Offense Rolls, Defense Staggers: Notre Dame Records First Win of the Year

Liam Farrell
Sep 20
3 min read

Updated: Sep 22

No. 24 Notre Dame was excellent on offense as they recorded a season-high 56 points in their victory against in-state rival Purdue.

Photo by The Irish Tribune

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame is looking to be a tale of two sides: an electric offense that is hitting its stride and continuing to develop versus a sluggish defense that refuses to improve nor make adjustments.

In this one, Mike Denbrock emphasized a run-heavy scheme against the Boilermakers while keeping the opposing defense on its toes with timely passing plays. The running back pair of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price displayed why they are two of the best backs in the country. Love and Price combined for 230 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Love led the two in yards (166), while Price led in touchdowns (3 rushing, 4 total). Price also added an electric 100-yard kick return in this one as well.

As for the Notre Dame passing attack, CJ Carr was the dictionary definition of efficient. Carr ended the game 10/12 for 223 yards and two TDs.

Jordan Faison led the wide receiving core with five catches for 105 yards while adding a touchdown. Malachi Fields contributed 78 yards of his own, which includes a 66-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game for the Irish.

It is clear that Denbrock has made enough adjustments after a poor opening game of the season, and the Irish offense is a clear bright spot through the first three games of the season.

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Then, there's the defense.

Despite the blowout victory, the Notre Dame defense did get beat up on in the first half. Purdue ended this game with 379 total yards, including 303 yards in the air.

The main cause of concern for the defense has been the lack of pressure created by the defensive line coupled with the poor performance by Notre Dame's secondary, specifically in soft zone coverages.

In the first half, Purdue was specifically picking on Mark Zackery IV, the true freshman cornerback filling in for All-American Leonard Moore. Dallas Golden, who recorded his first interception of his career, also made his first start in replacing Devonta Smith and leapfrogging in the depth chart over Karson Hobbs.

Purdue's quarterback Ryan Browne did a great job of utilizing his legs to create more time for his receivers downfield, but also the Boilermaker offensive line, who is notably a rather average unit, was keeping Irish pass rushers at bay.

In the second half, Chris Ash did a good job in utilizing more blitzes to create pressure on Browne, which resulted in only seven second half points for Purdue. A few key standouts on defense were Gabriel Rubio, who was the best interior lineman for the Irish, and Adon Shuler who made an instant impact in the 2nd half after serving the rest of his suspension for his targeting penalty against Texas A&M.

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa has positioned himself as the most talented linebacker in that position room, while true freshman Madden Faraimo was great in limited snaps.

In terms of special teams, the Irish got another touchdown via Price, but with kicker Noah Burnette out, Erik Schmidt looked shaky in his first career game.

In terms of moving forward, getting Moore, Smith, and Burnette healthy will be a top priority; however, monitoring Ash's development will be paramount. If Ash can somehow find a way to turn the ship, with the offense rolling as it is, the Irish can be a force to be reckoned with.

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