CFB on Saturday night and we will see the Notre Dame Fighting Irish visit the Purdue Boilermakers. The start time is 8:00 pm Eastern) and the game will be televised on ABC. Current Odds have Notre Dame listed as 19 point favorites, while the total sits at 49.
Analysis: The 21st-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish continue a three-game stretch of opponents from the Big Ten Conference, with a road trip to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Notre Dame had its 12-game regular season win streak come to an end last week, losing to Michigan 41-30. Tommy Rees completed 29-of-51 attempts for 314 yards with two touchdowns and the same number of interceptions in the loss to Michigan, but despite the two INTs he has produced good yardage, hitting the 300 yard passing mark in both of his starts this year. Rees has a great chemistry with senior wideout T.J. Jones, who has racked up 232 yards and a touchdown on 15 receptions already. The Irish's defense was one of the best in the nation last year, but they had no answer for Michigan's scrambling quarterback Devin Gardner and surrendered 460 yards of total offense in the game. Senior linebacker Dan Fox leads the team with 20 total stops through two games, but ND must get more presure on the QB having recorded just two sacks on the year after averaging 2.8 per contest in 2012.
Purdue started the year getting blasted by Cincinnati 42-7, but they did bounce back with a lackluster 20-14 win over FCS foe Indiana State. A date with the Purdue offense may just bet what the Irish defense needs. The Boilermakers are ranked 116th out of 123 FBS teams in total offense (255 yards) and tied for 113th in points (13.5) and have just four scores (two touchdowns and two field goals) in seven red-zone trips. QB Rob Henry has been shaky so far in 2013, completing 33-of-59 attempts for 311 yards with two interceptions, while tailback Akeem Hunt has had trouble finding running room this season averaging just 3.6 ypc, after 8.0 ypc last year. Purdue showed improvement on the defensive side of the ball from week one and held ISU to only 39 rushing yards on 22 carries. The Bearcats amassed 221 yards on the ground on 47 carries against the Boilermakers the previous week. Purdue lost junior safety Landon Feichter to a broken leg and sophomore Anthony Brown will likely take his place. The Fighting Irish own a 56-26-2 all-time record against Purdue and have won 22 of the previous 27 encounters.
Pick: Defense should be key in this game. The Irish have struggled some on that side of the ball this year and I expect that to be their focus in this one as they will need that defense if they hope to take care of some of the tougher teams on their schedule. The Purdue offense won't scare anyone this year, while their defense has played very well in 6 of their 8 quarters they've played so far. Look for this one to finish around 40.
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