2nd Quarter Thoughts – Purdue at Notre Dame
- Nice, tough inside run by Armando Allen on 2nd and 1 to start the second quarter. Allen ran into a pile earlier but made a nice cut here and had one of the better runs we’ve seen out of him so far.
- Great to see the QB sneak working on short yardage situations again. This is a great looking drive so far, we need to put this ball in the end zone.
- Ugh… first and goal inside the 10 and we saw a near interception, a false start, two fade passes, and then of course a missed 31 yard field goal with a perfect snap and hold from Brandon Walker. Another trip into the red zone yields ZERO points.
- Notre Dame got a GIFT on the missed field goal by Purdue and did absolutely nothing with it other than return the favor and give Purdue a gift missed field goal.
- Very nice tackle by Robert Blanton will a receiver was trying to block him. Greg Orton was trying to block Blanton and he ran right through it and made the stop after a gain of three.
- Wow. After the great tackle by Blanton, the frosh gets his first career interception and makes an OUTSTANDING return for the touchdown. This kid is going to be a big time corner.
- The pass rush isn’t getting to Painter yet, but it is forcing some bad passes and John Ryan and Sergio Brown both have deflections at the line.
- 3rd and 10 at the 43 and Purdue converts AGAIN. The defense just can’t get off the field. They are forcing 3rd and long for Purdue, but Purdue just keeps converting. Drive ends with a touchdown for Purdue. If the defense continues to allow conversions like this on third down, Purdue is going to end up putting up a bunch of points.
- Golden Tate had a very quiet first half and missed a chance for a touchdown in the beginning of the quarter, but this time he comes down with the ball and ties the game with his 3rd touchdown of the game.
- With 2:28 to go and Purdue pinned deep in their own territory, the Irish defense has a real opportunity here to set up the Irish offense right before half.
- Both teams have had their chances in this half and both have missed a lot of potential big plays – picks, sacks, etc so 14-14 seems about what it should be like at half time.
- Notre Dame has had better success running the ball, but the passing game is clicking and should be featured in the second half.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Blanton is spectacular.