Well, as Notre Dame continues their Big Ten Football tour, they now face off against the Purdue Boilermakers, who is traveling to South Bend for their first road game of the year. Even though the campuses are actually less than two hours apart from each other, playing in front of Touchdown Jesus will be totally different for the Boilers than what they’ve experienced playing at Ross-Ade.

Why? Because Notre Dame fans are rabid about their football (duh) and this year’s team has given them more hope than in the last few (ok, several) years. Even though they lost to Michigan State after Javon Ringer literally barreled them over and they totally ran out of gas in the second half, this team is still looking at this game as redemption time to get back on track.

With Jimmy Claussen continuing to get better and more comfortable at QB, the Fighting Irish will be relying upon a solid game to upend the Boilers. While Claussen’s numbers aren’t terrible (600+ yards over 3 games with 6 TDs), his 6 INTs are a bit of a concern and can still be chalked up to inexperience. There is also a bit more pressure to perform as the running game has been less than anemic for Notre Dame, with Robert Hughes leading the team with 142 yards on the season (yes, folks, that’s less than 50 yards a game…ouch). Still, Claussen can always count on budding superstar Golden Tate who has averaged over 100 yards receiving per game thus far.

You would think that Purdue wouldn’t even have remotely close to the issues Notre Dame has offensively with Kory Sheets, now Purdue’s all-time leading scorer, and preseason Heisman trophy candidate Curtis Painter. While Sheets has lived up to the hype with over 350 yards rushing thus far and 6 TDs, Painter has struggled according to coach Joe Tiller, who almost pulled Painter last game until he lead them on a TD march late in the game. This is partially as the bad aftertaste in Tiller’s mouth after Painter’s dismal performance against Oregon, where he threw for a paltry 207 yards and 2 INTs. He brought himself back against Central Michigan, but CMU is not exactly a defensive stalwart.

And so goes the story for both of these teams. Neither seems to be overpowering on the defensive side of the ball, with Purdue giving up a whopping 427 yards per game and the Irish giving up 360. Now, keep in mind that Purdue did face two great offensive teams in Oregon and CMU, but still-that number is disturbing.

The Boilers’ defensive struggles may be just what the doctor ordered for ND; the line is currently at 1.5 for Notre Dame but it looks as though a lot of money is being bet on Purdue. I look at some of the intangibles in this game–Purdue is on the road for the first time, they haven’t been able to stop anybody, and it appears that Painter is being pressured more than ever to perform. While Sheets may make the overall difference in the game, I see this as an opportunity for Claussen and Tate to really shine as bright as the Golden Dome. My prediction: Notre Dame 31, Purdue 17