambert is the most improved player this season along with Chinedum Ndukwe…what a change 2 weeks makes. I remember Manningham just blowing past him for another touchdown…and that was probably a wake up call for Lambert.
4-1, will be moving up in the polls this week with the Virginia Tech lose. The team that beat Tech? Georgia Tech. That’s right, the horrible team that the Irish could just barley squeak out a win against at their stadium. God that GT win makes Notre Dame look a whole lot better.