WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis joked this week about how he’s not the lead story in the country heading into Saturday’s game against Purdue.
He’ll be right back in the headlines if the Irish lose.
Notre Dame (2-1) lost to rival Michigan, but Weis avoided further scrutiny when the Irish held off Michigan State last week.
The Irish don’t think they have another rivalry game until they play USC. The problem is, in-state opponent Purdue considers this one of its top annual games, and the capable Boilermakers are looking for a signature win for new coach Danny Hope after nearly getting one at Oregon two weeks ago.
Notre Dame also has to deal with injuries to quarterback Jimmy Clausen and top receiver Michael Floyd. Clausen has been hobbling on a right turf toe, but is expected to play.
he was 12-of-21 for 171 yards after being injured in the 33-30 win over Michigan State.
Hope doesn’t think the injury will matter much to the nation’s No. 2 passer, and he said it won’t change the way the Boilermakers approach the game.
“He doesn’t have to be mobile to throw the football well,” Hope said. “He has a good enough arm, strong enough arm. If they give him time in the pocket, he’s going to make a lot of plays. He’s an outstanding quarterback. You’d have to pressure him whether he was mobile or not.”
The Irish lost Floyd for the season last week with a broken collarbone. Floyd had 11 catches for 320 yards and four touchdowns his first two games. He had six catches for 100 yards in Notre Dame’s 35-21 win over Purdue last year in South Bend.
“Mike is a big playmaker in this offense, and we’re going to miss him,” Clausen said, “but that just means guys have to step up.”
Golden Tate steps in as the No. 1 receiver. He has 19 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns this season. Duval Kamara, who set some school freshman receiving records two years ago but struggled last season, and Robby Parris are expected to help fill in for Floyd.
It might not matter who plays receiver for Notre Dame. Purdue’s pass defense ranks 95th out of 120 FBS schools.
their season opener and enter the game averaging 440 yards and 36 points per game.
Ralph Bolden is the No. 2 rusher in the nation with 421 yards, including 234 against Toledo in the season-opener.
“He’s got very good speed, and he’s a home run threat,” Weis said. “And a ‘home run threat’ means when you give him the ball, that little gallop of his, he can take it to the house every time he touches it.”
Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott finally gets to start a prime-time home game as a fifth-year senior. He has been up-and-down, but Weis says he moves well and puts his team in position to make big plays.
Weis gained a lot of respect for the Boilermakers after watching their 38-36 loss at Oregon in Week 2.
“They had the ball the whole time against Oregon,” Weis said. “Oregon was very fortunate to get out of that game with a win, you know. I mean, they handled them pretty good.”
Purdue will be short-handed on its offensive line. The Big Ten has suspended guard Zach Reckman for Saturday’s game after it reviewed Reckman’s late hit at the end of the Northern Illinois game, a Huskies’ 28-21 win.
Notre Dame has its own problems. The Irish rank 96th in total defense and 63rd in scoring defense, and they expect to be tested on Saturday.
ot to play sound defense. We’ve got to start making plays. That’s something we haven’t been able to do. We get ourselves in trouble in one drive in particular and then we don’t rally the troops. We need to rally the troops.”
Purdue is looking forward to the chance to re-establish itself on the national stage.
“We have a bunch of recruits coming in,” Hope said. “We’re going to have a good time with this thing. We’re not going to play tight. We’re going to go out there and have a ball.”
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