Tag: Purdue Boilermakers Football

Big Ten with four top ten teams in week 11 rankings

Four Big Ten teams are ranked within the top ten of both major polls ahead of week 11.

The Big Ten will enter week 11 of the 2024 college football season with four of the top ten teams in the country in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25.

The Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Indiana Hoosiers are all ranked within the top ten in both polls.

Oregon is the consensus No. 1 team, with all 62 first-place votes in the AP Poll and 53 of 54 first-place votes in the Coaches poll. The Ohio State Buckeyes, fresh off a top-five win over then No. 3 Penn State, are the No. 3 team in both polls.

Penn State, after suffering its first loss of the season, dropped to No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 7 in the Coaches poll, while Indiana made its top ten debut at No. 8 and No. 10 in each respective poll.

Outside of the four top-ten-ranked teams, the Big Ten has no other conference members ranked within the top 25 this week. The Washington Huskies were the only other program to receive votes in the AP Poll, while the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Illinois Fighting Illini all received votes in the Coaches Poll.

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Here’s when Ohio State vs. Purdue will kick off

Ohio State will continue its season next Saturday with a home matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers. Here’s when it will kick off.

Ohio State football will welcome Purdue to Ohio Stadium this coming Saturday, and now, it is known that the game will kick off at noon and be on FOX.

The Buckeyes have been a staple for FOX’s “Big Noon Saturday,” having been part of the event for now three straight weeks. The release of the game time was from a school spokesperson and via The Columbus Dispatch.

The Boilermakers sit last in the Big Ten and will likely be a multi-score underdog as they face the top-ten Ohio State Buckeyes.

However, the Buckeyes have struggled in prior weeks as a large favorite and at home. After all, they did beat Nebraska just 21-17 on October 26, so hopefully this game isn’t one being overlooked.

Ohio State is coming off a 20-13 win over the then-No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions on the road. That was easily its biggest win of the season.

Regardless, Purdue is 0-5 in conference play and 1-7 overall. It has also yet to win on the road. That said, it did give Illinois one of the most electric games of the season on October 12, losing 50-49 in overtime.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman explains lack of reps for Jaden Greathouse

Expect to see more of Jaden Greathouse going forward.

Talented Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse didn’t have a ton of reps against Purdue in Week 3.

Concerning for a Fighting Irish team that has been looking to get its passing game untracked? Nah.

According to head coach Marcus Freeman it was a combination of the specific game plan against Purdue, and the choice to rest starters after halftime in the 66-7 blowout win over the Boilermakers.

“We wanted to probably be in a little bit more 12-personnel to start the game versus Purdue, just the way to try to attack their defense that we thought would give us the best chance to have success. And then, (Greathouse) didn’t play much in the second half, just because of the lead, and I wanted to give some other guys some opportunities,” Freeman said. “But he did a great job again with the opportunities he had in the first half. I know he had the 25-yard catch that was negated by the holding penalties. So, Jaden did exactly what we asked out of him.”

Jaden Greathouse didn't play much against Purdue but Irish fans needn't worry.
Sep 14, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) pushes Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Ayden Murray (44) out of the way during a run in the second quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

In other words, Irish fans who have been expecting to see more of Greathouse needn’t worry, at least not based on his usage against Purdue. If Greathouse isn’t used more later in the season, that will be a different story, especially if the passing game struggles.

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Notre Dame at Purdue was one of the most-watched Week 3 college football games

Notre Dame’s beatdown of Purdue drew a large audience, though it wasn’t top five for the week.

Maybe it’s because Notre Dame football usually has a large audience. Maybe it’s because neutral fans were curious to see if the Fighting Irish could bounce back after the loss to Northern Illinois at home. Maybe neutral fans wanted to see the Irish get upset two weeks in a row.

Whatever the reason, a lot of people tuned in to see Notre Dame visit the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday.

According to The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, the game was the eighth-most watched college football game of the weekend, with 2.3 million people tuning into CBS to watch.

The most-watched game was Georgia at Kentucky. That’s not surprising given the Bulldogs’ status as one of the top two teams in the country, and it was also the night game on ABC. It’s hard to tell how the flow of a game affects the total number, but that game was also close to an upset.

Alabama at Wisconsin drew 5 million on Fox, and Lousiana State’s escape against South Carolina drew 4.9 million to ABC during the day on Saturday.

The top five were rounded out by Texas A&M at Florida on ABC (4.8 million) and Colorado-Colorado State on CBS (3.2 million).

 

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Notre Dame defensive lineman Boubacar Traore now shares key feat with Stephon Tuitt

The young defensive line did something no Irish defensive lineman has done since Tuitt’s time in South Bend.

Whenever your name is mentioned in the same breath as Stephon Tuitt, that’s probably a good thing. Especially if you play defensive line for the Fighting Irish.

That’s the case for Boubacar Traore. His pick-six against Purdue was the first one for an Irish D-lineman since Tuitt did it against Michigan in 2013.

It’s the first interception for any Fighting Irish defensive lineman since Daelin Hayes in 2020, as well.

Only one time in the past 30 years has an Irish defensive lineman returned one longer for a touchdown — nose tackle Alton Maiden took one 44 yards to the house against Navy in 1994.

“I didn’t even think it was going to come to me,” Traore told the South Bend Tribune when asked about his 34-yard touchdown return of the errant Hudson Card pass. “When I saw the ball, I just had to make the best out of the situation. I got the ball and just ran.”

With fellow lineman Jordan Botelho out for the season with a knee injury, and defensive end Josh Burnham question for this week’s home game against Miami of Ohio, the redshirt freshman Traore might be on the move against the Redhawks.

If so, he told the Tribune, he’s ready.

“I already knew what to do at end because the Vyper and end position aren’t too different,” Traore said. “The preparation was still the same. I was in the playbook a little more this week. It was fun playing in the end position.”

Boubacar Traore would take this Hudson Card pass the other way to the end zone.
Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Hudson Card (1) is hit as his pass is intercepted by Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Boubacar Traore (5) Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.

Vyper, for those who don’t know, is a hybrid position that is essentially a rushing end.

Traore is young, but he might be able to shore up a stout but injury-plagued defensive line.

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Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard snags award for performance at Purdue

Riley Leonard uses his feet to get a key award for week 3.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard got an award for his three-touchdown performance at Purdue on Saturday.

He is a Week 3 recipient of the Davey O’Brien Great 8/Davey Double after running for 100 yards and those three touchdowns, plus passing for another 112 yards, all in the first half.

The coaching staff sat him in the second half — with a huge lead there was no reason to risk injury to Leonard during the remainder of what would be a 66-7 win over the Purdue Boilermakers.

It was also a chance for backup Steve Angeli and third-string QB Kenny Minchey to get some reps.

Some fans have been calling for Angeli to start after Leonard struggled in the first two weeks, and Leonard’s award-winning Week 3 performance might not be enough to satisfy those folks — he still doesn’t have a touchdown through the air.

On the other hand, 112 passing yards in just one half is not all that bad, and the Fighting Irish passing game looked better in Week 3 than it had previously. And Leonard certainly knows how to use his legs to get yards on the ground — and to find the end zone.

 

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Experts Still Down on Notre Dame Despite Blowout at Purdue

The Fighting Irish remain outside the experts’ top 10. It will likely stay this way until the Irish face Louisville in South Bend.

While the AP has Notre Dame at No. 18 in the Top 25 poll and the USA Today/coaches poll has the Fighting Irish at the same spot, other experts didn’t give the Irish much credit for beating the brakes off the Purdue Boilermakers 66-7 on Saturday.

As with the AP and coaches poll, there are likely a few factors at play. There were no major upsets — though there were a couple of close calls. The Irish were expected to beat Purdue. Notre Dame hasn’t yet faced a true test since the shocking loss to Northern Illinois. Sure, there was concern the Irish might have a hangover after the loss to the Huskies, but it’s unlikely that Notre Dame will face an on-field test until Louisville comes to town in two weeks.

Danny Kannell has the Irish out of his top 12, with the top five being Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Miami and Alabama. CFB Kings has the Irish in the No. 22 spot and a top five of Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Miami. Meanwhile, Joel Klatt has the Irish outside his top 10, with a top five of Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Tennessee and Georgia.

It will probably take a fairly decisive win over Louisville for Notre Dame to climb back up the rankings, unless other teams get upset. It also goes without saying that the Irish will need to win at home — and probably win by a comfortable margin, at a minimum — over Miami of Ohio, as well.

 

 

 

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Despite big win at Purdue, Notre Dame doesn’t move much in AP Top 25 poll

Notre Dame’s big win doesn’t do much for the AP voters.

Notre Dame gained just one spot, moving from No. 18 to No. 17, in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, despite blowing out the Purdue Boilermakers 66-7 on the road.

There appear to be a few reasons for this. There is the ongoing fallout from the Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois — despite being idle Saturday, the Huskies gained two spots to No. 23 — as well as the perception that the Fighting Irish were supposed to take care of business against a down-and-out Purdue squad that isn’t expected to contend for much.

It’s also a week in which there just wasn’t much movement in general. There weren’t really any upsets involving Top 25 teams, though there were scares. LSU stays one spot ahead of the Irish at No. 16 after nearly losing to South Carolina, and Georgia drops out of the top spot and falls to No. 2 after hanging on against Kentucky in a low-scoring nail-biter.

Missouri dropped a spot to No. 7 with a one-score win over Boston College. We should note that the Irish did pass Michigan, which is now No. 18.

Back to the Irish — the poll continues to reflect that Notre Dame shouldn’t have lost to Northern Illinois, although the longer NIU stays ranked the less bad that loss looks. Voters are likely expecting the Irish to take care of business right now. Things will get a bit more interesting two weeks from now when Notre Dame hosts No. 19 Louisville in South Bend — a bad loss to the Cardinals last season derailed the Irish’s playoff bid.

Should Notre Dame win that game, the polls will get quite interesting. Until then, it appears the voters aren’t going to reward Notre Dame for doing what was expected against Purdue, and that will probably hold true next week against Miami of Ohio, too.

 

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Notre Dame Week 3 highlight: Kenny Minchey gets first career TD

Notre Dame is winning by so much that a third-string QB can get his first career TD.

Notre Dame is dominating the Purdue Boilermakers so thoroughly that third-string quarterback Kenny Minchey is in the game.

He promptly finished off a 3-play, 31-yard touchdown drive with a 5-yard run. That put the Fighting Irish up 66-7 with 5:44 to play.

Talk about a response to the letdown against Northern Illinois.

The Fighting Irish still have a long road ahead if they want to make the College Football Playoff, but this game is a strong start. Notre Dame will still have little room for error going forward, but perhaps a rattled Irish team will get its confidence back following this blowout of the Boilermakers.

 

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Notre Dame Week 3 highlight: Steve Angeli, Notre Dame not done yet at Purdue

Steve Angeli has more TD passes in one half that Riley Leonard does in two and a half games.

Notre Dame backup quarterback Steve Angeli now has as many touchdowns on the season as starter Riley Leonard has interceptions.

OK, ok, we’re not advocating for a QB change, and context matters. Leonard was better in the passing game and used his legs for three touchdowns, and Angeli is playing in garbage time in a blowout against Purdue. We’re just having a little fun with numbers as Angeli and the Fighting Irish continue to pour points on in a bounce-back game after the terrible home loss to Northern Illinois.

This time Angeli capped off a 7-play, 52-yard drive that took 3:43 off the clock with a touchdown toss to tight end Kevin Bauman. The play opened the fourth quarter.

 

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