Notre Dame squeaked out a win over unranked Purdue on Saturday with a last second 27 yard field goal. Here are some initial notes from the victory.
Offense
- Notre Dame’s offensive line got blown off the line of scrimmage like we haven’t seen in some time today by a talented Purdue defensive line. The interior of the line especially was really taken advantage of by the Purdue front and it would not surprise me much to see some competition at right guard this week. Mike Golic had his roughest outing as a starter today.
- Zack Martin had a day he will most likely want to forget. Martin had a needless personal foul and a false start and had an illegal hands to the face penalty declined – not the kind of production Brian Kelly and OL coach Harry Hiestand expect from their best lineman.
- Everett Golson played a pretty good game for his second career start. He was a little gun shy at times and it cost Notre Dame points, but that is something that will be corrected with time as he gets more comfortable in his role. He finished 21 of 31 for 289 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Golson had a really bad fumble inside his own 20 and took too many sacks this week though.
- I was expecting the worst when I saw Tommy Rees warming up, but the junior quarterback played valiantly off the bench and led Notre Dame on the game winning scoring drive with a couple clutch throws. Rees wasn’t perfect, but he was good enough to get Notre Dame into chip shot field goal range and that was all Notre Dame needed. Hats off to him for being able to come off the bench and do so.
- One of those clutch throws went to 5th year senior John Goodman whose only catch on the day was the 3rd down conversion from Rees on the game winning drive.
- Not sure why Robby Toma isn’t involved in the game plan more. Notre Dame is struggling to replace the production of Michael Floyd and all #9 does everytime he get the ball is make plays.
- Tyler Eifert is by far the best offensive player on this team and he showed why again. He was a beast before getting hurt and could have had better numbers if Golson was on point a few more times. Eifert apparently suffered a slight concussion after throwing a block for Golson though and had to sit out most of the 4th quarter.
- Troy Niklas meanwhile looks like he could be the next in line of tight ends after Eifert leaves for the NFL. Niklas has done nothing but get wide open the last two weeks and make plays when given the chance. He could have had an even bigger game if Golson were able to connect with him on an easy touchdown and if Rees would have thrown it to his proper shoulder on the last drive of the game.
- Davaris Daniels has the looks of the next #1 WR for Notre Dame, but he got banged up too. Luckily Kelly said after the game that it doesn’t look too series. Daniels has shown great hands and with his size he could be any quarterback’s best friend. He ended with 4 catches for 70 yards.
- Disappointed we didn’t see a deep play called for Chris Brown or any plays at all called for Davonte Neal. A lot was said about them during fall camp but neither has been worked into the game plan the last two weeks.
- Not surprised to see Notre Dame struggle to run as much as they did today knowing that Purdue was going to be looking to stuff the run. Expect to see a lot more of that until the passing game starts to click more.
Defense
- Stephon Tuitt is a beast. Not sure must else needs to be said here. He was a monster again this week and is going to be the first Notre Dame defensive lineman to have his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft since Renaldo Wynn.
- Louis Nix is a beast as well. Irish Chocolate was a disruptive force out there today blowing up plays and knocking down passes at the line. Nix is going to continue to get better and better and could find himself a very high draft pick as well if he continues his progression.
- Notre Dame’s linebackers are not strong tacklers in space other than Manti Te’o right now. Dan Fox and Carolo Calabrese both missed a couple of key tackles. Wouldn’t surprise me if there was some competition at both spots throughout the fall.
- The Irish secondary was actually much better this week. There were still some plays where the inexperience was on display, but coverage wise, the secondary looked much better this week. Tackling wise though, the secondary had a lot a of issues and will likely be running through a few tackling drills this week. Overall though Kei’Varae Russell and Elijah Shummate both showed some promise.
- Nice job by Bennett Jackson collected the first two interceptions of his career. Jackson got caught out of position on Purdue’s first touchdown of the game, but overall he played well. Jackson’s 2 picks allowed Notre Dame to finish +1 in turnover margin and they now sit at +4 on the season. At this time last year Notre Dame was -7.
- Really liked what I saw out of Sheldon Day. Looks like Notre Dame has another young, talented defensive lineman on their hands in Day. Not sure where Kona Schwenke was today, but was surprised not to hear his name called more.
- Prince Shembo played a really good game and showed the pass rush skills that we have been waiting to see since his freshman year. Shembo took some great angles that prevented himself for getting blocked and forced Purdue quarterbacks back into pressure. It might not show up in the stat sheet, but Shembo had a big impact on the game.
Special Teams
- Kyle Brindza had a rough start to the day, but rebounded nicely by connecting on field goals of 30 and 27 yards – that latter being the game winner.
- Hats off to Ben Turk. I’ve been critical of the Notre Dame punting game over the last few seasons, but Turk may have had his best day as a collegiate punter today with an average of 43.6 yards on 5 kicks with a long of 53 yards.
- Davonte Neal will most likely get a talking to from Mike Elston for some of his decisions, but it does look like it could just be a matter of time before he gets loose on a return.
JDH,
If we go 9-3 and win a bowl game — any bowl game –it will be a successful season. That’s something positive to build on. It will also allow us to keep our current recruits plus add a few more, esp. DBs Alexander and Willis.
I am pretty damn happy with the win. As some have stated that was a loss in the last few years. Hell the last 10-15 years! Anyone catch the kansas game? Kansas snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against rice. Blew a fourth quarter lead, does any of this sound familiar? Vintage weis. Anyway back to the game. We were down to 3rd stringers at some positions. KLM and slaughter were both gone by halftime, and those guys are the most experienced players on the defense. Brindza is the #2 kicker. Eifert left the game in the 3rd quarter. Daniels left the game. We would have two freshman corners on the field at times with russell and shumate. Shumate looks like he could be a good one btw. Guys like springman, goodman, farley had to step up and make plays.
The depth to win football games is starting to show. This team is way ahead of where they were when kelly got here. No reason to think they won’t keep improving. Lets let the season play out and see where we are at the end. This year is going to show a lot about this team.
GO IRISH
Granted the win may not have looked as good as we would have liked to have seen it (and boy did I scream when i saw TR come in, but, he did what an experienced past starting QB should have been able to do regarding his role in the game-that much I do expect). It’s one game at a time. Golson’s 2nd game play was right about what I thought would occur. The guy somewhat reminds me of a Charlie Ward. Secondary played better than what I thought and the OL played less physical than I thought which showed why the run game was not impressive at all, but, PU is a bit better than what I gave them credit for. When Golson continues to get a hankering for this offense, it will be speeded up from a game management point of view, which will start showing the BK offense people are truly expecting. Learn from the mistakes, get people healthy, focus on fundementals and carry out the game plan. My only concern is EG may have a more serious hand injury, hopefully that’s not the case, and he will play this weekend.
We are 2-0 for the first time since 08. Doesn’t matter if you win by a mile or an inch, a win is a win. I just want to see continued improvement and beat teams you should be beating.
Go ND
i am just delineating what i see as self motivation versus kelly’s inability to get them to a much higher level. notre dame our mother.
they looked uninspired, and less than overpowering, thank god the game was at home, kelly still cant seem to motivate the team to move to new heights, the win was a testament to the team’s spirit, not kelly’s motivation. the schedule gets really rough from here on. unless they rise to the occasion BIG TIME and crush a ranked opponent it will be a repeat of last year. god protect us.
Uninspired? I strongly disagree. I haven’t seen that kind of intensity in a long time. Undisciplined and lots of room for improvement? You bet.
Motivate the team to new heights???
Unless you expect the team to be 3-0 after two games, I’m not sure anyone knows what you are talking about.
Ha!
This team is going against a defense that has not allowed a offensive TD t his year. If they play like that on Saturday night consider it a loss. They also are going to see a very motivated MSU considering they smacked them in the mount last year at home.
Here is the only way ND wins on Saturday night. Spread the field and put their LB’s is space. Make them defend Toma, Neal, Carlisle (if healthy), Riddick and other small quick receivers in space. Golson needs to get the ball out quick. Once MSU goes into their nickle package then run the ball on them. The defensive front needs to stop the run and make MSU beat them with the pass. The secondary needs to show continued improvement.
I see the problem being that BK won’t spread the field and will try and smack them in the mouth with his line and that won’t work. MSU will come out with an 8 man front and say go ahead Golson and beat us with your arm.
As far as the win is concerned. Many people on this board will not accept ND being a good team. ND right now is a team trending up, but not a BCS team by any stretch. This team would get hammered by LSU and Alabama, who I think are in a class by themselves. If the ball falls right and the stars a line they have a shot at a 10 win season. I think again this will at best be an 8-4 team with this schedule. I think BK is the right guy by building a solid front seven on defense and a solid O-line. The problem with Weis was no defensive front 7. BK needs to address the defensive backs in this class. He recruits smart and well. He needs to begin spreading teams out and utilizing his speed to beat some of these Big Ten defenses.
Bama and LSU are in a class by themselves because they’re allowed to do what they have to in order to be that good. That’s why the polls are meaningless, they cannot truly compare one program with another. The 2A allows SEC over signing and is intentionally kept weak in order to not do its job. Oregon is still allowed to take the field despite an extensive pay for play scheme. Public unis can use taxpayer subsidies to build out facilities that are grand in scale. There cannot be a comparison with teams that attempt to do things right with those that have no intention of doing so.
Again, ripper, this isn’t the reality. When the polls say ND is # 20 and Alabama is # 1 there’s a comparison that’s being made. That’s the reality of the situation, no matter how much we may dislike it. ND plays private and public schools. It has for a long time. None of the inequities you point out are new. In the past ND was just better than Alabama, which has always been an SEC program.
Let’s talk about how things really are instead of how we wish they were. The reality is that ND plays D1 football and not in the Ivy League, ripperduck. But that’s not news either.
Sorry for the typos and poor English but I just woke up!
I stand by my points, however.
This wasn’t the most impressive win I’ve ever seen from ND. But I did like a few things. In year’s past, this would have been a 20-17 loss. Simply put, ND hasn’t been able to finish a game in a long time. Purdue is better than people think and I expect them in a bowl game this year. Second, Golson is the real deal. Learning? Yes. But before you criticize him, I suggest looking back at Jimmy Clausen’s first few starts (horrible) and even Quinn. Neither were exceptionally impressive when they first started. In Golson, I see so much of Troy Smith at Ohio State. He’s going to be a good one.
Our defense is a strength, make no mistake about that. I was very surprised to see the secondary step up as it did. What will be crucial against MSU is the offensive line performing better. Granted, Purdue has 2-3 future NFL lineman on their team, but going from 293 yards rushing to 50 something is unacceptable. They need at least 100 on the ground against MSU to keep it competitive.
This team didn’t panic when Purdue tied the game.
They won without KLM in the second half.
They won without Cierre Wood
They won with Eifert on the sidlines for the 4th quarter.
They won with a kicker who came through in the clutch even though he has missed some makeable kicks agianst Navy and eariler in this game.
They won with a young secondary.
They put together an outstanding 2 minute drill with a QB who hasn’t been given many reps in practice and was booed by his own fans.
They won dispite the penilties.
They won dispite a late turnover.
They won dispite not being able to run the ball.
They won dispite a poor day by the O-Line.
They won without Micheal Floyd there to bail them out.
They won with a young QB who was pressured all day, playing in only his second game, and his first home game, and made one hell of play on his touchdown run.
They drove the ball with 2 minutes left and no timeouts.
They made it a total team effort with the likes of John Goodman, Robbie Toma, TJ Jones and Troy Niklas all stepping up.
They now know that with time running down and the game on the line, they have the tools and ability to get it done.
Some may say it was a bad day or an ugly win.
I say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Very true! 2-0 is the best we could possibly be right now. We have a huge 2 game stretch before the bye week to set us up for the rest of the year. My guess is we split the next 2 with a night road game at MSU probably a little much for EG at this point. Typically MSU plays nobody until our game but this year they got a great test against Boise which probably helps them out.
I agree 100%. Great post.
Absolutely right Shazam. Sometimes you have to finish ugly, but it only counts that you FINISH! When is the last time we’ve seen hitting like Slaughter put on Purdue’s receiver? Or a QB completely sell out for the running TD like Golson did over the pylon? Yes, they have alot of work and alot of improvements to make. But it was Game 2 of a very difficult season! ND would have lost that game last year, or the year before, etc. etc.
I see a team that may be slowly changing from an organization that EXPECTS TO LOSE, to an organization that KNOWS THEY CAN WIN TOGETHER.
I admit it: I was TERRIFIED when I saw Rees being put in the game. But he got the job done when it counted. I give credit not just to him, but per his own admission, to the whole team supporting him and believing in him.
Now how do we improve that offensive line for MSU?! Back to work…
I saw a different Tommy Rees.
He quickly read the defense,
identified the proper reciever, took the snap, one step, and fired the football on time and on target.
I don’t care how immobile a QB is, if he can read, take the snap and fire that quickly, there isn’t a pass rush anywhere that is going to get to him.
Now if TR gets a chance in the red zone where the defense only rushes 2 or 3 and puts 8 or 9 back in coverage and TR makes a good decision and doesn’t force it for a turnover, I’ll be really impressed.
For some of yass, listen folks, this ain’t god damn Olympic figure skating, we don’t get points for style. Purdue is better than advertised, solid with the dline, okay with the oline, and they made it a better game than some people thought they would. Keep in mind that for the Boilermakers, this may be the most important game of the year. None of the other matchups will allow them to get a national broadcast. This is the only one, so they were far more motivated than many of us realized. Purdue hands out scholarships, they have a demanding S&C program, their coaches are competent and they watch tape, just like ND. Be happy we got past a highly motivated opponent which is better than last year….
College football is a lot more like figure skating than the NFL. Style points do count. Arkansas doesn’t drop off the poll map if it loses to Alabama. Lose ULM and you haave a historic drop from the polls.
I can’t believe anyone who was watched college football for any extent of time doesn’t realize that style points matter when it comes to the polls! Why do you think powerhouses schedule patsies? For big wins and style points (unless you lose or don’t win big and the style points work against you, but style points are at play either way!).
What doesn’t matter is discussing style points when it comes to ND football. We’re so far away from having to worry about style points it’s not funnty. We’re lucky juts to win for now. I for one want to see ND not just beat a Purdue team Alabama beats with its third stringers in a nail biter at home. I don’t want to have to read excuses/justifications from a fan base clearly settling for less each and every season, tolerating more and more mediocrity. That may be what some of you loyalists may have be used to and settled for. But not me!
I want to see a ND team that doesn’t burn TOs because its O at times looks like a Chinese fire drill. (BTW: One day burning TOs will come back to cost us!) I want to see a team that beats the Purdues of the world easily despite jetlag or whatever other rationale may be made. (I’m at least glad that unlike some here BK and his staff didn’t use that as an excuse prior to the game!)
I want to see ND great again and not merely good. No excuses. No justifications.
Are we or are we not ND?!
SFR I agree. But I think expecting the level of excellence you are talking about takes time. Given how far ND has fallen for 18 years, there isn’t a switch that can be thrown. I think it will continue to be a long, bumpy road back to the top- usually is. I’m not making excuses for mediocrity, simply stating that you don’t go from mediocrity to excellence overnight. We’ve sucked for a long time.
How much more time, JDH?! How much longer do we hear about give it more time?! Wait til’ next year?! And in between make excuses, one after another. BK’s been here for going on 3 seasons and we still see the O look like a Chinese fire drill requiring one TO after another. TOs are precious at the end of halves and games. I don’t want to settle for mediocrity. I’d rather see ND give up football if it can’t return to glory than see it become truly irrelevant or sacrifice its standards to win.
I don’t want to be having this same conversation a deacde from now about how we need more time or wait until next year. I really think we’re becoming the friendly confines of S. Bend.
@SFR:
To be honest I really don’t know. I wish I had the wisdom to say but I don’t. I share your frustrations- believe me. I will say that I think a 9-3 2012 season and a BCS win would be considered “successful”, given how far we’ve fallen. With a piecemeal secondary and toughest schedule out there, that will not be an easy task. But if the intensity keeps up, that will be a huge improvement in and of itself. Very different from the tepid, confused, soft teams of the recent past.
If you’re going to compare college football to NFL, then start paying your players, stop demanding that they go to class, allow them to sleep in and have agents determine the hows and why they play. Then and only then does what you post make any sense. Style points are meaningless when CFB is as skewed as it is to benefit one level of team as opposed to another. The corruption and subjectivity of polls is why a team as decrepit as Savannah State is allowed to take the field. Why you have pay for play games. But that has nothing to do with teams such as ND which doesn’t necessarily go that route. When you play the toughest schedule in D-1 football, with a program which is demanding that players attend class towards a degree, then you can claim what you’re saying….
ripperduck,
I agree with you. But the reality of college football disagrees with the both of us and all other ND fans!
I wish ND could play on an even playing field with the Alabamas of the world. That’s just not reality. I wish style points didn’t count in the polls or that FSU couldn’t schedule Savanah St. But that’s not reality, style points count as do cheap wins against over-matched opponents.
That’s the reality of college football, ripperduck. Like you I wish things were different. I’d like to see a sea-change in the NCAA and have academics (i.e., legit academics) factored in to the polls as well as legit strength of schedule. But don’t hold your breath.
If we can’t live by things as they are and still expect football excellence from ND, then perhaps we should just go play in the Ivy League, where style points don’t count, where everyone plays on the same level and by the same rules, were academics come first, etc.
Just don’t expect ND to be relevant in the Ivy League or have a TV deal with NBC.
Just me personally, but I think Purdue, with their defensive line, would have given Alabama a much toughter game than Michigan did.
Also see where Wisconsin fired their offensive line coach after just two games.
Interesting.
Charlie Weis and Kansas lost to Rice. I only expected the Jayhawks to win 2 games and Rice was one of them.
Can you say 1-11?
#6 FSU failed to beat the spread at home agianst 1-AAA Savannah St. Of course the 70.5 points given to Savannah St was a NCAA record.
The Game was called on account of bad weather at the end of the third quarter.
I heard FSU paid some “Hundreds of Thousands” of dollars to Savnn. St for their paticipation in the game.
Hmmm… Schedule a complete nobody, pay hundreds of thousands for the sure win, play only 3 quarters, and keep you national ranking.
Makes you wonder doesn’t it?
I’m not a FSU fan by any means but they had to scramble very late to fill in this spot on the schedule after WVU bailed on this game when they switched to the Big 12.
Maybe Carlo Calabrese can have “His People” play pass defense for him.
@SFRob,
I agree with you completely. Glad for the win but not enthused about where we are currently. But there are some positives and some real surprises.
I was completely surprised by the offense. The run game was non existent. I expected at least 150 on the ground and for the line to move a few guys. We lost the slugfest. I was equally surprised at the passing game. Godson needs a lot of work but was good enough. He does look young and most of his mistakes were from that being his second game. We will see more of Rees in situations.
The defense also surprised. The secondary looked much better. I am still suspicious but they show signs of being competitive. The rest of the defense was solid but less spectacular than expected.
So we still are not sure what we have. Win or lose, much will be understood against MSU. I just want Michigan. They are still overrated. I cannot believe Brady Hoke isn’t the laughing stock of coaches, especially with all the crap laid on Weis. It is time to get back the lead in wins against the Wolverines. Gotta start now.
I really like Golson’s play overall. The only thing I found disturbing was what appeared to be complete confusion on offense. It seemed like he was so focused on not making mistakes that he burned the play clock consistently by checking, double checking triple checking the sidelines for the play. That was very unnerving to me. He really needs to have a take charge presence on the field. Once he gets that down, he’ll be quite deadly. In his defense, that could have been to poorly delivered play calling coming from the sidelines. Either way, it’s totally unacceptable. Some of our line problems could have been from that shared confusion. Hopefully, the rust has been gleaned from the Golden Dome and next week we run like a well-oiled machine! Bring on Michigan State. GO IRISH!
First, I’m not going to make excuses. A wins a win but there’s nothing to brag about here. Beat Alabama 20-17in Alabama, that’s something. Beat Purdue 20-17 at S. Bend, whatever the reasons/excuses, that’s mediocre.
Having said that, there are positives. Someone said this was the kind of game ND has lost over the last few years. True enough. So winning this kind of game is welcome. The play of our young players is inspiring.
Finally, there’s no QB controversy. BK has a good plan with his QB depth. Golson is the starter for now. Period. Hendrix is the next man up if Golson goes down long term. IF Golson struggles or gets hurtin-game or the team needs a spark or in a must win 2-minute situation, the TR is the man. Keil redshirts and develops to compete for #1 (#2 worst-case) next season.
Absolutely Delta,
2-0. Right where we need to be. This game seemed to be a combination of jetlag/fatigue, emotional hangover, and a purdue team that is much improved from a season ago. All the injuries i think are an indicator of the fatigue. They were dropping like flies out there.
One thing that really disgusted me was the crowd booing rees as he came onto the field. Ridiculous! I have been very critical of rees but i have always said if he is the one under center i will support him. As should every ND fan. This is a 19/20 yr old kid that you are relying on to win the game for you with under 2 minutes to play and you greet him with a shower of boos?! This isn’t the nfl, its not acceptable to boo a kid just because you don’t want him to play. My respect for tommy jumped a few notches. Way to show some guts kid! Get booed by your own fans and then put your team in the best situation to win. guts Guts GUTS.
Hopefully none of the injuries are serious because we are going to need all hands on deck next saturday.
About the decision to play rees, yea i cringed, but i think it was the right call. We had no timeouts and rees has been there done that. We needed to win that game(obviously) and tommy was the guy for the job. I liked that kelly put the controversy to bed before he even left the field. He has made his commitment to golson and appears, for now, to be sticking to it.
One last thing, TUITT!!!! Holy cow he is a monster. Aaron who? He is showing why he was projected as the better player. Glad he is on our team.
Great comment Jtrain! I thought the booing was ridiculous as well.
I was frustrated during the game as well but think about how we all felt after two games last year. There are going to be tough games every year. Much better to be ND today than Arkansas or Wisconsin.
2-0 is the best we could be. Now that being said we clearly have a lot of work to do to be able to beat a good MSU team on the road.
What we saw yesterday is what I posted several weeks ago when I talked about forgetting about “Returning to Glory” and start thinking about “Arriving”. This team is on a path to “Arriving” as one of the top teams in the country.
ND is very young in a number of important areas, yet found a way to beat a very “experienced” Purdue team. Several of ND’s top players were hurt yesterday, yet the back-ups held their ground and were able to survive. This is a game that ND would have lost over the last few years. When you see teams like Arkansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State lose in a week where there were supposed to be no upsets, it just goes to show that anything can happen in this game.
I know there are a lot of people who are going to start the whole QB controversy and this is destroying Golson’s confidence. First of all, Kelly said Golson is the starter, so there is no controversy. I don’t blame Kelly with going with Rees because Golson hurt his hand and Rees is better at recognizing defenses and can run the 2 minute drill better due to experience. As far as Golson’s confidence, it would have been much worse if ND would have lost.
I do not understand most fans, ND WON THE GAME, who cares how it happened!!!! This is a team sport and ND showed that they are not a bunch of individuals, they are a team and a lot of people contributed to this victory. That is going to be an important message going into the rest of the season.
Next week is going to be tough, on the road against a potential Top 10 team. ND will be underdogs and have nothing to lose because most people chalked this one up as a loss before the season even started. It is just another step in the journey as ND continues it’s climb into the elite teams of college football.
Gotta admit my confidence is shaken. On the plus side, this is a game we would have lost last year. Good to see some fight in the Irish.
Secondary did play better than expected. But they have a long way to go and a short time to get there. Sparty is gonna eat our qb and run game alive if the o line doesn’t fix itself. Hoping it was jet lag and underestimating Purdue.
Golson played pretty well. While I also shivered a bit when I saw Rees, it made sense. Golson had time management problems all game. Even with Ress limits as an athlete, he was best suited to run the 2 minute with no time outs. Just glad Kelly didn’t get Tulsa fever and took the win.
Lots of work to do. But 2 and 0 is as good as we could be right now. Go irish.
callabrese sucks and fox is terrible….why can’t they find a linebacker to play next to Teo. Watch the tape…callabrese is out of position all game. These two clowns are the worst defensive players out there.
Mike Golic Jr., come on man you’re better than this!! Right??
Two of EG’s sacks were completely missed blocks up the middle with zero reaction time. Cave guilty on one and Golic on the other. Lots of obvious work to do with a superabundance of freshman on the field coupled with many inexperienced starters also. Not going to be hypercritical at this point. The next game will determine if we are capable of shoring up the negatives.