Notre Dame Football: 7 Lessons Learned in Blowout at Purdue

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame finally played a clean game against the Boilermakers of Purdue on Saturday night, rolling to an easy 38-10 victory.

For the first time all year, Notre Dame executed well on both sides of the ball consistently, and they thoroughly dominated an opponent from start to finish.

In short, they looked like a BCS-caliber squad for the first time in several years.

Maybe, just maybe, the team is rounding the corner.

There were just enough miscues to leave a slight lingering doubt, but if nothing else, we did learn a few things about the Irish in West Lafayette.

Michael Floyd Is Really Really Good

It is no secret that Michael Floyd is the most talented player on the Notre Dame team.

It is no secret that he is usually the most talented player in the stadium.

He has drawn a double all game every game since the midpoint last season.

Yet he's still the team's most consistent weapon.

Saturday, he pulled in 12 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown on the game's second play.

When he wasn't catching and running to an 11.5 yards-per-catch night, he was seen physically humiliating Purdue's Ricardo Allen with superb run blocking at the wide receiver position.

Floyd contributes on every offensive play. His mere presence makes the rest of the offense better.

Tommy Rees CAN Play an Entire Game Without a Turnover!

After giving the ball away at a clip of 2.5 interceptions per game over the first third of the season, Tommy Rees turned in what may be his most solid performance to date.

The Irish sophomore connected on 24-of-40 attempts for 254 yards with three touchdowns and NO interceptions.

He also dove on top of a second-quarter Cierre Wood fumble.

He had the chance to show that he was capable of overthrowing a receiver deep by connecting with Floyd on a perfectly thrown post for a 35-yard score on the second play of the game for the Irish.

Rees still showed that he has some learning to do, twice trying to force a ball into coverage and having only stone-handed defenders to thank for his turnover-free evening.

Also a point to practice were bootlegs. For the first time this season, moving Rees out of the pocket to throw seemed a point of emphasis. Rees threw the ball well enough on the move, however, he was late with the ball, allowing coverage to catch up and once pulling TJ Jones out of bounds to negate the reception.

Mistakes happen, but overall, Rees took a large step forward.

Balance Is Nice

Brian Kelly learned sometime in the latter half of last year that at Notre Dame you must run the football.

It's a lesson that Charlie Weis never fully grasped.

Kelly has been slowly adopting a smashmouth spread that highlights the power the Irish can employ at tailback, in addition to his usual pass-happy four- and five-receiver sets.

Saturday the Irish passed 41 times, rushed 40 times.

Notre Dame gained 264 yards passing and 287 rushing.

The Irish averaged almost seven yards per play.

When you can run or pass at will, there is simply no way to stop you.

Irish Defensive Front 7 Is Becoming Dominant

Notre Dame's improvements on the defensive side of the football have been evident since late last season. Upon arriving in South Bend, coach Brian Kelly has made recruiting a top-flight defense his top priority.

The seeds that Kelly has planted are beginning to bloom.

On the season, Notre Dame is allowing 91.2 yards per game rushing. This is a huge improvement over years past where the defensive front was porous and unlikely to stop my grandmother from crossing the street.

The rush defense had its best game against Michigan State, holding the Spartans to only 29 yards rushing, but also proved a difficult nut to crack for Purdue, who carried for 84 yards on 27 carries.

The Irish also collected two of their 13 team sacks on Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush in the first half.

To win football games you must run and be able to stop the run. Even in today's spread formation, pass-happy football world, this rings true.

Notre Dame Has Some Serious Running Backs

The current Irish backfield tandem of Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray may be the most talented since Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks.

They offer a superb one-two punch of speed and power that can keep a defense on their heels.

Gray had a great individual performance Saturday night, carrying 15 times for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Not to be outdone, Cierre Wood topped Gray's punishing runs with 191 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown of his own.

As a tandem, the two carried for 285 yards and two scores, averaging over eight yards per attempt.

On the season, Wood has carried 103 times for 584 yards and five touchdowns.

Gray, after returning from his banishment following the USF game fumble, has added 326 yards on 40 attempts and two scores of his own.

As a tandem, they have advanced the ball 910 yards at 6.36 yards per attempt.

Special Teams Are...Well...Special

Adding to Notre Dame's red-zone woes are the simply terrible special teams.

On field goals, the Irish have missed two, committed a botched snap and had one blocked. The once sure-footed David Ruffer is a terrible 3-of-7 on the year when trying to convert a kick for three points.

His 1-for-3 performance Saturday is a highlight to the fact that if Notre Dame doesn't score from outside the 20, they often don't score.

Ben Turk nearly got the night off against Purdue but was called upon twice. He had one of his better games, averaging 44 yards per punt.

On the year, however, Turk averages only 37 yards per punt. That gives opponents consistently good field position and challenges the Irish defense.

Punt returns are no gain at best. A fair catch is a resounding success, and truth be told, the Irish are lucky if the returner doesn't fumble.

Kickoffs have been average, and the return game, outside of George Atkinson III's return against Michigan State, has also been pedestrian.

The Irish special teams need "special" attention in a hurry.

Purdue Was Simply No Match for the Irish

Notre Dame intercepted Calib TerBush's first pass, and 24 seconds later, Tommy Rees connected with Michael Floyd for a 35-yard touchdown.

Realistically, at that moment the game was already over.

Notre Dame then raced out to a 21-0 lead, and ultimately led 38-3 before Purdue mounted a touchdown drive in the final minutes.

It should have been worse.

Missed field goals and Notre Dame miscues (although much fewer than in weeks passed) kept this from being an out-and-out blow out.

The Irish offensive line kept Tommy Rees clean (I counted one knock down and zero sacks) and blew the Purdue defensive front off the line of scrimmage all night.

Except for scrambles by Purdue QB Robert Marve, the Boilermakers had no rushing offense to speak of. The Irish defensive front proved too much for the Boilermaker's offensive line to handle.

It was nice to see Dayne Crist on the field again, and freshmen George Atkinson III and Cam McDaniel each had their first offensive touches.

Now to prepare for the triple option attack of Air Force.