Initial thoughts: Notre Dame takes some steps forward in defeat of Purdue
Five initial thoughts from Notre Dame's 27-13 win over Purdue Saturday afternoon, which improved the Irish to 3-0 this season. The victory moved head coach Brian Kelly into a tie with Knute Rockne for the most all-time wins in Notre Dame history.
1. Defensive Strides
Save for a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, this was the advertised Marcus Freeman defense.
Notre Dame had 14 havoc plays (tackles for loss, passes defended, fumbles forced) for a decent 17.7 percent havoc rate, but that sells short its disruption. Pressure on Purdue quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Aidan O’Connell was consistent. Purdue was four-of-16 on third downs, averaged just 4.4 yards per play and mustered 8.1 yards per completion.
Notre Dame was content to let Purdue throw short passes and attempt to put together a double-digit play scoring drive. The Boilermakers never did. And they rushed 25 times for merely 57 yards, including three sacks.
Notre Dame’s front overwhelmed Purdue on a fourth-quarter third-and-10 from Purdue’s 21-yard line for a sack. Junior safety Kyle Hamilton sniffed out a fourth-and-1 jet sweep in the first quarter and intercepted a pass in the end zone to seal the win. Junior linebacker J.D. Bertrand thwarted a third-down screen pass for a 2-yard loss.
Bertrand posted his third straight game with double-digit tackles. His rise from a player blocked by depth in front of him this spring to indispensable piece remains one of the most impressive individual feats of this season. After Hamilton, there might not be anyone more crucial to the Irish’s defensive success than him.
2. Jack Coan
Graduate senior quarterback Jack Coan began his day under duress when he was hit at the top of his dropback and sacked on Notre Dame’s first play. It felt like the start of another long day for the offensive line.
The pass protection, though, was adequate the rest of the way. It gave Coan enough time to throw. His placement was hit-or-miss on a day the passing offense was boom-or-bust. He did not complete a pass to senior receiver Kevin Austin Jr. despite targeting him seven times. He found sophomore tight end Michael Mayer just once on four targets for 5 yards.
But he connected on one shot and made it count – he found fifth-year senior slot receiver Avery Davis for a 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave Notre Dame a 17-6 lead.
Coan wasn’t his sharpest, but one long touchdown can make up for several misses. And it’s a good sign for Notre Dame’s passing offense that it can function enough to beat a team with a pulse despite quiet days from its best weapons.
3. The Buchner package
This was the first game where an opposing defense had time to prepare for freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner, who played 19 surprise high-leverage snaps in the Sept. 11 win over Toledo. One wondered how it would fare when Purdue knew it was coming.
Buchner’s first snaps plays yielded 14 yards. Purdue appeared ready for the read-option. Buchner then uncorked a 20-yard run on third-and-16 – a called quarterback draw – where he slipped past Purdue All-American defensive end George Karlaftis at the line of scrimmage.
That was the last action Buchner received due to a hamstring tightness, Kelly said. Notre Dame’s run game did just enough without him on the field, capped by junior running back Kyren Williams’ 51-yard touchdown where he snaked through the entire Purdue defense.
4. Offensive line
Kelly indicated during the week Notre Dame would rotate on the interior line. That turned out to be just two first-half series for junior Andrew Kristofic, who subbed in at left guard for classmate Zeke Correll. Freshman offensive tackle Joe Alt made his college debut, but as a blocking tight end. He set a key block on Williams’ touchdown run.
The line gave Coan enough protection to throw the ball downfield and provided the Irish running backs enough room that the rushing attack didn’t shut down late without Buchner as a run-game crutch. It was far from perfect. Passable might be the most generous descriptor. But it’s a start. It’s something when Notre Dame needed to find anything off which to build.
5. Throwing to running backs
Remember how upfront Kelly and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees were about their desire to give even more work to Williams and sophomore running back Chris Tyree? For the third straight game, the backfield duo surpassed 28 total touches. And a few were catches in key spots.
Coan connected with Tyree for 19 yards on a wheel route. He found Williams for a 39-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-2. Notre Dame ran the play with an empty backfield and Williams lined up in the slot. That was an automatic run situation in 2020. Notre Dame knows short-yardage runs aren’t going to be a 2021 strength, but they can get their skilled running backs the ball in those spots in other ways.
All told, Notre Dame targeted Williams and Tyree seven times. They had six catches. Tyree has 10 catches through three games, two more than his 2020 total.
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