Halftime: Notre Dame 14, Purdue 14
Halftime: Notre Dame 14, Purdue 14
Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- I figured we'd have a game by halftime.
It's 14-14 and I have no idea which way this is going to go.
The Purdue offense has been able to move the ball well, but has failed to execute at key times. The Notre Dame offense has been OK. Jimmy Clausen still looks spotty. He's had great passes and he's had awful ones. He should have been picked three times. The first half was a microcosm of his up-and-down season.
But Clausen's receivers, Michael Floyd especially, have bailed him out. Floyd, a freshman, has been fantastic so far. He's caught everything thrown his way and even some stuff that kind of fluttered his direction. He's made Clausen look very good at times and he's been a headache for the Purdue pass defense.
As for the Notre Dame defense, here's the problem. Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter has thrown 34 passes and he's yet to be sacked. It's not like he has a lot of time back there, but he's a veteran quarterback with a quick release. Notre Dame is giving 3 seconds to find his target and he's taking advantage of it. Notre Dame continues to have just one sack this season with its so-called blitzing defense.
There also are a lot of missed tackles, which have led to a couple big gains. I'd imagine Purdue's going to come back out in the second half and establish the run again. It kind got away from it in the second quarter.
The Notre Dame kicking game continues to be a problem for the Irish. Head coach Charlie Weis intimated earlier in the week that there might be a change at kicker, stating that he was going to have both Brandon Walker and Ryan Burkhart kick after practice and the best would play. Apparently, that was Walker because he took the first field goal -- and missed it.
Walker is 0-for-4 this season, including two misses last weekend against Michigan State. And today's field goal was a 31-yard chip shot. Walker struggled last season, too, and if there's a better option Weis should find it. Heck, take a page out of Mike Leach's book and hold open tryouts.
I like Notre Dame's chances in this one, though. If the defense can keep playing well and Clausen can avoid throwing two picks this game -- he's thrown two in every other game this season -- then the Irish have a good chance to move to 3-1.
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