SUM:The improvement was slight, just enough to prompt Tyrone Willingham to praise the progress in the rushing attack. But the Irish are still searching for consistency and a complement to sophomore Ryan Grant. Notre Dame’s ground game made some subtle improvements against a Purdue defense which has become accustomed to slowing down the Irish rushing attack. The Boilermakers limited the Irish to a 113-yard rushing average in the previous three years combined, so Notre Dame’s 153 yards against Purdue Saturday wasn’t all that bad in comparison.

But as the Irish head into Michigan week with a 2-0 record, there is a great deal of concern over Notre Dame’s rushing attack as they continue to try to launch the West Coast offense.

There is the perception among some that the West Coast offense is an over-emphasis on the passing game. The fact is for a West Coast offense to be successful, the ground game has to be an equal component to the passing game.

Last year, Tyrone Willingham’s Stanford offense was one of just nine in the nation to average more than 200 yards rushing and more than 200 yards passing.

So far this season, Notre Dame is averaging 141.5 yards rushing and 138 yards passing per game. Add the two figures together and you get a 2-0 record, due mainly to a defense and special teams which have helped bail the offense out. But clearly the Irish are struggling once they get into the end zone as Bob Davie and his offensive coordinator, Kevin Rogers, did a year ago.

“I thought our backs got closer to where I’d like them,” said Willingham following the 24-17 victory over the Boilermakers. “They are getting better and better each ball game.”

Sophomore Ryan Grant finished with 96 yards on 21 carries which, on the surface, looks pretty good. But one of Grant’s carries netted 36 yards, which means the other 20 carries accounted for just 60 yards.

Grant is a tireless worker and takes his failures to heart. He wants to succeed and is hard on himself when he doesn’t. Those are traits the Irish can build around.

But Grant has his limitations. He was caught from behind on his 36-yard run. More importantly, he sometimes does not hit the hole quickly enough to take advantage of the small amount of room that the offensive line is currently providing.

Grant needs a speed complement in the backfield with him, and right now, that player is not there. Fellow sophomore Rashon Powers-Neal has rushed for 77 yards on 15 carries (5.1-yard average). But he’s not the speed complement Grant needs. He does, however, need to touch the ball more.

Another sophomore, Marcus Wilson, may be that back. But he was slowed by an ankle injury during Purdue week and did not play. The fullbacks, particularly Tom Lopienski, can’t provide much in the ground game. Maybe Mike McNair needs to touch the football a couple of times just to see.

The coaching staff may have to consider moving a player to the offensive backfield. A candidate would be freshman Rhema McKnight, who missed the Purdue game with a right shoulder injury.

And yet, as Irish fans discovered amidst the storm Saturday, Willingham is not the type to overreact. The Irish are in the infancy stage of their development with the West Coast offense. Willingham will not panic and “sell the farm” to put a bandage on a problem area.

“Just as we stood here last week, we were pleased with Carlyle (Holiday) and everything that happened in our offense (against Maryland),” Willingham said.

“We thought we were on the verge of taking a major leap. It’s going to be something every week. But the whole key is stay focused on winning.”

Winning will prove progressively more difficult if the Irish don’t shore up the rushing attack.