Purdue-Notre Dame
Line: ND -28
Time: 7:30 PM EST
Line courtesy of Bovada
Notre Dame is 2-0 and ranked 11th in the nation, following a big win over Michigan in which the Fighting Irish shutout the Wolverines with a 31-0 victory. The previous week, the Irish destroyed lowly Rice to a tune of 48-17. The defense has been great clearly, ranking 5th in the nation in points allowed, just 8.5 per game.
The pass and run has been well balanced for Notre Dame, racking up 260.5 passing yards and 167.5 on the ground. QB Everett Golson, now a senior, is looking to build on his 2012 season (he sat out last year). In 2012, he completed 37-of-56 (66.1 percent) of his passes while racking up 2,405 yards on 58.8 percent completions.
Most impressively, Golson has five TDs already to just one interception, and has only been sacked twice thus far, a testament to ND’s offensive line. Golson has also rushed 12 times for total of 41 yards. Three of his five TDs have been via the run.
G. Bryant and T. Folston have rushed for a combined 178 yards thus far. Bryant has scored the lone TD between the two, and he has rushed for an average of 5.6 yards, compared to Folstons 4.2 yards.
WRs W. Fuller and A. Carlisle have combined for 22 receptions and 289 yards. Both average over 12 yards per reception and both have scored two TDs.
Purdue is 1-1 on the season with a win over Western Michigan and a loss to Central Michigan. Though both likely should have been victories, overcoming Notre Dame is an improbability.
Notre Dame is 28-point favorites in the affair, and the lack of yardage by Purdue is the main reason why. The Boilermakers rank 95th in the nation in passing yardage and 68th on the run.
RB Raheem Mostert, a senior has already amassed more yardage than his previous three seasons, nearly combined. He’s also rushed 41 times this season, to just 43 the previous three seasons combined. Mostert has also caught six passes for 30 yards.
No. 2 back Akeem Hunt has rushed 18 times for 87 yards, for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. He has a long run of 38 yards, and he’s also caught five passes for 23 yards (average 4.6 yards per reception). Mostert and Hunt are the best chance to keep the Boilermakers in this game.
Sophomore QB Danny Etling is building on his 1,690 yards from 2013. He’s completed 36-of-70 (51.4 percent), while recording two TDs and two INTs. He’s only been sacked once, however, and his QB rating is still a solid 92.0. Play calling may allow Etling to see more chances, though the run remains Purdue’s best weapon.
Trends:
Purdue: 0-4-1 ATS in last 5 on turf; 0-3-1 ATS in last 4 after scoring less than 20 points in previous game; OVER 4-0 in last 4 non-conference games.
ND: 0-4-1 ATS in last 5 after accumulating less than 100 rushing yards per game. 1-5 ATS in last 6 games on turf; 4-1 ATS in last 5 after allowing less than 20 points in previous game.
Head-to-head: Purdue 4-1 ATS in last 5 meetings; 4-1 ATS in last 5 at Notre Dame; Underdog 4-1 ATS in last 5 meetings.
