Purdue Football: Notre Dame Preview – Offense

Current Record: 0-2

Current Ranking: 24

CJ Carr

Comp 39 - Att 62 - Comp% 62.9 - Td 3 - Int 2 - Yds 514 - Long 65 - Sack 5

Notes

Former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr’s grandson has run hot and cold this season. When he heats up, Notre Dame can put up points like they did against A&M. At the same time, he’s a freshman and makes freshman mistakes. He’s thrown a couple of head-scratching interceptions and has a bad habit of holding onto the ball and taking sacks.

Purdue needs to heat him up and see if they can get him to turn the ball over. The Boilermakers need to make this game about CJ Carr.

Jeremiyah Love

Att 33 - Gain 140 - Loss 13 - Net 127 - TD 1 - Long 16 - YPA 3.8

Notes

Love has to be one of the biggest disappointments of the early season. That makes me nervous. He’s a preseason first-team All-American for a reason, and that reason is elite speed. When he hits a crease, it’s all over, but he hasn’t found one of those yet this season. Only having a long of 16 yards is a little shocking, even if they’ve played a couple talented defenses.

The book on Love is easy, but it’s tough to execute. You have to maintain leverage and push him back towards the middle of the field and your help. If he gets the corner, it’s all over; you may as well save your energy and start walking to the sideline.

Miami and A&M have both kept him contained. Does Purdue have enough talent to execute the same game plan?

Eli Raridon

Targets 13 - Rec 9 - Yards 182 - Yards After Catch 85 - TD 0 - Long 65

Notes

The dude is 6’7”, 250, needless to say, he’s a bit of a problem when it comes to coverage. He doesn’t get much separation, but he doesn’t need separation because he’s usually open even when he’s covered because of his ability to go up and get the ball. He’s not a track star, but he’s fast enough to run a long way before getting pulled to the ground.

On the positive side, he’s not a great in-line blocker. He’s not bad, but Purdue needs to take every opportunity to lay a few licks on the lean receiving threat (if there is such a thing as a “lean” 250-pound football player).

Honestly, not sure how Purdue goes about dealing with this guy. The key is going to be getting him on the ground when he does go up and make a catch over your head. Coach Odom may have to borrow TKR for the day.

Malachi Fields

Targets 14 - Rec 8 - Yards 125 - Yards After Catch 26 - TD 0 - Long 27

Notes

Much like Raridon, Fields is a matchup problem at 6’4”, 220. The Virginia transfer is uber physical and turns 50/50 balls into 80/20 balls. He’s not the fastest receiver on Notre Dame’s roster, but his ability to shake off defensive backs once he has the ball in his hands makes him a threat to turn short passes into long gains.

Purdue has good size at both corner spots, but I anticipate Fields pulling down a couple of passes. The Boilermakers can’t let him turn a 12-yard gain into a 45-yard gain.

Left Guard: Billy Schrauth (68.7)

Left Guard: Billy Schrauth (76.6)

Left Guard: Billy Schrauth (70.5)

Notes

Hey, want to know a secret?

Notre Dame’s offensive line has been dog water the first two games. Carr has been beaten up in both games, and Love hasn’t found any space on the outside and no seams up the gut.

I’m not sure that’s great news for Purdue because it’s not like these guys lack talent. There is no coincidence that the Boilermaker’s left tackle is a Notre Dame transfer. They tend to be loaded up front. I think Notre Dame is going to see this as an opportunity for their collection of four- and five-star earth movers to “get right” after a couple of duds to start the season. Purdue’s front seven is going to be put to the test early and often.

Overall Talent

Notre Dame is loaded with talent. That’s their best attribute on offense. CJ Carr has a live arm, Jeremiyah Love can be an elite back, and Raridon and Fields can both take it the distance if given the opportunity.

The talent gulf will be felt most acutely the further down the roster Purdue has to go on defense. Purdue’s starters are a notch below the Fighting Irish, but the drop-off after the Boilermaker starters is precipitous. Purdue needs their best defenders to play like their best defenders, and more importantly, they need to stay healthy.

It’s not that Notre Dame has done anything in particular that will bother Purdue’s defense; it’s that their skill position players should be able to win individual matchups. Notre Dame has played a brutal early-season schedule and will be looking to get their big names (especially Love) back on track against the Boilermakers.

I know y’all love math, so let’s talk math. Purdue needs to bring as much outcome variance as possible to this game. That means loading up against the run and daring CJ Carr to beat them with his arm. There isn’t much outcome variance in a Love run, and I don’t think Purdue has enough up front to withstand a four-quarter rushing assault from the Fighting Irish.

The offense has to put up points early, and the defense has to get off the field when they’re fresh early in the game. The chances of Purdue winning are slim, but one winning scenario is Purdue taking an early lead and CJ Carr turning the ball over as pressure begins to mount. That’s probably not going to happen, but it would be super cool for Purdue if it did.

I expect Notre Dame to try to make a statement on Saturday with their run game. Tailback Jeremiyah Love was a consensus preseason First Team All-American and both Miami and Texas A&M have kept him under wraps. In fact, reserve running back Jadarian Price has been the more efficient runner for the Fighting Irish this season.

Notre Dame is frustrated after starting the season 0-2, and they’ll be looking to take those frustrations out against Purdue. The Boilermakers have to stay in the game early. One advantage of playing a team that is frustrated coming into the game is that they may start pressing if things don’t go their way early.

I expect Notre Dame to control this game on the ground and physically dominate Purdue’s front seven while taking enough deep shots to their gigantic pass catchers to keep the safeties back. That’s the most likely outcome, but the optimist in me sees a potential way forward. At the same time, the optimist in me is exceedingly stupid, so maybe take what he says with a grain of salt.

I already laid it.

Browne and Purdue come out hot. The fresh defense stuff, Love, and the Notre Dame run game on the first couple of possessions, and Notre Dame starts to panic. Maybe the crowd starts getting a little restless after the 0-2 start and some boo birds start chirping in the stadium.

If Purdue comes out hot, they can almost flip the home-field advantage to their favor. Notre Dame fans are looking for a reason to be angry, and Purdue hanging with them early could provide that.

Get hot early, hope for mistakes from a pressing Notre Dame team, hold on for dear life late.

The odds of that happening are slim, but hey, it’s something to keep an eye on at least. Stranger things have happened in college football.

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