So far, so good, for Purdue, which is off to a 2-0 start with wins vs. Oregon State and UConn.
Now comes the hard part. Next up: Notre Dame, where the Boilermakers play on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
This will be Purdue’s first trip to South Bend, Ind., since 2012, as the schools separated by roughly 100 miles renew their rivalry for the Shillelagh. There was a time when Purdue and Notre Dame played each season. It happened from 1946-2014. The foes won’t meet in 2022 or 2023, but ND comes to West Lafayette in 2024, as the schools play each season through 2028.
“Well, Notre Dame is a veteran football team,” said Purdue coach Jeff Brohm at his Monday press conference. “They’ve proven they can win at a high level. They play one of the toughest schedules in the country every year against great competition.”
The Boilermakers last played the Fighting Irish in 2014, a game that took place in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and won 30-14 by ND. Notre Dame has won the last five meetings. The Boilers last prevailed in 2007, 33-19 in Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue’s last victory at ND came in 2004, a 41-16 decision.
“They’ve got a really good defensive front that’s big and active and athletic and shows quickness and twitch,” said Brohm. “They’ve got linebackers that play downhill and strike. They’ve got a veteran secondary.
“Offensively they’ve got a proven quarterback who’s played well at two different spots, a really good running back and probably an all-pro tight end. They’ve got weapons; they’ve got skill; they’ve got really good players.”
Purdue is coming off the most dominating win of the Brohm era, a 49-0 pasting of UConn. That victory moved the Boilermakers to 2-0 for the second season in a row. The last time Purdue started 3-0? You have to go back to 2007, the last time the Boilers topped ND as they began 5-0.
The 2007 season is also the last time Purdue was ranked in the AP poll, as the Boilermakers sat No. 23 on Oct. 1, 2007. A week after beating the Fighting Irish, the Boilermakers lost to Ohio State at home and fell out of the poll. The program never has returned. Perhaps a win at ND would vault Purdue back into the Top 25.
Purdue will face a Notre Dame squad that also is 2-0, as the Irish have won 41-38 at Florida State in overtime and 32-29 vs. Toledo at home last Saturday.
“They’ve had to work for the last two wins, which actually from their standpoint really is a good thing because it gives them a chance to see the few things they need to work on to get better, but they found a way to win,” said Brohm. “That’s what winning football teams do. There have been a couple other top-10 teams in the country that haven’t been able to do that the last week or two, and they have, so give credit to them for pulling out victories.”
The Irish lead the all-time series, 56-26-2, but Purdue has enjoyed some “Spoilermaker” moments of glory vs. ND. Who can forget Vinny Sutherland and the bubble screen in 1997? And how about 1984 in the Hoosier Dome? The stunner in South Bend in 1974?
Brohm knows his team has its work cut out for it to pull the upset, as Purdue is a seven-point underdog.
“Very talented team, and we’ve got our hands full,” said Brohm.
Without running back Zander Horvath, Purdue will turn to junior King Doerue and redshirt freshman Dylan Downing to be the primary ball carriers. But they likely will be only as good as a Boilermaker offensive line that will face its biggest test yet.”
“Well, this is going to be a big challenge for us,” said Brohm. “We’re facing a real front four, a real front seven. First thing you do when you watch them, they’ve got some twitch, and they can come off the ball and they can get off blocks and they play hard and they get penetration, so we’ll have our hands full.
“This will be a huge test for us to see how we stack up, and we’re going to have to figure out ways to get it done in the trenches and have a little creativity in case we’re not getting as many yards as we want, and all those things are going to have to come into play, but it’ll be a great chance for our offensive line to play against a really good front.”
Through two games, Purdue has only one turnover. And that came in the opener vs. Oregon State off a fake field goal, with holder Jack Albers throwing to tight end Payne Durham, who had the ball wrestled from him.
“The fact that we’ve not turned the ball over in two games is great,” said Brohm. “We work hard at it. But it’s going to happen at some point, and you hope that it doesn’t, but we’ve done a good job of doing the small things, I think, to help get us to move the ball a little bit.”
Horvath isn’t the only Boilermaker out on Saturday. Another key player on offense likely will be missing.
“Garrett Miller is probably doubtful this week,” Brohm said of his No. 2 tight end who was hurt last week at UConn.
Look for tight ends Kyle Bilodeau, Paul Piferi and Jack Cravaack to get increased time behind No. 1 option Payne Durham.
Purdue also saw junior cornerback Jamari Brown–a transfer from Kentucky–get dinged on Saturday with what Brohm called a “head related” injury.
“Jamari Brown, we’re optimistic he can get back,” said Brohm.
Three potential contributing players entered 2021 coming off of surgery: sophomore S Antonio Stevens, sophomore DE Dontay Hunter and sophomore DE Sulaiman Kpaka.
“All three of those guys had offseason surgery,” said Brohm. “Antonio may or may not get back this year. We’ll see. Dontay Hunter, if he does, it’ll be later in the season is his time frame. And then on Kpaka, he would be the same thing if not even beyond after his surgery.”