We are just over 24 hours away from kickoff in South Bend where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Notre Dame will be seeking their first win of the season while Purdue will be looking for their third which would triple their win total from last season. I asked the staff what they thought would happen tomorrow and I got plenty of good stuff here.

If you listened to the latest episode of the Boiler Alert podcast you already know that I picked against Purdue. You also could see that over at the Notre Dame SB Nation site One Foot Down where I did a Q&A with them including my prediction for the outcome. Has anything changed since then? A little has. I feel more confident that the ND defense is worse off than we think. Not only will they be without Adon Shuler for the first half, but the rest of the defense has generated only 1 sack and 1 turnover over their first two games. I understand their opponents have been better than Purdue’s, but Purdue has generated 9 sacks. That’s gotta count for something right? The only thing that changed is I literally had a dream that Purdue won this game. I dreamed I left the press box tomorrow and all the Purdue fans were yelling and waking the echoes in Notre Dame Stadium. Could I be some sort of magician or wizard that can see the future? I guess we will find out tomorrow.

For now though I’m sticking with the fact that Notre Dame has more talent than the Boilermakers and I expect that despite their 0-2 record on the season they will walk away with the victory in this one. My only hope is that Purdue finds a way to punch ND in the mouth in the first half and sets them back on their heels. Purdue also needs to find a way to generate a turnover. It has to happen eventually right?

A lot is going to stack against Purdue in this game: first road game of the Barry Odom era, a big crowd that will be against Purdue the whole time, and a Notre Dame team that cannot afford another loss for the rest of the season. Not only can Notre Dame not afford a loss if they want to even be considered for a CFP spot, but they need to win this game handedly. What works in Purdue’s favor is that the Irish secondary has had its struggles against Miami and Texas A&M and they will be without a starting safety and captain, Adon Shuler, for the first half against Purdue. We’ve learned that Ryan Browne can sling the ball a bit, so it may be an area of focus against ND, but that comes with caution. Although Browne has passed for over 300 yards twice this season, he has also thrown 4 interceptions. He will need to be error free in a game like this but if Purdue can strike early, perhaps they have a chance as Devin Mockobee then enters the mix. Mockobee had just 45 yards rushing against USC but that was in a game where the Boilermakers were playing catch up. A well balanced attack this week can ease some of the pressure.

Ultimately, I think this is just too tough of a situation for Purdue to come out on top. I don’t see Notre Dame covering the 26.5-point spread but I’ve been woefully wrong before.

Last year I picked Purdue to win and it went quite poorly. I picked Purdue to win last week and they at least made a good showing. That is what I am looking for this week. I think we’re all in agreement that an actual win is very unlikely. It would take a nearly flawless game plus a completely demoralized Notre Dame team to truly have a chance. Purdue is better though. It can move the ball a bit. I can see this at least being competitive into the second half before the Irish pull away.

Casey (0-0) Welcome Back!:

Purdue has been impressive to start the season. Even against an overmatched USC opponent it managed to not shoot itself in the foot – until it did. Then the game got out of hand. This one, on the road, might get out of hand early. Purdue just needs to find some fight on the road and pretend this game didn’t happen going forward.

What have we learned from the first three weeks of the season? Purdue is much more fundamentally sound, they play with higher effort level, and there are some sneaky playmakers on both sides of the ball. That was apparent against USC, where Purdue held the most prolific offense in college football to half of their average points and walked away feeling they had a legit argument they should have won that game.

Now, Notre Dame is much bigger stepping stone for the Boilers this season. Although they are 0-2 and will be missing three important pieces in their defensive backfield…it’s still Notre Dame. I think before the season everyone with any semblance of respect would have said there was zero chance Purdue wins this game. I think, following the first three weeks, that is clearly not the case.

Inevitably, Notre Dame is the most talented team and this is Purdue’s first road trip of the season. I don’t think the Irish are as explosive of an offensive team this year and the defense may take a step back with the injuries. That being said, I just don’t think Purdue has ‘it’ to walk into South Bend and grab a huge victory.

Purdue travels north to South Bend for a game against the Irish, who have always been a thorn in the side of the Boilermakers.

While Notre Dame is 0-2, they quite simply have the horses that Purdue does not have. Purdue is coached much better than last season, but the question of talent is still there after losing some important pieces to the portal.

While ND has not won, they have faced two very talented opponents, whereas Purdue won two games they should have won, but they were competitive against USC when many did not expect that.

I don’t believe Purdue will get blown out, and they will cover the +25.5, but in this one, I am not sure there will ever be a doubt from the Fighting Irish sideline.