Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Purdue in Week 3
Notre Dame football and Purdue have not played in a few years after regularly playing every season but are back this week to clash on the gridiron this Saturday in Week 3.
With Notre Dame’s agreement to play four ACC teams a year the Irish had to make some changes to their future schedules and unfortunately Purdue was one of the teams that was taken off the schedule on a regular basis. Glad to see that after a few years the teams were able to get this matchup back on the schedule for some in-state bragging rights.
Both teams in this in-state rivalry come into this matchup undefeated with two wins on the year.
Notre Dame has had back to back nail biters in Week 1 against Florida State, and Week 2 against Toledo. Both were wins and you always will take an ugly win over a bad loss any day of the week.
The Irish though have yet to play a complete game over four quarters in their first two games of the year. Notre Dame will have to play better than they did last week against Toledo at home or they very well might find themselves in trouble against an improved Purdue team.
Notre Dame has won eight straight games against in-state opponents entering this weeks matchup with the Boilermakers. The last loss for Notre Dame was back in 2009 against the Purdue Boilermakers.
One storyline to keep an eye on is how Notre Dame plays the game against Purdue under center. Will it be similar to what we saw last week against Toledo with both Jack Coan and backup Tyler Buchner each getting reps? We will see on Saturday but I would be surprised if both did not play extended minutes.
Purdue comes into this matchup with a week one win over Oregon State 30-21, and a whopping in Week 2 against a struggling University of Connecticut program 49-0. No matter the opponent shutouts are not easy in football so have to give the Boilermakers a lot of credit there.
Purdue is led at quarterback by Jack Plummer. The junior quarterback from Arizona has had a good start to the 2021 campaign under center. In the opener against Oregon State he passed for 313 yards and threw two touchdowns.
Last week Plummer played even better throwing for 245 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Plummer has done one thing really well so far through two games, no interceptions. Taking care of the ball will be important if Purdue is going to pull off the upset on the road at Notre Dame.
One of Plummer’s favorite targets is wide receiver David Bell. He is off to a very good start this year on the season with 14 receptions for 255 yards, and also have three touchdowns in two games. Bell is a playmaker who really like to stretch the field for big plays. The Irish and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman will need to know where Bell is at all times on Saturday afternoon.
With the help from Plummer and Bell the Purdue offense has put up 79 points in two games this year on offense but will be without one key piece on offense for an extended period of time moving forward. Running back Zander Horvath for Purdue broke his fibula early on last Saturday against Connecticut.
The fifth-year senior in Horvath had a big opening week rushing for 81 yards on 21 carries, and one touchdown. Even without Horvath the Boilermakers still have two good running backs in Dylan Downing and King Doerue. The duo helped rushed for 146 yards last week in their 49-0 victory.
Notre Dame is looking to extend its home winning streak to 26.
Will the Irish cover and keep the winning streak intact? We will find out on Saturday. Cannot wait until to see these two teams battle on the field.
Here are three bold predictions for Notre Dame against Purdue.