The Notre Dame offense needs to come alive against a talented Purdue Boilermaker defense on Saturday

The Purdue Boilermaker team is built off of a strong defense under head coach Ryan Walters. You can expect some talent on all three levels, and an aggressive system. That will present Notre Dame some problems this Saturday.

Notre Dame will also have plenty of opportunities to make plays. There are parts of the Purdue defensive unit that can be taken advantage of. Here are the keys to victory for the Irish offense.

Handle different pressure looks

It’s a Ryan Walters’ defense and that means you can expect multiple fronts, and a lot of different variations of pressure. Sophomore defensive end Will Heldt will be the main player that many are talking about this Saturday, but players like Shitta Sillah, Jeffrey M’Ba and Kydran Jenkins will also play a role in creating pressure. Having Jenkins now working at linebacker, that should allow the Boilermakers to be even more diverse with their pressure packages, using his skill set as a blitzer from multiple spots.

There are a couple ways to beat pressure. The first obvious one is the offensive line, who will have to be prepared and have consistent communication working against pressure. The Irish staff must also have some blitz beaters working into the game plan, whether that is specific route combinations or blitz beaters. From there, quarterback Riley Leonard needs to make quick decisions and get the ball out quickly. Slow down the rush and Purdue could be in trouble.

Beat man coverage

The Boilermakers are going to bring pressure, and in effect will have to play some man coverage. After seeing the Notre Dame passing attack the last two weeks, they will be more than happy to do so. None of the wide receivers have proven to be a big enough of a threat to do anything different.

Approaching this game is two fold. One, the wide receivers need to win. We haven’t seen that enough through the first two weeks. The Irish staff must put them in position to make plays, and players like Jaden Greathouse, Kris Mitchell and Beaux Collins need to make the defense pay.

Leonard has to have a much bigger game than last week. He must be willing to trust what he sees, and put the ball in good spots. Allow your playmakers to try and make plays. That’s your job this week.

Get the passing game going on early downs

Notre Dame is struggling to throw the football, and Purdue knows it. I expect this defense to sell out on early downs to stop the run and force the Irish passing game to make plays. They must respond and do just that.

Winning on early downs will make the third downs, which have been a major issue, more manageable. Notre Dame wants to be a running football team, and managing down and distance is a big part of that. The Irish offense must be able to throw on early downs. If they can, they have a chance to have a big day against Purdue.