Notre Dame vs. Purdue - Week 3 Predictions

Notre Dame Fighting Irish are looking to redeem themselves after a major upset last Saturday against Northern Illinois. They lost with a late field goal, 16-14. Now, they must turn that anger into motivation to win against Purdue.

The Fighting Irish are ten-point favorites to win this game. The offense needs to be more productive and begin scoring early in the game. The defense will do its due diligence, but offensively, they need to be better. 

Quarterback Riley Leonard hasn’t looked impressive so far. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown this season. He threw two interceptions last weekend. The team needs his strong performance, and we think it could happen again at Purdue. 

Leonard probably feels responsible for the team’s loss last week. We could be seeing a different version of Leonard. He can run the ball but should throw more often against the Boilermaker's defense. 

Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse is one of the X-factors for the Fighting Irish in this game. He should be getting more touches. Greathouse only had five receptions in Week 2. The coaching staff should try something different and use Greathouse and wide receiver Kris Mitchell to add pressure on the secondary. 

The defense must continue to play well and not get overconfident or take Boilermakers quarterback Hudson Card too lightly. He’s coming off a string performance against Indiana State last week. Card completed 24 of 25 passes, threw for 273 yards, and had four touchdowns. 

Neutralizing or blitzing the quarterback will be vital for the team to succeed. Fighting Irish also need to pay attention to running back Devin Mockobee. He had 89 rushing yards on 11 carries. Don’t let him have any confidence. 

Prediction: Notre Dame over Purdue by the final score of 27-23.

Notre Dame and Purdue will square off at 3:30 p.m. at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Fighting Irish are looking to go 2-1, while Purdue is trying to go 2-0 in the season. 

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