Fade An Overrated Notre Dame Team

Notre Dame vs. Purdue, 3:30 ET

As the air starts to get more crisp, the weather starts changing, and the leaves start to fall, we will fully enter the prime season of College Football. However, we've already seen teams make adjustments and stories change from just a few weeks ago. Some teams look like they will struggle to remain relevant this season and others are putting together some surprising efforts so far. I can't say there was a much bigger shock than what we saw last Saturday as Notre Dame lost at home to Northern Illinois University. Now they look to get back on track against Purdue, can the Fightin' Irish pull it off?

Let's start with Week 1. Notre Dame opened the season with a game against Texas A&M. That was a tough game and one that everyone should've expected a bit of struggle from the Irish. They weren't great in it - the offense was bad in the first half, getting just two field goals, and going into halftime tied at six. In the second half, the Irish finally found some momentum and put together a touchdown drive in the third and fourth quarter. Both of those drives were capped off with rushing touchdowns, and both were 20+ yard rushes for the score. In their game against Northern Illinois, the offense once again looked lost. Their completions were short and they rarely even challenged the defense downfield. Their best drive came to start the 3rd quarter. They were lucky to get even remotely close enough to try for a field goal to end the game. It was blocked, but it was 62-yards away, so it was unlikely to find its way through the uprights anyway. Riley Leonard looked awful in the game, going just 20-for-32 with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The defense looked lost and allowed multiple big plays. They did finally start to contain the rushing attack as the game went on, but it wasn't enough. Purdue isn't a great team, but they are better than Northern so this should still be a bit concerning for Notre Dame to see if they can rebound.

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - AUGUST 31: Riley Leonard #13 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish warms up prior to the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field on August 31, 2024 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images)

We examined Notre Dame's games this season, so let's take a look at what Purdue has done this year. Purdue played Indiana State and that was their only game. They've had two weeks to prepare for this one since they didn't play last week. In their only game, the Boilermakers looked great, scoring 49 points and putting up a shutout. After scoring just one touchdown in the first quarter, they put up two in each of the final three quarters. Hudson Card looked amazing, tossing four touchdowns and completing 24 of 25 passes. Notre Dame's secondary and their defensive line will not give him as easy of a day. However, the Boilermakers quarterback can get the ball out quickly and attack them on all three levels if he has time. The running game isn't great for Purdue, but Notre Dame also may be more concerned with the passing game and allow some opportunities there.

We've already see some movement in this game - the Fighting Irish dropped from the #5 team in the nation to #18, but more importantly, the line has already sightly moved in favor of the Boilermakers. I want to avoid overreacting to a bad game from Notre Dame, but I really don't like their offense. They look like they are lost and Riley doesn't look good right now. I'm going to take the 9.5 points in this one with Purdue. 

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