Purdue vs. Notre Dame: Game Grades, Analysis for the Fighting Irish

It was not an easy game by any means, but No. 11 Notre Dame was able to defeat Purdue 30-14 in the Shamrock Series, which was played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The final box score can be found on NCAA.com.  

Purdue gave everything it had in the first half, but the Fighting Irish picked up the tempo in the second half and the Boilermakers could not keep up. Head coach Brian Kelly will be the first person to tell you that they did not play a perfect game, but at the end of the day, the Irish won and have a chance to crack the Top 10 in the polls. Here’s a report card of their performance against Purdue.

Positional Unit	First Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	A-	A-
Run Offense	B-	B
Pass Defense	C	B
Run Defense	B+	A-
Special Teams	A	A
Coaching	C+	B+

Pass Offense: Everett Golson was efficient in the first half, and he stayed that way in the second half. He finished the day 25-of-40 with 259 yards and two touchdowns. Golson started the game 6-of-6 and never looked back. He did get sacked four times, but because he can stand tall in the pocket and throw on the run, Golson kept his eyes downfield and was able to come up with some big pass plays to Corey Robinson and William Fuller throughout the entire game.

Run Offense: The Irish racked up 139 yards on the ground, which was more than enough to take down Purdue. Golson led the way with 56 yards while Cam McDaniel had 32 yards with nine carries. The Irish did not run over the Boilermakers, and part of the reason for that was the offensive line. However, because they were able to move the ball with the air, they needed to run the ball to keep the Boilermakers modest on defense.

Pass Defense: It was a tale of two halves for the Irish defense. After surrendering two touchdown passes to Danny Etling in the first half, the Irish put more pressure on him in the second half, which led to him throwing zero touchdowns and two picks. Brian VanGorder did a great job making adjustments in the second half to get his players in the right position to make plays. However, they can’t start off slow with the remaining games on the schedule if the Irish want to be in the college football playoff.

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Run Defense: The Boilermakers could never get anything going in the ground game because the front seven got after it. Akeem Hunt did have 32 yards on five carries, but he did fumble near the end zone in the second quarter. Led by Romeo Okwara and Jaylen Smith, the Irish front seven dominated the offensive line for Purdue and the running game was a non-factor—especially in the second half.

Special Teams: Kyle Brindza was almost perfect in the kicking game, making three of his four field goals and racking up 12 of the Irish’s 30 points. Amir Carlisle had a 47-yard kick return to start the game and the coverage teams never let Purdue gain any momentum. It won’t be talked about a lot, but the special teams played a huge part in Notre Dame’s win. They made plays when they needed to, and they did not make any costly mistakes.

Coaching: Head coach Brian Kelly knew that his team was going to be in a battle because Purdue always plays tough against Notre Dame. He did a good job keeping his players calm while staying aggressive, even when Purdue took the lead late in the first half. Kelly and his staff made the right adjustments in the second half and the Boilermakers had no response. The head man has a good group of players, and he has gotten the most out of them so far this season.

Follow @Brian_L_Jones