The Anti-Preview: #10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish VS Purdue Boilermakers

For 14 years I have provided the most irrelevant game preview for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish — but I’ve also provide the most relevant fan preview for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (don’t @ me).

SO LFG!

Notre Dame finds themselves in a little bit of a pickle. The Irish are 2-0, but easily could be 0-2. Things have been rough and out of sorts for both sides of the ball, but they have been far from disastrous.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

One of the fun stats on defense that I like is that opponents have run 137 plays through 2 games. 4 have gone for 282 yards. 133 have gained 517 yards. That’s 3.8 yards per 133 snaps and 70.5 yards per four snaps.

Offensively, despite the run game woes, Jack Coan has thrown for over 600 yards and has 6 touchdowns with a 69% completion rate (nice). Those are really pretty stats — and still no one can say that he’s been “great” through two games. The opportunity to get better (looking at you Jack-O-Line) is right there in front of them.

Purdue Boilermakers

The Fighting Petes of West Lafayette also have a 2-0 record with home wins over the Oregon State Beavers and UConn Huskies. Statistically, they’re not much different from Notre Dame offensively.

Brendan McAlinden

The Boilers have struggled running the ball — and now starting running back Zander Horvath is out for a while with a broken leg. They have aerial weapons, however, with David Bell and Payne Durham receiving the ball from Jack Plummer. Defensively, they gave up 21 to the Beavs and shutout UConn. With George Karlaftis at defensive end, you’d think he would have sacks a plenty at this point — but he has just one.

But enough of all of that... let’s just be petty for petty’s sake.

What should you be drinking?

This game is as Indiana as it gets. Purdue vs the Indiana Hoosiers for the Old Oaken Bucket though... yeah, this game is as Indiana as it gets. So, keeping in that spirit, let’s wander over to The Hoppy Gnome in Fort Wayne. Sure HG has a tremendous beer selection (and their tacos are hot fire) but for an old head like me... they still have Old Style on Tap. Chicago’s best (not brewed in Chicago) which means it’s good enough for the Summit City with Falstaff long gone. I LITERALLY could not wait one more week.

What should you be eating?

You have a case of one of the finest lagers in the land, so it doesn’t really matter what you eat. I’ll tell you what... I’ll provide you 2 of Indiana’s great culinary masterpieces, and you can vote on which way to go.

• Coney Dogs
• Beef Manhattan

Indianapolis is the birth place of the Beef Manhattan, and the MCL is where it all went down. Fort Wayne’s Famous Coney Island is a city tradition, and one of the most perfect foods on earth.

The name irony is also very Indiana.

What should you be wearing?

Notre Dame, for reasons beyond understanding, made this game a GREEN OUT. Knowing many of you took care of your apparel needs for the year months ago when Homefield released their Notre Dame collection, might I suggest this 1970’s retro shirt.

Pairing retro with futuristic kicks is a solid choice as well.

Notre Dame Under Armour HOVR Sonic 4 Running Shoe - Green

• $120

Add some much-needed team flair to your workout routine with this Under Armour HOVR Sonic 4 Running Shoe. It features bold team colors and a crisp Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo on tongue, so no one will be able question your die-hard fandom or athletic spirit when you’re rocking these sweet kicks.

• $120 at Fanatics

A rivalry trophy?

Notre Dame gets their first crack at a rivalry trophy game since Boston College last season. The real question is... how is BK going to drink out of the stick?

It is simply called The Shillelagh Trophy. It was donated by a merchant seaman and Fighting Irish fan, Joe McLaughlin. He purchased the blackthorn oak club while in Ireland.

The winner of the game has received this trophy since the 1957 game. The winner has its initials put on a football medallion along with the score, and that is placed on the oak stand the Shillelagh sits upon.

The Irish hold a 58-26-2 record all-time against the Boilermakers, making this in-state-rivalry-trophy-game a bit underwhelming for most Irish fans. Underwhelming, of course, until it’s lost — so let’s not do that.

Notre Dame Homefield Vintage Onward To Victory T-Shirt - Heathered Green

• $32

Celebrate the unique traditions and history of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with this Vintage Onward To Victory T-shirt from Homefield. Its throwback design features detailed printed graphics on the front, highlighting what makes being a passionate Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan so special. Crafted with premium material, this athletic fit tee provides an ultra-soft feel for unmatched comfort on game days and beyond.

• $32 at Fanatics

HAIKU

Will they bring the drum?
Have fun up in the nose bleeds.
Crazy Trains derail.

Be sure to throw your haikus in the comments below.

3 reasons to hate Purdue

• Taylor Stubblefield’s choo choo.
• Drew Brees in the booth instead of the tight end that was the winning quarterback that day... Gary Godsey.
• Gene Keady.

At the end of the day...

It’s strange how pivotal this game has become over the last few weeks. Notre Dame’s performance to date has been very uneven, and the combination of an overtime win against FSU and a last minute win over Toledo, provides no real confidence. Still… I think Notre Dame puts together a complete performance on Saturday and sets new positive vibe momentum for the season. IRISH 38 — Purdue 20