Notre Dame Football: Irish Discover Offensive Identity in Win Over Purdue

Notre Dame pummels Purdue 66-7, and the Irish find their offensive identity in the process

Sep 14, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

It's not time to overreact. Those are not my intentions as I write this article. Notre Dame is coming off a dominant performance on both sides of the football against rival Purdue, and the Irish offense looked much better in the process.

It's not that they just put up a lot of points against an inferior opponent. It's the way in which those points occurred.

Notre Dame isn't going to be an elite passing team this year. That's not the strength of this unit. Riley Leonard has the talent to make throws, but what can make him a potentially special collegiate offensive weapon are his legs.

With that said, there are ways to get Leonard and this team moving the ball through the air, and they showed early and often against Purdue.

An elite performance ☘️#GoIrish☘️ | @rileyleonard13_ pic.twitter.com/veoUzifxEU

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

Quick Throws and RPO's

Riley Leonard stat line on the day reads like this:

11/16, 212 total yards and three touchdowns. Keep in mind he only played the first half because Notre Dame was up 42-0 at the break.

Read that stat line again. 112 yards came through the air and 100 on the ground. All three touchdowns were on the ground as well.

Who cares.

Touchdowns are touchdowns and quality offense is quality offense. That's all that matters. If someone read you that stat line with no context, you'd say he played exceptional football. That's exactly what he did today.

Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock made Leonard comfortable today with quick throws, moving him outside of the pocket, and RPO's that keep the defense honest because Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are dynamic running backs.

At some point, the down field passing threat will need to show up. More days like this, and defenses will need to respect the run so much that the field will open up for the likes of Jordan Faison, Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell and the rest of the Irish receivers.

NFL Scout sitting near me in the press box.

I asked pregame who he's here to see.

"No. 4. Best player on the field, both teams."

Jeremiyah Love goes for a 48-yard touchdown on the first drive.

Notre Dame 7
Purdue 0

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) September 14, 2024

Lean On Your Strengths

I mentioned that Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are big time collegiate backs. They both very likely have NFL futures. We also know what Riley Leonard can do with his legs.

Why not allow the strength of your team actually be the strength?

Against Northern Illinois, Notre Dame went away from that too many times. Some play calls felt forced and too cute because in the end, that is usually the type of opponent you can force stuff against.

Notre Dame learned the hard way. Fast-forward one week later, and they learned from their mistakes

If the Irish are to be a playoff team in 2024 and run the table the rest of the way, which is still very much possible, the running game will be a major reason why.