Notre Dame Football: Keys for Fighting Irish Against Purdue

I guess you could say Notre Dame started its season on the right foot.

The Irish had to travel to Dublin to play a pesky Navy squad, and while they were still favored, the different nature of the opener meant a close result wouldn't have been all that surprising.

So, naturally, they played a near-flawless game and clocked the Midshipmen by a score of 50-10.

Let's take a look at what the Irish must do to put on an encore this Saturday against Purdue back in South Bend. 

Don't Look Forward

This, without a doubt, has to be the biggest key to beating the Boilermakers on Saturday.

The Irish easily handled Purdue by 28 in West Lafayette last year, and now they are at home, favored by two touchdowns. PU looked good in Week 1, sure, but it was against Eastern Kentucky and next to no one is talking upset for this one. 

That's not good for the Irish.

Brian Kelly usually does a good job of getting his team "up" for games, but with two huge matchups against the Michigan schools upcoming and Purdue not posing much of a legitimate threat, this is a game that has a good chance of being overlooked. 

The Irish must avoid the dreaded trap. 

Run, Run and Maybe Run Some More

No Cierre Wood? No problem. 

Much of the talk this offseason centered around the quarterback play and who would win the starting role, but it appears none of that really mattered.

OK, that's not really fair to Everett Golson, who clearly earned the job of QB1 and has some immense talent, but if Week 1 is any indication, the Irish will be fine letting him play game manager. 

Even without Wood, who passed the 1,100-yard mark last season, Notre Dame was able to ease Golson into live action and let both Theo "Chronicles of" Riddick and George "I'm Faster Than Everyone" Atkinson run wild. 

The duo combined for 206 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries. Decent.

Eventually Golson will likely have to open up a little bit (he threw just 18 times on Saturday), but against lesser teams like Purdue, the Irish will be better served simply protecting the ball and running rampant. 

No Turnovers

The running game was certainly impressive against Navy, but the best thing about Notre Dame's opener was simple: one turnover.

The Irish were bitten in the behind so many times in 2011 by turnovers, so it is certainly an encouraging sign to see just one interception from Golson and no fumbles lost.

Oh, and they also forced four turnovers of their own. 

Notre Dame has the talent to play with anyone in the country. The next step towards maximizing that potential is taking care of the football. 

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