You know those games where you're just sitting there and all of a sudden you realize, "Holy hell, this game is over"? That's how I felt before the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Purdue Boilermakers game. I saw zero chance for Purdue. Zero.
I was not wrong.
My parents were out of town, so my brother had some people over at their River North loft. I chilled for a bit, watching the Irish pick-off Boilermakers QB, Caleb TerBush (that name has to be dirty, somehow), on the FIRST PLAY OF THE GAME. That is pretty much all you need to know. It was that kind of game.
Two plays later, Tommy Rees chucked a 35-yard TD pass to Michael Floyd. The game was over. The TV was switched to Wisconsin vs. Nebraska. After ND took a 14-0 first quarter lead on an 82-yard TD drive, capped off by a Jonas Gray 2-yard dash, I left for a surprise birthday party at Richard's Bar on Milwaukee and Grand. I'd rather talk about that.
Richard's is rumored to be run by the mob. I believe it, wholeheartedly. The dive is occupied by late-20-to-early-30-somethings and 60-year-old Italian men with pinstriped suits and slicked back hair. The jukebox runs constantly with hits from the past. Beers are $3 and you're allowed to smoke IN THE BAR. 1997 never seemed so close. We had a grand time -- shots taken, birthdays congratulated, girls talked to. Splendid evening, really. The TV also had the game on.
Lets just make this easier on everyone (click pic to enlarge):
This game didn't really say a whole lot that we didn't already know about Notre Dame. We knew they have a wealth of talent at the skill positions and a pretty sick defense. However, it told us everything needed to know about Purdue. We knew they were bad, like, losing to Rice bad, but we -- at least I -- did not know they were also poorly, horribly coached.
With two weeks to prepare for the Irish, all Purdue had to do was watch last week's clinic on how to shutdown the Irish offense put on by Pittsburgh. Simply, stop Floyd anyway possible. The Panthers did it by pressing him at the line and bracketing him over the top. This strategy held Notre Dame to a first half touchdown and 15 total points. Instead, Purdue opted to go one-on-one with the first round talent. They had two weeks to prepare. Ricardo Allen may never recover from the absolute dick kicking that Floyd put on him (12 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown). To be fair, he never had a chance with his coaching staff leaving him on an inhabitable island. They had two weeks to prepare.
Maybe, just maybe, Boilermakers coaches saw the Irish adjust at half in that game, throwing to Tyler Eifert instead. But still, just a terrible coaching call. They had two weeks to prepare. We also found out that Purdue cannot stop the run. At all. The Irish nearly had two backs run for 100 yards, totaling 287 yards overall.
In short, suck it, Boiled Sports.
Super awesome numbers and shit...
ND / Purdue
551 / 276 -- Total yards
287 / 84 -- Rushing yards
7.2 / 3.1 -- Yards per rush
264 / 192 -- Passing yards
38 / 10 -- Score
Super awesome notes and shit...
-Cierre Wood is sexy. Super sexy (20 carries for 191 yards (9.6 avg), 2 receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown)
-Jonas Gray is also sexy, but like "thick chick" sexy (15 carries for 94 yards)
-Michael Floyd is a super model (stats above)
-Is this Tommy Rees' breakout game? Or is he becoming an even bigger conundrum? (24/40 for 254 yards and three TDs)
-Lets give HUGE props to the Notre Dame defense. They are super fast and super good.
Super awesome emoticon on how I felt after this game and shit...
Read my other Notre Dame recaps: USF, Michigan, MSU and Pitt.
Twitter @ZWMartin