Notre Dame Destroys Purdue: Instant Takeaways from Irish Rout of Boilers

How do you respond to getting upset by Northern Illinois?

By doing exactly that.

Somehow this game was bet all the way down to Notre Dame being just a seven-point favorite because of the lost faith in the team after last week.

Marcus Freeman, as he has done previously, had this team ready to go and respond in a massive way. As much as last week hurts and will be referenced the remainder of the season, praise is deserved for getting this team off the mat and showing up like it did Saturday.

Notre Dame Ran the Ball at Will

It didn't take long for Notre Dame to get going against Purdue, scoring on the fifth play from scrimmage on a 48-yard touchdown run by Jeremiyah Love in the first quarter. It was a sign of things to come for Notre Dame as the Irish ran the ball at will against the Boilermakers all afternoon.

In the NFL you can almost never get away with running the same two or three things without the defense adjusting and being able to stop it. That's not the case in college as Notre Dame did exactly that for the first half, rushing for 278 yards and five touchdowns in the first two quarters as a team.

Love, Riley Leonard, Jadarian Price. Notre Dame did what it wanted when it wanted against Purdue on the ground Saturday.

If I have one complaint about Notre Dame's run game it's that on the second possession, right after Love's touchdown run, he didn't get a touch. He's the kind of playmaker that it's hard to accept not getting the ball in the hands of as much as possible - not that it really mattered Saturday.

Notre Dame's Lack of Downfield Passing Game

Listen, Notre Dame's offense dominated about as much as an offense can dominate a game. However, it wasn't perfect.

Riley Leonard dominated in the run game and showed why Notre Dame was so high on his athleticism coming in. However, his ability to see downfield still leaves a lot to be desired, as does his accuracy throwing downfield.

Leonard has some Ian Book tendencies. I'm not anywhere near declaring a quarterback controversy yet but Steve Angeli's ability to see and deliver downfield was shown in the second half, although some of his other limitations were also on display.

If anything, I would have liked to see Leonard get a chance with no pressure to perform in the second half to especially work on attacking downfield, but I understand why that didn't happen.

Notre Dame Football Injuries Galore

As dominating of performance as Notre Dame had on Saturday at Purdue, it didn't come without significant injuries.

Starting offensive linemen Billy Schrauth and Ashton Craig were both rolled up on and exited the contest, quickly being ruled out for the day. Defensive lineman Jordan Botelho suffered a similar fate as he was carted off the field in the second quarter.

We will keep you posted at Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated as to any news that comes of these injuries and any others as they develop.

Notre Dame's Dominant Defensive Line

Notre Dame's defensive front absolutely obliterated Purdue up front Saturday afternoon. It finished with four sacks and allowed only 30 or so rushing yards all afternoon.

Purdue quarterback Hudson Card was uncomfortable from the start and it only got worse as the afternoon went on.

As dominating as Notre Dame's defense was, at no level was it more clear than up front where it simply manhandled Purdue's offensive line from jump.

Notre Dame Football Newcomers - First Impressions

In a blowout like Saturday's game was, it was only a matter of time until backups came in.

Although a broken coverage by him put Purdue in position to lose the goose egg, I can't help but have been impressed by defensive back Kennedy Urlacher. He's a sure tackler in space with a nose for the football and was certainly a pain in the side of the Boilermakers offense in the second half. It was a fantastic first impression by the son of the Hall of Famer.

We've seen Steve Angeli at quarterback before but there was some to like from him (some not to as well).

Kenny Minchey got playing time and managed a scoring drive that he capped with his feet>

Bryce Young drew a couple of holding calls in the fourth quarter while also blowing a Purdue blocker up on the opening kickoff.

There was a lot to like from some rather green Golden Domers on Saturday.

Heck, even CJ Carr got in the game to turn around and make a few handoffs.

Stay tuned into Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sports Illustrated throughout the game for everything Notre Dame vs. Purdue.

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