At the beginning of the year, I was pretty skeptical about the Purdue football team. They had beaten 2 weak opponents, and I thought people were giving them way too much credit way too early. But lately I've been impressed with their play.The are now 5-0 this season, their recent win coming against Notre Dame. The struggling Fighting Irish have been (in my opinion) the toughest test for the Boilermakers yet this season. Notre Dame put themselves in a position to tie it in the fourth quarter, but some key plays by the Boilermaker offense kept Purdue on top at the sound of the final whistle.
The game, which started off as a blowout gradually became interesting as the second half wore on. At the half, Purdue was up 23-0 and everyone assumed this just to be the fifth straight Notre Dame breakdown. The story of the second half ended up being Fighting Irish backup quarterback Evan Sharpley. With Clausen down with a hip injury, Sharpley threw 16 of 26 for 208 yards for 2 touchdowns.
The Purdue offense was itself with Curtis Painter throwing for 2 touchdowns and Corey Sheets running for 141 yards and a touchdown of his own. I've been really impressed with this Purdue offense in the last 2 games. Their last 2 opponents (Minnesota and Notre Dame) have at least been, in my opinion legit opponents, and the Purdue offense has still looked pretty good. Painter handles himself pretty well in the pocket.
Another interesting thing I took out of this game has to do with Notre Dame. Will Sharpley be the starting quarterback come next week? In my opinion he definitely should be given the job for now. Jimmy Klausen (the freshmen recruit) has struggled early, and Sharpley was very impressive in the second half today. Hopefully head coach Charlie Weis gives him the shot he deserves.
Next week will be the real test for the Boilermakers when Ohio State comes to town. If Purdue can prove themselves against this football powerhouse, I'll be convinced about their legitimacy for sure.
2 comments:
Today's game was definitely one to watch. Though, I wonder, were we watching the same game. I remember that Purdue dominated in the first half and then got very weak in the second. They let a lot of things through for the Irish.
But it was a good game.
I think the Irish should really think about going with their backup, Sharpley. When he joined the game, Notre Dame stopped playing like they had already been defeated and started playing like they had a fighting chance. And they did. It was a really good game overall.
If Purdue plans to win this week, they are going to have to play hard for the whole game instead of just the first half. In the first five wins, Purdue has been outscored by their opponent in four of them. Also, I completely agree that Sharpley should inherit the starter spot for Notre Dame. Clearly Jimmy Clausen, being only a freshman, is not ready to handle the pressure of starting in D-1 football, no matter how much of a stud he was in high school.
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