Notre Dame vs. Purdue: Fighting Irish Will Have No Trouble With Boilermakers

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are far from national title contenders. They might even struggle to match what they did last season. But it's clear at this point that the panic that came with their 0-2 start was a bit premature.

Since that 0-2 start, they have blown out Michigan State in impressive fashion and squeaked past Pittsburgh in an ugly game.

After their game against Purdue this Saturday, Notre Dame will push their record to 3-2 with another dominating win.

There was a time when the Purdue Boilermakers were a big player in the national college football scene. They were never really national title or even Big Ten title contenders for the most part, but they were dangerous thanks to their powerful offense and the leadership of head coach Joe Tiller.

Those times are getting further and further in the rear view mirror under Tiller's handpicked successor Danny Hope, and it doesn't look like they are coming back anytime soon. So far this season, they have a big win over FCS opponent Southeast Missouri State 59-0, but other than that, they have an ugly 27-24 win over Middle Tennessee State and a 24-22 loss to Rice.

Notre Dame is not nearly as good as they once were, but at least they are fielding good teams.

The key to the turnaround has been taking care of the ball on offense. Ever since Tommy Rees took over the starting quarterback job from Dayne Crist full-time, the Irish have focused on not giving the ball away.

Playing a weak Purdue team, Rees will have a chance to do more than simply not turn it over. He will have a chance to put up season-best numbers.

The talented Notre Dame defense won't even have to break a sweat to hold Purdue to a lower score, not only because the Irish will score enough themselves, but because the Boilermakers are no offensive juggernaut.

The Irish still have a long way to go to get back to where their program once was, but on Saturday, they will look like a team headed in the right direction.