Quick Hits from Notre Dame-Purdue

This Notre Dame team is missing something... Something really big. I don't exactly know what it is but here is what I see:

• The team isn't very physical. We saw glimpses of it on offense (especially on the drive to start the second half). We saw glimpses on defense. But Notre Dame didn't wear Purdue down. The Irish have the talent to do that.
• The tackling in the secondary is atrocious. I am not sure what happened in between the game at Southern Cal and the national championship game, but ever since the 2012 regular season ended, the Irish can't tackle. A strength has turned into a weakness.
• The Irish can't put teams away. We saw it in the opener against Temple. We saw it again tonight. Three TDs in three and a half minutes had Purdue on the ropes and the Irish couldn't finish them off until they absolutely had to.

Watching this game - a predictable offense, a soft defense, not putting teams away, feels just like the first two Kelly seasons (and a number of seasons before Kelly). I hope it turns around, but it doesn't feel like it will.

The trio of Calabrese, Fox and Grace in the middle of the linebacking corps is embarrassingly slow. They couldn't keep up with some of the Purdue (!) skill players. We are learning by the week how much this team misses Te'o, but his speed is a big one.

Also, let's put out a missing person's alert for Stephon Tuitt. Four tackles in three games.

Before I get to the offense, I want to apologize to Louis Nix. He gets double-teamed a ton and it's hard to notice him unless you watch him.

I called last week for more of a balance in the run-pass ratio and we got that a little bit (24 runs and 34 passes before the last drive) this week. However, this offense seems very predictable. It felt like we saw no more than five run designs all night. That works if you run an option-based attack.  Purdue had Notre Dame very well-scouted but it doesn't seem that difficult. When Notre Dame runs a play, it rarely surprises me (outside of the Daniels TD).

The argument that Alabama, when down 14-0, got back in the game by passing isn't as easy as it seems. That works because of Alabama's traditional success in running. That works because they threw the ball against nine in the box on the flea-flicker. That works because Alabama doesn't go five-wide with an empty backfield to totally give up on the threat of a run.

I can get myself to the point of passing to set up the run. I don't agree with it but Kelly believes in it. I just don't think the offense is very good, especially with an immobile quarterback.

Notre Dame stretched the field twice and found success both times. More of that please. Hint: it will help with opening up the running game.

We heard a lot of hype about Davaris Daniels and he appears to be living up to it. If he keeps developing, Daniels may play on Sundays.

Amir Carlisle may go into the Jonas Gray doghouse.

I thought Purdue did a good job with delaying the blitzes. We know Rees likes to check at the line but the book on him is to show one defensive look and then change it after he adjusts the play.

Thankfully, Notre Dame was playing a team the caliber of Purdue.

Why It Appears Like a Rivalry

(courtesy of Matt Lozar) A major topic this week created by the media (thanks to Brian Kelly's comment) has been "Is Notre Dame-Michigan A Rivalry?"

 

To me, it feels like a rivalry. And here's why.

 

Yes, Michigan ducked Notre Dame for decades and did everything it could to keep the Catholics out of the Big Ten. And I agree with Kelly's original comment not his backtracking

 

Since the "Reunion Game" in 1978, ND-UM haven't played six times — 83-84 (South Carolina), 95-96 (Ohio State) and 00-01 (Nebraska). Unlike Mark May and Skip Bayless, I actually watched these teams play while growing up. There have been a number of memorable games:

 

I wasn't born but Harry Oliver in 1980 when fans swear the flags on top of the goal posts stopped for the 51-yard field goal for the left-footed, soccer-style kicker out of Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

Losing 24-23 in Holtz's first season in 1986 and ND becoming the first NCAA team to move into the top 20 after a loss.

 

Four field goals for Reggie Ho in 1988.

 

Kicking to the Rocket in 1989. Good move Bo.

 

The 90s had its fair share - Reggie Brooks getting knocked out when scoring a TD in 92, upsetting the defending champs in 98, poor clock management in 99.

 

The real reason this has felt like a rivalry to me has been the past 11 seasons.

 

Granted, I started as an undergraduate at Notre Dame in 2001, but there is no other series that I can easily tell you every single game between Notre Dame and its opponent in the past dozen seasons. You will have take my word for it but I didn't have to look at all for these quick recaps.

 

• 2002 - the offense finally scores a TD. Students storm the field. The country takes ND for real
• 2003 - Houston's Better - 38-0
• 2004 - Payback Is A... Darius Walker's coming out party. Students storm the field again. I do 38 pushups at midfield and take home a chunk of the turf that lived in a bowl from South Dining Hall for the entire fall semester.
• 2005 - A noon start and a 17-10 win over a top-5 UM team that wasn't that close. Weis gains national attention
• 2006 - An absolute egg after a dominating win over Penn State. There weren't enough beers in Hoboken that afternoon
• 2007 - 38-0 again.
• 2008 - A downpour in Rich Rod's first season and a ton of Michigan turnovers. Let to this photo.
• 2009 - Tate Forcier won the September Heisman
• 2010 - Denard Robinson wins the September Heisman.
• 2011 - An epic fourth quarter collapse at the Big House. Gary Gray's worst game ever. The day I re-evaluated how much I let Notre Dame football affect my life
• 2012 - HeisManti

 

Is Michigan a traditional rival? No. Do Notre Dame fans few Michigan more as a enemy? Yes. Am I disappointed they aren't on the schedule in the future? Kind of.

 

But the rivalry between these teams during the past 30 years ranks at the top of the list for Notre Dame. It doesn't have the tradition of Southern Cal, Navy or Michigan State, (hell, even Purdue), but for the last three-plus decades, it has given us its money's worth.

 

For those of you who read the whole thing, I leave you with this video. Thanks for reading and hopefully you come back in the future as the blog gets rolling.