Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview
17 September 2021
One of the best college football games of the weekend will take place at South Bend, Indiana on Saturday afternoon as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the Purdue Boilermakers. Both teams are a perfect 2-0 on the young season, and this should be a terrific matchup of rivals.
Purdue knocked off Oregon State in Week 1 and then dominated UConn in Week 2. The Boilermakers are looking to crack the Top 25 and a win on Saturday would accomplish that.
Notre Dame has won each of the first two games by just three points, and there have been some issues. The Fighting Irish are number 12 in the latest AP rankings, but they are lucky to still be undefeated.
Notre Dame is a 7.5-point favorite over Purdue in this matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Purdue Passing Presents a Problem
The Purdue offense has been lighting up the scoreboard so far this season, and it has been doing it with the passing game. Purdue is averaging more than 340 passing yards per game, but things likely won’t come as easy in this matchup.
Quarterback Jack Plummer has thrown for 558 yards and six touchdowns this season, and he has done a great job of taking care of the ball. Purdue must find a way to attack the Notre Dame secondary, but they can’t afford mistakes.
The defense of Purdue will be tested in this game, but that unit has been great up to this point. The Boilermakers have a talented defensive front, and there won’t be many rushing yards against them.
Notre Dame Needs to Run
If Notre Dame is going to beat their rival on Saturday afternoon then they are going to have to find a way to get the ground game going. The Fighting Irish are averaging less than 100 rushing yards per game, and that is going to be a problem as the season has gone on.
Quarterback Jack Coan has thrown for over 300 yards per game this season, but he has also thrown two interceptions. The Fighting Irish can’t afford to have turnovers on Saturday as that would put their defense in a tough position.
The Notre Dame defense has allowed nearly 400 yards per game, and that unit simply has to play better. Finding a way to stop the passing game for Purdue will be a huge key in this game.
Fighting Irish Survive Yet Again
Notre Dame barely survived in Week 2 against the Toledo Rockets and that game exposed some serious flaws. The Fighting Irish were lucky to get through that game with a win, but it should also have them refocused for Saturday.
Purdue has been lighting up the scoreboard this season, and that passing attack has been lethal. The Boilermakers will use that same strategy on Saturday, and they will battle Notre Dame for four quarters.
Notre Dame is not going to cover the spread once again, but they will play just well enough to pick up a victory. Take the 7.5 points and bet on the Boilermakers in a narrow defeat at Notre Dame.
