Notre Dame's Win Against Purdue Is Nothing to get Excited About

Let me just break it down. Purdue got blown out to Cincinnati. They barely beat Indiana State. In those games, Rob Henry barely had 300 yards combined and failed to throw a touchdown. He also had two interceptions. So allowing him to throw for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns is absolutely unacceptable. The Boilermakers didn't even belong on the same field as the Irish.

The defense did play better in spots in the second half but still let a couple sloppy plays result in big gains. Their inability to stop on third and long just gets on my nerves. The offense took awhile to get going but they did have a great second half. Tommy Rees once again was phenominal with another 300+ yard passing game and two more touchdowns. Most importantly he did not throw an interception. DaVaris Daniels was his favorite target tonight with 8 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

The one offensive concern was the the running game. It was non-existant until that last drive when Cam McDaniel stepped up and ran the clock out with tough running. McDaniel also had the only rushing touchdown. Amir Carlisle had a really bad night with only 16 yards and a fumble that could have been a disaster.

What is really concerning is the schedule ahead. Our next opponent is Michigan State who seemed to break out of an offensive funk by putting up 55. Granted it was Youngstown State, but Purdue did nothing against that level of talent. Michigan State will also be the toughest defense Rees and the offense have seen so far.

It won't get any easier after that. Oklahoma put up 51 against Tulsa with Blake Bell throwing over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns. If that isn't scary enough, they now have two weeks two prepare while Notre Dame is dealing with the Spartans.

Arizona State also put up 32 against Wisconsin and USC broke out of it's funk and put up 35 against Boston College. Even Pittsburgh who we play later score 49. Honestly, I am not sure how this defense will stop any of them. Can Rees and company keep pace with them? The defenses will get tougher.

I am glad the team got it together in the second half but I am not optimistic at this point about making a BCS Bowl. I hope I am wrong.