(Photo: Joseph Weiser/Fighting Irish Preview)
Notre Dame entered Saturday undefeated. It left West Lafayette looking complete.
The Irish demolished Purdue 49-10, building a 35-0 halftime lead and answering some of the biggest questions that remained after the first three games. The running game finally produced explosive plays. The pass rush overwhelmed Purdue. CJ Carr had weapons everywhere. And for long stretches, Notre Dame simply looked too talented and too physical for the Boilermakers.
For the first time this season, Notre Dame looked like the complete team everyone expected it to be.
THE PASS RUSH MADE A STATEMENT
Notre Dame’s pass rush has become one of the strengths of this football team. Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne entered Saturday with three straight 300-yard passing performances. Against Notre Dame, he finished with 111 yards. The Irish didn’t just slow him down. They overwhelmed him.
Notre Dame made Browne uncomfortable all afternoon. Bryce Young finished with two sacks, including one that forced a fumble and led to a Drayk Bowen touchdown. Armel Mukam added a sack, while Boubacar Traore and Joey O’Brien combined for another.
The Irish recorded six sacks, but the sacks don’t tell the entire story. Notre Dame consistently generated pressure without needing to blitz everyone. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaiden Ausberry and others also made Browne move around and get rid of the ball before he wanted to.
This defensive front is becoming a major problem for opposing offenses. The defense already looked elite through three games. Against Purdue, it looked even better.
THE RUN GAME HAS ARRIVED
This was the biggest question coming into Purdue: Where were the explosive runs? Notre Dame finally found them.
Aneyas Williams broke off a 22-yard touchdown run, while Jonaz Walton later ripped off a 44-yard run. The difference started up front. The offensive line gave Notre Dame’s backs actual space to work with, and when the holes were there, the backs hit them. That’s what this offense needed.
Nolan James Jr. showed against Michigan State that he can handle a bigger workload. Williams showed Saturday that he can still be a major part of this offense. Walton showed why his explosiveness matters.
Williams led the Irish in rushing with 80 yards on 14 carries. Walton had 61 yards, while James Jr. had 28. The Irish averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
Notre Dame doesn’t need one running back to carry the entire room. It needs all three of them to give defenses different problems. Maybe the answer isn’t choosing one of them. Maybe the answer is all three.
Saturday was the first time this season the Irish running game looked capable of changing a game. If that continues, an offense that already has one of the best young quarterbacks in the country becomes much more difficult to defend.
CARR DOESN’T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING
CJ Carr threw three touchdown passes, ran for another and threw his first interception of the season. And Notre Dame still completely controlled the game.
Carr didn’t have to throw 40 times. He didn’t have to make a ridiculous play every drive. He didn’t have to carry the offense by himself. The running game was working. The defense was dominating. Micah Gilbert continued making big plays. Jordan Faison remained highly involved.
That’s the kind of offense Irish fans want to see around Carr. He’s good enough to carry Notre Dame when it needs him to, but he shouldn’t have to do it every week. And increasingly, it looks like he won’t have to.
MICAH GILBERT IS THE REAL DEAL
At this point, Micah Gilbert should not be described as a breakout candidate anymore. He has proven himself to be a legitimate playmaker for the Irish.
After exploding for 170 yards against Michigan State, Gilbert followed it up with 83 yards and a touchdown against Purdue. His 56-yard catch was another reminder that he can flip the field in a hurry.
Jordan Faison is already established. Now defenses have to worry about Gilbert, too. That gives Carr another proven option and makes Notre Dame considerably harder to defend. Gilbert has moved beyond potential. He has become one of Notre Dame’s weapons.
THIS TEAM HAS DEPTH
Notre Dame had enough separation by the fourth quarter to get its younger players on the field, and those players got valuable reps. Walton broke loose for 44 yards. Noah Grubbs threw his first career touchdown pass to Matt Jeffery, who caught his first career touchdown.
Those snaps can matter later in the season. Notre Dame is going to need more than its starting 22. Injuries happen. Players get tired. And as the season goes on, the stakes get bigger.
Having players who can step in and contribute matters. Notre Dame is starting to show that it has them.
NOW DO IT AGAIN
Notre Dame finishes September with a perfect 4-0 record, the first undefeated September of Marcus Freeman’s time at Notre Dame.
Saturday wasn’t perfect. Carr threw an interception, Purdue eventually found the end zone and the Boilermakers aren’t the measuring stick for Notre Dame’s entire season. But none of that takes away from what happened in West Lafayette.
The pass rush took over. The offensive line opened things up. The running game finally produced explosive plays. Carr had weapons around him. Gilbert again showed that his breakout against Michigan State wasn’t a one-game thing. And Notre Dame’s depth got valuable reps.
For three weeks, Notre Dame kept winning while still having questions to answer. Saturday, the Irish answered some of them.
Now comes a trip to Chapel Hill. Can the running game keep producing explosive plays? Can the pass rush keep taking over games? Can Carr continue building chemistry with Faison, Gilbert and the rest of the offense?
Those are different questions than Notre Dame faced a few weeks ago. The Irish are no longer trying to figure out whether they have the pieces. They’re starting to show what those pieces can look like when they all work together.
For three weeks, Notre Dame kept winning while still having questions to answer. Saturday, the Irish finally answered some of the remaining questions.
There are still things Notre Dame can improve. But four games into the season, the questions are starting to disappear. The Notre Dame team everyone expected to see is starting to show up