Notre Dame Football Begins Credibility Restore with Dismantling of Purdue

A week after an embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame reminds us what its capable of

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates after scoring a touchdown Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was against a Purdue team that might struggle to win three games this fall, but for roughly three-and-a-half hours on Saturday, Notre Dame sent a reminder of what it is capable of on the football field.

The loss against Northern Illinois won't soon be forgotten but Notre Dame's dominating 66-7 win on Saturday serves as a reminder of why this team was ranked in the top 10 before the season, and why it had College Football Playoff aspirations.

Notre Dame imposed it's will on Purdue and showed resolve in bouncing back from an embarrassing loss that never should have happened against Northern Illinois.

Marcus Freeman Deserves Credit

When things go as poorly as they did a week ago, it falls on the head coach.

When things then go as well as they did Saturday for Notre Dame, the head coach also deserves praise.

I get it, the cries of "it's Purdue, who cares?" are plenty present by Notre Dame fans as the wound of Northern Illinois is still fresh enough. But for a team that the nation had bet all the way down to be just a touchdown favorite over Purdue, Notre Dame answered the bell on Saturday.

Sure, we'd all prefer if Notre Dame didn't have maddening losses the last three years like we've seen against Marshall, Stanford, Louisville, and Northern Illinois.

Often times under other relatively recent Notre Dame coaches, those losses would be the start of a spiral. Think of the Charlie Weis-led teams in November of 2008 and 2009 or how Tyrone Willingham coached squads often responded to losses.

We'd all of course prefer to not have the brutal loss to begin with, but Freeman has shown to be different compared to some other former Notre Dame coaches in bouncing back. It's OK to say he did a good job getting his team ready this past week, regardless of how bad Purdue may be.

Notre Dame's College Football Playoff Hopes Still Alive

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman shakes hands with Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Davis Sherwood (38) Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, ahead of the NCAA football game against the Purdue Boilermakers 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

Anyone who doesn't consider themselves a Notre Dame fan isn't going to want to hear this but Notre Dame's College Football Playoff hopes are still very much alive.

The dominating win over Purdue showed some of what this team is capable of and that when it is focused, it can inflict a lot of pain on opponents.

When Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois a week ago much of the thought was that it's hope of the playoff was done. No team that loses to Northern Illinois deserves a chance to play in the College Football Playoff, right?

Nobody is about to put Notre Dame in the top 12 right now but that's why the season is 12 games long, not just two or three. Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame used the brick-by-brick mantra as motivation during off-season workouts and the same can be applied to the Irish as they rebuild their resume.

Nobody is going to hand over a playoff spot for beating Purdue, just like nobody will next week if the Irish take care of Miami University.

But put the Texas A&M brick next to the Purdue brick and then continue to add bricks without taking anyway away the next few months and this could end up being a pretty impressive building after all.

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Marcus Freeman Deserves Credit as Notre Dame has Huge Bounce Back Win