:: Notre Dame Football: Fighting Irish Football Newswire ::
Brian Kelly Triumphs in Fighting Irish Debut,
Notre Dame tops Purdue 23-12
Leprechaun Express: Notre Dame Football Intel Update, Sept. 6, 2010
Article - Video: Game Replay - Resource & News Links - Newswire
Notre Dame beat Purdue 23-12 at home to open its 2010 season and the Brian Kelly era. Leading by as much as 20-3 in the third quarter, the Irish held back a second-half Purdue resurgence and added another score to finish strong and win by 11. [VIDEO: click here for full-game replay - NBCSports.com]
In his first college start, in fact his first extensive college game action, Notre Dame junior quarterback Dayne Crist, from southern California, threw for 205 yards on 19 of 26 passing (73%), including a 5-yard touchdown to early enrolling freshman wide receiver T.J. Jones of Georgia, with no interceptions.
The Fighting Irish looked strong with flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball, as well as most special teams. There appear to be systems in place that can win against solid opponents, with players who have the talent and versatility to execute it, as well as a lot of "room to grow."
Notre Dame was also all-day tough, playing hard and with poise to bring home the win across the the flow of the game. Irish fans undoubtedly are eager to see how the new-look Notre Dame progresses from week-to-week and guts it out through the flow of the season against a "murderer's row" schedule with inseason bowl-game/A-game dynamics that nobody else faces.
Unleashing Hot BK Spread Offense, Irish Offense Strong and Poised, Diamond in the Rough
The Irish gained 352 yards on offense, running only 62 plays in a no-huddle, true hurry-up mode that featured the quaterback in the shot-gun, offensive linemen starting in a hunched two-point stance, and snaps getting off ten or fifteen seconds after the conclusion of the the previous play.
Notre Dame often sent as many as five wide receivers, including junior tight-end Kyle Rudolph of Cincinnati lining up as a wide-out, yet ran 36 times out of the BK Spread Offense compared to 26 passes.
Hitting the Ground Running
The Irish gained 153 yards on the ground at a healthy 4.2 yards per carry, with senior running back Armando Allen of Florida just shy of of 100 yards, with 93 on the day, including a 22-yard touchdown, with a strong 5.3 yards per carry. Sophomore running back Cierre Wood, from southern California, got the other running back carries, picking up 56 yards at a blistering 8.3 yards per carry.
Big, strong and mobile quarterback Crist met the old Lou Holtz bread-and-butter standard of "quarterback positive net rushing yardage," with 28 yards gained on 7 carries and 11 yards lost on two sacks, for a net of 17 yards on 9 runs.
Interestingly, while Kelly has shown he does not necessarily have a lot of use for a depth chart, and Notre Dame had tremendous rotation overall, they did not have a lot of rotation where many teams might, at running back.
Notre Dame only had two running backs get carries rather than have a more extensive running back by committee.
At the same time, while the Irish now have an embarrassment of riches with ball carriers, Kelly's base formation on offense only has one running back and no full-back, with two running backs in the two-deep.
In comparison, the BK Spread base formation effectively has eight receivers in the two-deep -- three wide-outs, six in the two-deep, and a tight-end, with two tight ends in the two-deep. And recall, mentioned above, that tight-end Rudolph often lined up as a wide-out.
Blocking Receivers
Also interesting, even with the shot-gun, two-point stance, and spread formation, running out of the Hot BK Spread, Notre Dame implicitly is going back to one central element of the old Lou Holtz power running attack.
Namely, as with Holtz, Notre Dame receivers, by necessity, are going to have learn to be good blockers
This comes even as the receivers also are having the opportunity for big-time catches in an active passing game.
And with a tight-end as a wide-out, also seen under Holtz, the Irish have a potent combination when that big, fast, agile player becomes an open-field blocker on the fly.
Crist uses Seven Receivers
Junior wide-out Michael Floyd of Minneapolis led Notre Dame receivers with 82 yards on 5 catches with a long of 34.
It often has been said that the tight end is a rookie starting quarterback's best friend. For Crist, Rudolph did indeed turn out to be Mr. Dependable, matching Floyd's five catches, with 43 yards on the day and multiple first downs.
Jones had the touchdown catch, with 3 catches for 41 yards on the day.
Crist used 7 receivers total, including senior veteran wide receiver Duval Kamara, up-and-coming sophomore wide receiver Theo Riddick and the halbacks Wood and Allen.
Irish Defense On the Rise
Looking crisp and focused, and with extensive rotation at multiple positions, the Notre Dame defense limited Purdue to 322 yards on the day, including just 102 yards on the ground at a somewhat frustrated 3.2 yards per carry. Admittedly, Purdue was without their leading rusher, coming back from being the #3 rusher in the Big Ten/11 in 2009. But Irish defensive progress is still strong.
Notre Dame did give up 31 of 42 (74%) passing for 220 yards. But the Irish also snagged two interceptions, one by the nose guard, did not give up a passing touchdown and sacked the Purdue quarterback four times.
Senior Irish cornerback Darrin Walls intercepted Purdue quarterback John Marve at the Notre Dame 16 to snuff out a Purdue drive on the Boilermakers' second possession in the first quarter. Notre Dame capitalized on the turnover to then drive for its first touchdown.
The other interception, early in the fourth quarter, was even deeper in Notre Dame territory. Walls batted the ball up, and 315-pound Notre Dame senior nose guard Ian Williams pulled it in at the three to stop another Purdue drive near the goal line.
On another play not much earlier, Williams had blasted through the Purdue line on a pass rush, and forcefully batted back a pass out of the air. Onlookers might have been tempted to think, "if only he had tried hauling that in." One wonders if the Notre Dame coaches thought the same thing, and counseled Williams to think interception next time. Williams would later haul in his interception at the three.
Notre Dame sophomore inside linebacker Carlo Calabrese, who had not played as a freshman but started after a team mate was injured, made the most of his opportunity, with 9 tackles, tied for most total tackles on the day.
Notre Dame sophomore middle linebacker Manti T'eo and Notre Dame senior defensive back Gary Gray also had 9 tackles. Walls had 7 tackles.
There was good rotation on defense, with Notre Dame senior veteran outside linebacker Brian Smith technically coming off the bench for 6 tackles.
Notre Dame Special Teams Impress
Notre Dame Senior David Ruffer, a former academic transfer from William and Mary, never played high school football, and started out playing dormitory interhall football once he got to Notre Dame. Ruffer only seized the starting spot for place-kicks a few days before the Purdue game. Ruffer was a perfect three-of-three on field goals, from 22, 46 and 37 yards. Ruffer also kicked-off, including a touch-back and averaging kick-offs to the eight yard-line.
Notre Dame presented an intriguing development mainly using running backs as return men, with Allen ripping of a dazzling 38-yard punt return. Allen was joined by Wood on kick-off returns, although Riddick also got on the field as a return man.
Notre Dame freshman wide receiver Bennett Jackson of New Jersey was a house-on-fire as a kick-off gunner, flying down-field and making tackle after tackle, including stuffing Purdue on their own 13-yard-line, 22 and 23, as well as getting a share of a tackle at the 28.
Irish All-Day Tough, Look to Forge Ahead
While noting room for improvement, Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly was pleased not only with the win, but with how Notre Dame fought the entire game:
... a lot of things that we have got to work on, there's no question about that. Clearly, what I was very pleased with that we battled, for four quarters.
I told them, if you just give me great effort for four quarters, we'll find a way to get it into the house.
Now, we are going to have to get in a little bit more assertively at times, but that's going to come. We are going to continue to develop and if we can be a better football team as we learn down the road when we are putting these kinds of positions again to close out games, I think we'll be able to do it.
But very satisfied today with our opening win.
Encountering a lot of firsts in the opening game of his Notre Dame head coaching tenure, Kelly naturally was pleased with the win:
Good way to start the season obviously. There's a lot of firsts here today ... a lot going on ... a lot of anxiety going into the first game, especially with all of the things that are surrounded with our game. So it's very satisfying to come out of today with a victory.
Kelly noted that Notre Dame made a statement with an opening game against a strong opponent:
You learn a lot about your team after a game like this, and in particular, it wasn't you know, it wasn't a warm up game. We went right into the Big Ten and played a Big Ten rival in Purdue. And you learn a lot about your football team today.
NFL-Ready
Ironically, the move from an NFL New England Patriots pro set offense to college football's hot BK Spread might actually help demonstrate to NFL scouts just how well-suited Notre Dame's talent will be to the next level.
One of the hallmarks of a successful NFL player is the athletic versatility and character to adapt on the fly to new coaches and new systems.
The Notre Dame players, especially on offence, have turned on a dime, in very short order, to not only adapt to a near-complete changing of the guard with the coaching staff, but implement a new system requiring a much bigger about-face than change-offs among the range of systems in the NFL.
Scoring and Some Key Plays
First Quarter
In a game lasting only three hours, Notre Dame and Purdue each had two scoreless possessions in the first quarter before the Irish drove 84 yards on 7 plays in 2:24, to take a 7-0 lead on a 22-yard touchdown run by Armando Allen. The drive included rushes of 16, 15, and 15 yards by Cierre Wood, as well as a 9-yard Crist pass to Kyle Rudolph and a 12-yard pass to Duval Kamara.
Second Quarter
In the second quarter, Notre Dame drove 50 yards on 8 plays in 2:53, culminating in a 22-yard field David Ruffer goal to go up 10-0. The drive included a 12-yard run by Crist, 19-yard pass to Floyd, and runs by Allen of 11 and 7 yards.
Purdue responded with a 79-yard drive, only for Notre Dame to hold them to a 29-yard field goal that made the score 10-3.
Still in the second quarter, Notre Dame answered with a 9-play, 45-yard drive in 3:07, capped off by Ruffer booming a 46-yard field goal to make it 13-3, putting Notre Dame up once again by more than once score, with less than a minute until half-time. The drive featured 3 of 5 passing for 39 yards by Crist, as well as some short runs.
Third Quarter
It was a somewhat surreal third quarter.
Purdue received the opening kick-off of the second half, only to go three-and-out. Notre Dame quickly added further momentum with a 38-yard punt return by Allen to the Purdue 30, followed by a 30-yard, 5-play drive that took 2:12, included a 13-yard run by Wood mixed in with 3 of 3 passing by Crist for 20 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Jones.
Then things got a bid odd.
Overall, Purdue ended up possessing the ball 11:16 to 3:44 (in fact, for the entire game, Purdue had a possession advantage of 35:05 to 24:55).
First, the Notre Dame defense appeared prepared to bury Purdue into the turf and put the game away, with two sacks and another tackle-for-loss, as well as incomplete passes. Purdue ate up a few minutes of clock and actually lost yards on the drive, before punting.
Then the Notre Dame offense picked up where the defense left off, driving to the Purdue two ready to go up 27-3 in the middle of the third quarter, only to fumble the reception at the two, with Purdue recovering.
Purdue came roaring back, reversing its fortunes with its only real sustained drive of the game, a marathon 14-play, 89-yard drive that ate up 6:40 on the clock and carried into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
But Purdue failed to score, when, after driving to the Notre Dame three-yard-line, a Purdue pass was batted up in the air, and hauled in by the Notre Dame nose guard Ian Williams.
But just when it looked as if Notre Dame was ready to take back control of the game, the first Notre Dame play from scrimmage, a deep-developing running play out of the end zone, was stuffed short of the goal line by Purdue's star defensive end, resulting in what might have been Notre Dame's first only real surrendered safety in living memory.
With Purdue getting two points and the ball, Notre Dame was kicking from the 20 with the score 20-5. The 15-point difference also meant that Purdue hypothetically was only down by two touchdowns.
With a moderate return of the after-safety kick, Purdue got the ball at mid-field. Purdue responded, driving 55 yards in 7 plays, with the slippery Purdue quarterback running 23 yards for a Purdue touchdown. The score made it 20-12 and pulled the Boilermakers within a touchdown and two-point conversion of Notre Dame.
Notre Dame then went three-and-out, losing a few yards on the drive.
But the Irish defense, which already had been on the field for so long, and had just been torched for the 23-yard touchdown run by the Purdue quarterback, must have gotten a great motivational speech, and must have dug down deep, and must have gotten a great defensive scheme dialed up, because they then stuffed Purdue for a three-and-out and minus yardage on Purdue's own drive.
After the punt, this time the Notre Dame offense picked up momentum from the defense, put together a 10-play drive to eat up 3:47 off the clock, and set up for a good 37-yard field goal to put the Irish back up by more than one score.
These two possessions, the defensive stand by the Irish and the clock-eating sustained scoring drive by the offense, helped show good game flow by veteran head coach Kelly, as well as good strength conditioning planning by Director of Football Strength and Conditioning Paul Longo. They also are apparently pay-off for what sounds like, and looks like it must have been, a very, very dedicated spring, off-season, and fall camp by Kelly's Lads, the Fighting Irish football team.
Purdue got the ball back with 3:40 to go, down by 10, with time to mount a drive to pull within one score and try an onside kick. But it was not to be, as the Irish defense give up a quick first down on a run but snuffed out attempted trick plays in-bounds as the clock bled down for the Boilermakers.
Notre Dame got the ball back on downs at mid-field, and several plays sustained the drive with a pass to Floyd for a first-down to run out the clock.
What's Next
Notre Dame starts the Brian Kelly era 1-0 with a good win over a strong opponent, and readies to play a Michigan team that just stunned a good Connecticut team 30-10.
Not long ago, it would have been unrealistic to call Michigan a rival. But the Irish have kept the modern games with Michigan going long enough that the series is now a regular occurrence, at least in recent memory.
With all teams, the big question is how a team improves and makes strides from week to week. For Notre Dame, there's a new system, a new coach, a new quarterback, and the need to gut out wins.
So for the Irish, the ramping up is all the more urgent, and, frankly, also carries with it a certain sense of destiny.
For Notre Dame, it already was an overall strong performance, an "all-day tough" effort, responding to a resurgence by a good opponent by fighting pack and reasserting control of the game.
Some areas that could have been concerns instead seemed like something that could easily be taken for granted, like a rookie starter at quarterback looking like a solid veteran on the rise, or the kicker taking over his new role with gusto. With a head coach who seems to value highly talented veterans while also having no use for a depth chart, multiple sources of contributions jumped in with intensity.
Actually, a poster child for excellence is Brian Smith, a veteran starter who acted as if he didn't give a rat's back-side where he was on the depth chart, as long as he was taking it to the opponent. Smith apparently worked very hard to get the starting spot as well, but in the end what mattered was what he did once on the field.
Notre Dame will have to crank it up further for Michigan, especially to stop the run against a Michigan ground game that was like a runaway freight train against the Huskies, albeit with a highly efficient passing attack to boot. The Irish undoubtedly are going to bust a gut going after the Wolverines, but they'd better make the most of every rep and every minute of prepartion, and come into next week's contest likes it's another in-season bowl game. On Notre Dame's schedule, that's what each week holds.
- Back to the Top -
:: VIDEO: full-game replay, Notre Dame vs. Purdue - NBC
:: Irish Take Season Opener 23-12 Over Purdue: Dayne Crist throws for 205 yards and a touchdown in his first start - UND.com
:: BOX SCORE/STATISTICS: Notre Dame 23 - Purdue 12, Sept. 4, 2010
- UND.com
:: TRANSCRIPT: Post-Game Press Conferences - Notre Dame 23 - Purdue 12, Sept. 4, 2010
- UND.com
:: Notre Dame 2010 statistical summary - NCAA database
:: Notre Dame vs. Purdue - UND.com Game Day Central
:: Notre Dame Football official site - UND.com
:: Notre Dame Football 2010 Media Guide (Table of Contents, PDF sections)
:: Notre Dame Football 2010 Media Guide (Table of Contents, Flash)
Keywords: Notre Dame Football, Brian Kelly, Irish Offense, Irish Defense, Notre Dame Defense, Paul Longo, Bob Diaco, Dayne Crist, Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, Darrin Walls, Manti Te'o, Ian Williams, Purdue Football, College Football, Football, University of Notre Dame
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