- Nice, tough inside run by Armando Allen on 2nd and 1 to start the second quarter. Allen ran into a pile earlier but made a nice cut here and had one of the better runs we’ve seen out of him so far.
- Great to see the QB sneak working on short yardage situations again. This is a great looking drive so far, we need to put this ball in the end zone.
- Ugh… first and goal inside the 10 and we saw a near interception, a false start, two fade passes, and then of course a missed 31 yard field goal with a perfect snap and hold from Brandon Walker. Another trip into the red zone yields ZERO points.
- Notre Dame got a GIFT on the missed field goal by Purdue and did absolutely nothing with it other than return the favor and give Purdue a gift missed field goal.
- Very nice tackle by Robert Blanton will a receiver was trying to block him. Greg Orton was trying to block Blanton and he ran right through it and made the stop after a gain of three.
- Wow. After the great tackle by Blanton, the frosh gets his first career interception and makes an OUTSTANDING return for the touchdown. This kid is going to be a big time corner.
- The pass rush isn’t getting to Painter yet, but it is forcing some bad passes and John Ryan and Sergio Brown both have deflections at the line.
- 3rd and 10 at the 43 and Purdue converts AGAIN. The defense just can’t get off the field. They are forcing 3rd and long for Purdue, but Purdue just keeps converting. Drive ends with a touchdown for Purdue. If the defense continues to allow conversions like this on third down, Purdue is going to end up putting up a bunch of points.
- Golden Tate had a very quiet first half and missed a chance for a touchdown in the beginning of the quarter, but this time he comes down with the ball and ties the game with his 3rd touchdown of the game.
- With 2:28 to go and Purdue pinned deep in their own territory, the Irish defense has a real opportunity here to set up the Irish offense right before half.
- Both teams have had their chances in this half and both have missed a lot of potential big plays – picks, sacks, etc so 14-14 seems about what it should be like at half time.
- Notre Dame has had better success running the ball, but the passing game is clicking and should be featured in the second half.
1
Blanton is spectacular.