Is Notre Dame Back, or Is Purdue Just That Bad? Maybe Both?

After Notre Dame destroyed Purdue, real questions need to be asked about both teams.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Cooper Flanagan (87) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Kevin Bauman (84) celebrates in front of Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Dillon Thieneman (31) after a Notre Dame Fighting Irish touchdown Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 66-7. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After the ups and downs we have seen from Notre Dame thus far this season, it is difficult to know exactly what this team is. It must be impossible at this point to try to set the line for Notre Dame games, as the Irish have been all over the place and have largely been unpredictable during Marcus Freeman's tenure.

If you were to ask Notre Dame fans before Saturday's game against Purdue what they expected, many would have told you they have no idea.

Some thought the Irish were walking into a trap at Purdue, who was coming off a bye and had two weeks to prepare for a Notre Dame team low on confidence and fresh off a loss to Northern Illinois.

Some would have been confident that Freeman would have his guys motivated to shake off the embarrassment from last week and put a beating on Purdue.

However, you would be hard pressed to find any Notre Dame fan that would have predicted that their team would come out and dismantle Purdue to the tune of a 66-7 beatdown. From start to finish, Notre Dame dominated Purdue.

It does beg the question as to whether Notre Dame is 'back' or if Purdue is in fact, just bad.

The Shillelagh Trophy is staying home ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/32esfEvtp3

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 14, 2024

Ultimately, the truth likely lies somewhere within. Notre Dame still has a ton to figure out offensively but there were some good things Saturday, specifically on the ground.

The Irish ran for over 350 yards, including 40+ yards touchdown runs from Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, as well as a hat-trick of touchdowns from Riley Leonard.

What Irish fans would have liked to see is Leonard throw the ball downfield, something we still have not seen hardly at all. Leonard still looks hesitant in the pocket and is straight up missing open receivers down the field, but Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock did a great job to scheme open shorter throws that allowed the receivers to gain yards after the catch.

The offense will continue to get better and Leonard simply has to get better as a passer. Second stringer Steve Angeli looked good in his season debut, throwing for Notre Dame's first two touchdown passes of the season.

It was good to see the defense largely pitch a shutout as well, barring the late touchdown from the Purdue starters on the Irish 2/3 string defense.

In truth, it doesn't reallt matter if Notre Dame is 'back' or if Purdue is just really bad. The Notre Dame coaches, players, fans, alumni, staff, you name it, needed this. Needed it BAD.

Go do the same to Miami University and gain some real momentum.

Notre Dame Destroys Purdue: Instant Takeaways from Irish Rout of Boilermakers