Notre Dame Season Opener vs Purdue: An Early Look

Notre Dame's opener with Purdue is still over three weeks away—is it too early to preview the game?  Probably, but the Las Vegas odds makers have all ready posted point spreads for college football's first week, so let's take a look.

I'm particularly attracted to this game because, as it stands now, the Irish are a 10 point favorite.

If you like Purdue with the points, bet it now—this spread is going to drop as the game approaches.

With Notre Dame's huge national fan base, I believe bookmakers know a lot of these betters will give up more than they should, and that's why the game is probably overvalued at 10 points.

Last year the odds makers listed Notre Dame's over-under for wins at seven games.  The Notre Dame fans bet it and as we know, it wasn't covered.

But let's break down this game:

Location

Obviously playing at home will make things easier for the Irish, but last year's game was extremely close.  In the last seconds, Jimmy Clausen was able to lead the Irish to a 24-21 nail biter victory. Edge: Notre Dame

Coaching

All Notre Dame fans are excited about new head coach Brian Kelly, and they should be.  Kelly is going to be a huge upgrade over Charlie Weis. 

Kelly is confident and has shown he knows what he's doing—he went 34-6 at Cincinnati.

Danny Hope will be entering his second year as head coach of the Boilermakers.  He took over a team that lost seven of its last nine games in 2008 and did a good job last year.

Purdue, under Hope, went 5-7 but finished strong with four wins in its last six games, including an upset over Ohio State.

Having a year of Hope's system under his player belts will make a big difference for the Boilermakers.  Edge: None

Quarterback

Purdue's quarterback, Robert Marve, transferred from Miami because he wasn't happy with Randy Shannon, and Randy Shannon wasn't happy with him.

In 2008, before he transferred, Marve showed enough talent to start 11 games for Miami, and the Hurricanes won six of those games.

Notre Dame fans are excited about Dayne Crist, but he has only thrown 20 passes as a collegiate and most came in mop up time.

Marve is a brash and gutsy player.  Crist might turn out to be the better quarterback but it will take time for him to develop.  Edge: Purdue

Running Back

Neither of these teams look to have a great runner in 2010 but Notre Dame's Armando Allen is ahead of any back that Purdue can put on the field.

Purdue has a 1,000 yard back returning in Ralph Bolden, but he's out now with a torn ACL.  Edge: Notre Dame

Offensive Line

Both teams have to replace two or three starters on the offensive line.  Notre Dame has more experience and more depth than Purdue.

Purdue will be playing younger players and they won't be effective at the beginning of the season.  Edge: Notre Dame

Receiver

Notre Dame definitely has the advantage at receiver with stars like Michael Floyd and the "Triple R" combination of Rudolph, Ragone, and Riddick.

But unbeknownst to most fans is Purdue's outstanding receiver Keith Smith.  Smith goes 6'2", 226 lbs and caught 91 passes last year for over 1,100 yards.  Edge: Notre Dame

Secondary

Both teams were horrible on defense last season and the secondary was a major reason.

Notre Dame brings back two players from last year's secondary and Purdue has to replace four.  Edge: None

Defensive Front Seven

While Notre Dame gets everyone back on the front seven,  Purdue returns six of seven.

Sophomore Manti Te'o leads the Irish, which will be playing a 3-4 under a new defensive coordinator.  Purdue will be lead by Senior DE Ryan Kerrigan who chalked up 13 sacks last year.

While the Irish are hoping for improvement in this area, Purdue is expected to have one of the best defensive lines in the Big Ten.  Edge: Purdue

Kicking Game

Notre Dame's kicking game has struggled for a couple of years.  In 2009 it didn't kick a field goal longer than 46 yards and rarely kicked the ball in the end zone for touchbacks.

Purdue's Carson Wiggs kicked a field goal of 59 yards last season and can be considered a weapon for the Boilermakers.  Edge: Purdue

How the Game Might Play Out

This looks like to be a closer game than the odds makers indicate. 

Three unknowns could decide things. 1. Will Notre Dame be ready to run Kelly's spread offense as efficient as a team that's had game experience?  2. Will Purdue's front four be able to put heavy pressure on Crist?  3. How much time will it take the freshmen to contribute?

Overall, both teams come into the game with a lot of questions and inexperience at key positions.

Once again, 10 points seems high.  Purdue had the pop to beat Ohio State last year, as well as Michigan, and they should keep this game fairly close—closer than 10 points.