ISD Game Predictions: Purdue

It’s Friday, and that means game prediction time once again.  The Irish are hoping to bounce back from a tragic loss to Northern Illinois last week.  The Boilermakers would love to play the spoiler role once again.  Which team comes out on top?

Mike Frank

It appears we have another Jekyl and Hyde team once again in regards to Notre Dame. We’ve seen them look unmoveable, and we’ve watched them look inept.  As they say, it’s never as good as it seems, it’s never as bad as it seems.  I think that’s true with this team.  They will play better this week.  

Still, there are some real problems that won’t be solved in a week.  I expect another frustrating game on offense, but the Irish realize they’re a running team and both Jeremiyah Love and JD Price bit enough big plays to change the game.  Defensively, the Irish will bounce back and play a solid game.  

The Irish find enough offense to avoid a collapse of the season.

Notre Dame 23, Purdue, 13

Matt Freeman

Notre Dame and Riley Leonard bounce back in a big way. Mitchell Evans is also back and the All-American tight end scores twice as the Irish get the tight ends more involved this week. The Irish defense also forces three turnovers including a Drayk Bowen pick six. 

Notre Dame 34,  Purdue 17

Christian McCollum

The Irish offense doesn't show the explosion fans are hoping for and the Notre Dame defense shows more bend than fans are comfortable with, but not much break.

It's not a hugely impressive win, but in no means is it very disappointing either.

The offense again struggles to create big plays down the field, but the running backs are able to break some runs and make enough plays catching the ball out of the backfield to provide enough production to win.

While the defensive effort isn't dominant from start to finish, it is dominant when it needs to be in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame 21, Purdue 17

Greg Flammang

Let’s start with the fact that I think it will be hard for Purdue to score. They play the type of offense Notre Dame is best equipped to defend, have had trouble protecting their quarterback,  and they’ve had issues with turnovers. The air raid isn’t the type of offense you completely shut down, but getting them off schedule really sets them back, and Notre Dame should be able to excel in this area. For as much as last week’s matchup favored the opponent, this one favors Notre Dame’s defense. 

Frankly, I have no confidence in Notre Dame’s ability to consistently move the ball at this point. Better quarterback play always solves that problem, but they also need more from the wideouts, the offensive line, tight ends, and their offensive coordinator. They’ve had 21 true possessions so far this season, four touchdowns, and two red zone trips. Simply put they can’t sustain any kind of offense for any length of time. I do think they will hit some explosives in the running game, as they have in the first two weeks, but we could be in for a frustrating game yet again. 

I said 23-17 on the podcast, but Jamie’s information about the turnovers makes me want to dock Purdue a touchdown. 

Notre Dame 23,  Purdue 13

Jamie Uyeyama 

Notre Dame is facing their third straight opponent who hasn't yet played an FBS program this season. Purdue played FCS Indiana State in week one and then had a bye week.

It's not a secret who they are on offense and defense, though. They want to be explosive in the passing game and cause havoc with an aggressive defense.

I don't feel super confident about the Notre Dame offense being able to exploit Purdue's weaknesses going into this game, at least not consistently. I do think we'll see a bit of a mini breakout in terms of big plays in the passing game with at least a few long receptions to set up touchdowns. 

One thing I am confident about is the Notre Dame defense bouncing back. I think we'll see the secondary play at a high level against Purdue's receivers and the pass rush should be able to finally break through against a team who wants to throw the football a lot and an offensive line that has some questions to answer.

It's not pretty. It's progress. 

Notre Dame 27,  Purdue 13