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Notre Dame readies for dangerous Purdue
Leprechaun Express: Notre Dame Football Intel Update, Sept. 2, 2010
Notre Dame has it all teed up. A rebuilt roster with championship-caliber talent across all class years ... cutting-edge skill development with two successive world-class coaching staffs ... big momentum forward with one of the best strength and conditioning programs in football. With everything in place and ready to roll, how hard are the Irish willing the fight on game day?
Let's expect a fight for the ages from a Notre Dame team that has a date with destiny.
On this first step along the way, the Fighting Irish face a Boilermaker squad that threatens to be a perfect storm of an opponent.
It is the 82d meeting in a series dating back to 1896. Notre Dame has played only Navy more times than Purdue, and played only Michigan and Northwestern at an earlier point in history.
In 2010 Purdue rolls in with a deceptive win-loss record, deep traditions, and more than a decade of recent top-notch football infrastructure under Joe Tiller and Danny Hope. After some close losses, including to Oregon and Notre Dame, Purdue finished the second half of 2009 going 4-2 and knocking off Ohio State, a current national title contender.
But because of their overall win-loss record slipping away from them a bit, including close losses to strong teams, the Boilermakers have something to prove.
And Purdue has had all off-season to focus solely on Notre Dame, with a much weaker opponent coming up after the Irish.
Oh, and the Cradle of Quarterbacks has a wildcard at quarterback, dual threat Robert Marve, a former record-setting Mr. Football in Florida who has game experience starting for the Miami Hurricanes ... but no recent game film showing his current tendencies, and no game film at all of his tendencies playing within Purdue's system.
And he has a 1000-yard receiver coming back, Keith Smith, plus some more receiving veterans. Then there's the mammoth offensive line and ground attack that took Purdue's "Basketball on Grass" and added a rushing attack placing the Boilermakers back in the thick of the pack for Big Ten/11 power football in rushing statistics.
It is a potential nightmare for Notre Dame, especially if they roll the dice with early defensive gambles and Purdue is ready to sling it as well as pound it.
The only threat Notre Dame might be escaping is Purdue running back Ralph Bolden, the #3 rusher in the Big Ten/11 last year. But even that factor has an ominous "what if" quality. Bolden, who had surgery for a blown ACL, missed the spring, and is not on the depth chart for Notre Dame. But there are quiet rumblings of him being ready for conference play .... which is only a few weeks after the Notre Dame game. And the player reportedly himself has been grumbling that he wants to play now. Some have said Bolden's been running harder behind the scenes. Let's hope Notre Dame is ready for all eventualities.
Then there's the Purdue's veteran defensive front-seven, highlighted by Head Coach Brian Kelly in a game-week press conference, including top pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan whom Kelly praised for his all-day intensity.
Of course, this game has been a dog-fight even without all that.
And in a close game, where special teams can tip the balance, Kelly has estimated that Purdue's kicker has a field goal range of 60 yards.
In weather forecasting and seamanship, there is something called a "Perfect Storm", where a confluence of factors come together to make a storm bigger and more nightmarish than can usually be imagined.
With all the confluence of factors, including the timing, will this year's Purdue game feature a Perfect Storm of an Opponent?
From another perspective, will this year's Purdue team be like the Northwestern team that played a Game of the Century against a powerhouse Lou Holtz squad, before going on to finish the regular season in the top-5 with a Rose Bowl berth?
One difference is, that Northwestern team sort of came out of the blue (so to speak). This Purdue team has been solid for more than decade, knocked off Ohio State, and nearly knocked off Oregon. That's right, last year's Purdue team played both Rose Bowl participants, narrowly losing to the PAC-10 Champion early, and actually beating the Big Ten/11 Champion during Purdue's strong finish.
Oh, and in addition to Purdue, used to winning under Tiller, wanting to redeem itself and turn the corner after getting nipped by a few more losses than usual the past few years, Purdue has a second-year head coach wanting to turn the corner making his own mark.
For Notre Dame it has been five years of patient rebuilding under a faithful Alum with four Super Bowl rings, including rebuildint that roster, and laying down foundations of what was already pretty good conditioning and outstanding skill development.
Years of skill-training in an NFL-style offense and multiple defensive sets by top assistants, with what apparently was pretty good conditioning ...
... and now, all that talent in place, plus an infusion of fresh blood in the coaching staff, with decades of college head coaching experience including fighting back and pulling close games out of the hat, one of the hottest college offensive schemes, a dynamic 3-4 defense, and what might be one of the best strength and conditioning programs in football ...
... and Notre Dame has a head coach among the best in football, who has completed a nearly 30-year climb (including two Div. II National Championships), through three years in the MAC (one championship-winning) and three years in the BIG EAST (two championship-winning, with BCS Bowl Berths) to finally step onto the biggest stage in football.
If Kelly has five or ten Rockne or Leahy years in him, or ten or twenty Joe Paterno years in him, evolving into a Chairman-of-the-Board role to avoid collapsing on a sideline, is Notre Dame catching him on the upswing? It probably is.
And Kelly has laid down a track record of being somebody who sticks his nose to the grindstone until he shatters the grindstone ... somebody who, regardless of the stakes or the venue, has coached every game in front of him like it's the Super Bowl.
Early on, Kelly seemed to pick up on the fact that today's Notre Dame might be a bit more comfy than the Notre Dame of the 1920's, that in some cases there might have been a feeling of entitlement to overcome.
Kelly's Lads, blue-chip talent and all, reportedly have buckled down and hustled their tails off.
His new quarterback, whom Kelly has praised for his leadership instincts, even talked about making sure, in the summer off-season, that every single day counted, that every single rep counted, for everything .
At his opening press conference for the fall, Kelly talked about the 362-pound offensive lineman who apparently had put thirty-plus pounds back on, while lowering body fat index, who could only do a few chin-ups before, and can now do more than twenty.
It's a Notre Dame-Purdue game that promises to be as big as the Southern Cal game, perhaps bigger taking into account the timing and momentum issues.
Let's look for some big-time fight from the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame on Offense
Against Purdue, Notre Dame faces a strong front seven and an inexperienced but older secondary. Kelly will be tempted to establish a strong running game and not take chances with a quarterback lacking extensive college experience. But he will have to take into account the fact that Purdue might be more stout against the run, and the fact that Notre Dame might turn out to have the best passing unit in college football, including deep passing.
Notre Dame has a new starting quarterback in (academic) junior Dayne Crist, who is the Jimmy Clausen of his recruiting class, albeit with more size and mobility. Kelly has praised Crist's natural leadership abilities, even while pointing out his lack of college game experience (Crist has thrown 20 passes in college, before leaving last year with a blown ACL).
Crist appears to have recovered fully from his ACL surgery, and apaprently has grasped Kelly's intricate spread offense with quick study capabilities, after reportedly intense effort.
As an aside, Kelly indicates that Crist has not been hit in practice yet, and will be hit for the first time against Purdue, if at all. The issue of Crist's getting banged up are somewhat complex.
On the one hand, Kelly's offense can certainly take advantage of a quarterback with Crist's mobility, and Crist is also a big, strong signal-caller.
On the other hand, Crist was the best NFL-style drop-back passer in the country in his recruiting class, has received at least some tutelage from the best passing tutor in football, Charlie Weis, as well as former Notre Dame great Ron Powlus and the outstanding members of Kelly's staff. And, while over time Kelly has a propensity to build up and a groom a stable of top quarterbacks, right now at Notre Dame Kelly does not really have a back-up with a lot of experience.
Above all, Kelly has an offense that is agile and innovative enough to take advantage of the fact that Notre Dame might turn out to have the best deep-threat passing attack in college football, and one of the best passing units overall.
Regarding Crist taking an abundance of hits, Kelly has indicated that he feels there is a difference between simply getting hit generally, and taking big running hits.
The back-ups are early-enrolling freshman Tommy Rees and junior double-transfer (i.e., trasnferring back) Nate Montana, who is now on scholarship. Montana, despite limited play in high school, shows flashes of brilliance and and interesting touch, placement and timing with his passes. Kelly praised some of Montana's play in the Blue-Gold game, indicating that on some plays Montana actually looked pretty good, and he wanted to see more consistency.
Montana is now on scholarship. Kelly indicated that if the depth chart had a 2-a and 2-b, Montana would have been on it, and that he expects competition for the back-up slot to be ongoing.
Michael Floyd is the best returning wide receiver in college football. Including among those being watched for this year's Biletnikoff Award, Floyd started out as the best wide receiver in college football last year before being injured, and ended up largely playing evening with last year's winner, Golden Tate, when Floyd was healthy. In his first game last year against Nevada, Floyd averaged about 50 yards per catch and had three touchdowns in four receptions.
Kyle Rudolph is the best returning tight end in college football, the best receiving tight end as well as a strong blocker. Rudolph has the versatility to line up as a bona fide, if gargantuan, wide-out. Theo Riddick, last year, showed flashes of not only having blinding speed, but, like Golden Tate, being a strong runner with genuine receivers hands, probably capable of being a flanker running back like Rocket Ismail or Tim Brown.
The entire Irish receiving corps is outstanding, experienced, talented and deep. Big veteran Duval Kamara has always been sharp, and is joined in the six-man wide receiver two-deep by Theo Riddick, John Goodman, Robby Toma, and freshman T.J. Jones.
Riddick, in addition to showing great speed as a kick returner last year, also shows he can be a strong, agile runner from scrimmage, and show good, true wide receiver hands and route-running.
Goodman is playing a few hours from his home in Fort Wayne. Toma was offensive player of the year in Hawai'i as a high school senior, and was a signing-day conversion from UCLA to Notre Dame, where he instantly became noted for his quick development. Jones, an early enrolling freshman, is the son of a member of Notre Dame's 1988 National Championship squad.
The running back corps, paced by Armando Allen, is also deep and talented, and promises to present a potential running back by committee scenario. Allen and others are also skilled halfback receivers. If and when heavy-halfback Robert Hughes gets carried, expect the stadium to echoe with "Huuuughes." Cierre Wood also promises to show some of the "sky's-the-limit" potential and speed he was recruited for.
Meanwhile, Kelly has said that the offensive line, which is still huge but also quick and athletic, has ten players capable of playing championship football. Kelly also has worked to cross-train players, such as to play both center and guard.
Notre Dame centers have had to focus on their shot-gun snaps for Kelly's spread offense, and at least one has earned praise from Kelly from the steadfast effort at mastering this art, and forging ahead as a key contributor.
Gargantuan law student Chris Stewart is a veteran left guard, with sophomore Chris Watt also in the mix. Sophomore Zach Martin has surged into the starting spot at left tackle, with senior Matt Romine also in play. Juniors Trevor Robinson and Mike Golic, Jr., are at right guard, while seniors Taylor Dever and Andrew Nuss are at right tackle.
As can be seen, for an offensive line that lost multiple starters to the NFL, Notre Dame's still has a fair amount of experience and age.
All this versatility might prove interesting in a hurry-up no-huddle mode, which Kelly's spread offense seems to favor.
Astute fans might want to see how quickly Notre Dame actually gets the snap off each time, and whether the Irish can gain the traditional advantage of a no-huddle hurry-up, limiting the other team's substitutions, while nevertheless making rapid substitutions of their own.
(In contrast, for example, when Michigan implemented a no-huddle offense under Gary Moeller in the 1990's, the Michigan offense could be seen still using up the entire play clock.)
Some of Notre Dame's opponents might be able to make the Irish for talent, but Notre Dame also has talent with versatility. Rudolph can be a lineman, a receiving tight end, or a wide-out. Allen can line up as a wide-out. Riddick could conceivably be a running back. And these examples are just a few. Kelly used Floyd on a running play in the spring game, and Floyd is a dynamic open-field runner as well.
In a nutshell, Kelly's spread offense seems to involve a base formation of three wide receivers, a tight-end, five interior linemen, a quarterback in the shotgun, and a running back. It also involves, as mentioned above, the no-huddle and apparently a true hurry-up mode.
Kelly indicated that in the spring game he put out about five different formations, and in the fall expects to deploy 20 or 25.
As mentioned above, against Purdue, Notre Dame faces a strong front seven and an inexperienced but older secondary. Kelly will be tempted to establish a strong running game and not take chances with a quarterback lacking extensive college experience, but will have to balance that with the fact that Notre Dame might turn out to have the best passing unit in college football, including deep passing.
Irish on Defense
Meanwhile, Notre Dame's defense is stocked with talent, but feels like it has something to prove after some perceived let-downs late in the 2009 season, including against the run.
On defense, facing a wildcard Purdue quarterback with good receivers, and a power running game from the Boilermakers, it will be interesting to see if Notre Dame tries to get fancy early on or decides to find out how the Irish personnel stack up athletically against Purdue. Some indicators suggest they might just do the the latter.
The other wrinkle is, Notre Dame might not know what to expect at the beginning, given the unknowns surrounding the Purdue quarterback, and the fact it is the first game of the year.
Of great interest is how Notre Dame flies to the ball, how they shed or fight through blocks, and how they hit, as well as the tightness and quickness of pass coverage. Also of great interest will be how well Notre Dame adjusts on the fly, once the game is in play and they get a look at what Purdue is doing, especially heading into the second half.
Inside linebacker Manti Te'o delayed his Mormon mission to continue momentum and hit the ground running with the switch back to a 3-4.
The 3-4 scheme emphasizes linebacker play and has three down lineman and four linebackers in its basic set, but also can require versatility among linebackers coming up to the line or dropping into pass coverage.
With Anthony McDonald recovering from injury, sophomore Carlo Calabrese will start at inside line-backer, his first college football action.
Brian Smith, a veteran linebacker with an intensely passionate style of play, has found himself in and out of the starting slot on the outside. Coming off the bench, look for Smith to come at Purdue like a runaway freight train trying to get a starting spot back.
Darius Fleming will start at linebacker, with freshmen
Prince Shembo and
Danny Spond cracking the two-deep.
Cornerback Darrin Walls, a phenom prospect out of high school who left Notre Dame and came back, undoubtedly will be looking to turn the corner on nailing down his status as a potential NFL draft pick.
With Notre Dame reportedly getting thin at the cornerback position, they nevertheless have veteran DB's in Walls, Gary Gray and Robert Blanton.
The Irish defensive line is stocked with upperclassmen, with Ian Williams and former tackle Sean Cwynar nose guard, and Kapron Lewis-Moore, Ethan Johnson, Emeka Nwankwo, Hafis Williams at defensive end.
As with the Notre Dame offense, the defense will undoubtedly have a significant amount of rotation.
Special Teams
One interesting development on Notre Dame special teams is the emergence of Armando Allen as the leading punt-returner as well as a kick-off returner. Allen has been reputed to have some flash, but came off a year-long recover from injury at the end of high school. Over time, he started kicking into an extra gear, even while also becoming a tough, battle-harded true running back.
Here, Kelly has Allen returning punts and kicks, and it will be interesting to see just how much open-field flash Allen brings to it.
Some have questioned whether Floyd could be a Heisman contender just as a receiver, without adding in kick and punt returns, and flanker running back carries like Tim Brown and Rocket Ismail.
If Allen can ignite as a return man, and also be a workhouse running back in Kelly's spread offense and continue as a solid receiving running back running routes from the back-field, and perhaps line up at wide-out once in a while, might Allen become one of those quasi-Cindarella Heisman candidates?
Kelly highlighted Purdue's kicker having a range of 60 yards on field goals, but praised Nick Tausch for his consistency, including a school record 14 field goals in a row in 2009.
Ben Turk has been the strongest punter.
Kelly has expressed some concern over short long-snaps (i.e., place-kick long-snaps), which have continued in development, and appear to have had some evolution in the depth chart.
The long-snapper for punts continues to be someone recruited for that specialty. One interesting question will be whether that personnel, still at around 6-2, 215, can bulk up to a bigger size to also get more into the mix with the long-snaps for place-kicks, where there is a heavier concentration of bodies on the line and a shorter distance to defend behind the line.
Notre Dame vs. Purdue Summary
Notre Dame's season-opener against Purdue, for Brian Kelly a tenure-opener, promises to be a high-flying dogfight.
As a result, as hinted by Kelly, playing disciplined, mistake-free football should be more key than ever, including on special teams. Stopping the run also will be key, as pointed out by Kelly, since rushing plays sustain drives and control clock and the flow and pace of the game.
Taking into account the timing, and Purdue spending their entire off-season gearing up for the trip to Notre Dame, Indiana, it could be as big a game as Southern Cal or Utah, and might have an even bigger impact on momentum as the Fighting Irish launch into a new era.
Notre Dame should win if they bust a gut through the last down, and play world-class college football. They're capable of doing that, but don't leave your sit until the final whistle blows, because this could be a contest for the ages.
- Back to the Top -
:: [Transcript] Brian Kelly Tuesday Press Conference, Purdue Week
:: Notre Dame - Purdue extended game notes [PDF]
:: Notre Dame vs. Purdue - UND.com Game Day Central
:: Irish Set to Kick Off 2010 Season At Home Against Purdue: Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET, live on NBC - UND.com
:: 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)
:: Notre Dame 2009 statistical summary - NCAA database
:: Purdue 2009 statistical summary - NCAA database
:: Purdue depth chart - Notre Dame game [PDF]
:: Purdue game notes for Notre Dame vs. Purdue [PDF]
:: Purdue Football 2010 Information Guide
:: Purdue Football official site
Keywords: Notre Dame Football, Brian Kelly, Fall Camp, College Football, Football, Foxboro, Chestnut Hill, Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame Indiana
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