The sixth annual installment of the Shamrock Series will get
underway tomorrow night when the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (2-0, 11th
ranked) take on the Purdue Boilermakers (1-1) from Lucas Oil Stadium in
Indianapolis. While this game is at a “neutral” field, this is technically a
home game for the Irish and the crowd will heavily be in their favor. However,
no matter where the game is being played, Notre Dame would be substantial favorites
over a struggling Purdue program.
Offensively, Notre Dame should be able to continue the
success that they have had during the first two games of the year. Purdue has
allowed 72 combined points versus Western Michigan and Central Michigan, so it
would be safe to assume that the Irish will score a lot as well. If Purdue has
any chance of making this a close game, it will be because Notre Dame lets them
hang around too long. To avoid that and any possible hangover after the
Michigan win, I expect Brian Kelly to be very aggressive early on. I would like
to see the Irish come out throwing the football early and often while taking
shots deep down the field. Notre Dame has a plethora of wide receivers to
choose from, and I’m sure that Kelly will try to involve as many as he can
against a seemingly weaker opponent. Once the Irish build up a nice lead, then
it will be time for the running attack to put the game away. It would not surprise
me to see Greg Bryant, Tarean Folston, and Cam McDaniel all reaching double
digits in carries as Notre Dame should have the game in hand early in the second
half.
It is hard to imagine that Notre Dame can play any better
defensively than they did last week, but Purdue’s offense is certainly not as
explosive as Michigan’s. In fact, it is still unclear who will be under center
for the Boilermakers. Sophomore’s Danny Etling and Austin Appleby will both
likely see playing time tomorrow night, but Etling is expected to get the bulk
of the snaps. Etling has completed just 51.4 percent of his passes for 307
yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions after two weeks, but he did rush
for 53 yards on ten carries last week. Despite who is at quarterback, the Irish
defense should be just fine if they play like they have the first two weeks.
With several freshmen seeing more action last week, this defense should only
get better as the season progress. This week will be a perfect opportunity for
the younger players to gain more playing time and valuable experience before
the Irish start to play better opponents.
This one might be close for a quarter at most, but the Irish
should roll easily.
Prediction: Notre
Dame 45, Purdue 13
Twitter: @etichel07
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