It's a do-or-die situation right now for Notre Dame football. The Fighting Irish are 0-2 on the campaign, after losses to Miami and Texas A&M. The Fighting Irish have very slim chances of getting into the College Football Playoff unless they win out. Notre Dame faces off against Purdue from the Big Ten, in their next game.
The Boilermakers are 2-1 on the season, with their lone loss to USC. Purdue is led by first-year coach Barry Odom, who joined the team this season from UNLV. Purdue enters the game with the chance to completely knock Notre Dame out of CFP consideration.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman knows there's a lot on the line right now.
“You’ve got to go to work and practice and get better,” Freeman said after their recent loss to the Aggies, per the Associated Press. “We’re 0-2. So what do you control? You control getting better and getting ready for the next one. I can’t sit here and dwell on being 0-2 as much as I need to dwell on how do we find ways to improve.”
Here are some bold predictions for this game, as Notre Dame looks for their first victory of the campaign.
Notre Dame's CJ Carr will score at least two touchdowns without an interception
The Fighting Irish are led by quarterback CJ Carr. Carr takes over from Riley Leonard, who moved on to the NFL. Notre Dame's new quarterback has 514 passing yards this season, with three touchdowns.
Carr unfortunately has two interceptions already on the season. They came at inopportune times for the Fighting Irish. It didn't help that the quarterback was facing two ranked teams in these last two games, who both have one of the best defenses in their respective conferences.
Purdue offers Carr a chance to shine, and right the ship. Odom's defense at Purdue is still a work in progress. Against USC, the Boilermakers allowed 33 points and 460 total yards.
The Purdue game is Carr's chance to show why he shouldn't be underestimated as a quarterback. He will be putting up some major points for the Fighting Irish, including at least two touchdowns in the game. He is due for an excellent performance.
Notre Dame's defense will have their best performance of the season so far
Another group due for a great day is the Notre Dame defense. The Fighting Irish have struggled on that side of the ball this year. The squad gave up a touchdown pass in the last minute of their game against Texas A&M. That contest proved to be a disaster for the defense, as Notre Dame allowed 21 points in the second quarter alone.
Notre Dame gave up 488 total yards to the Aggies. That caused Coach Freeman to panic a bit. Freeman says he's now helping to take the reins of the defense moving forward.
“I spend a lot of time with our defense, that's obviously where my background is, and I'll continuously do it,” the coach said, per ESPN. “Will I spend more time? Maybe. If that's what's necessary, I will, I'll spend more time there. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that we improve and we have a performance that we believe is the standard for Notre Dame football.”
Freeman's background is in defense. Last season, the team had one of the best defenses in the country. With Freeman now more involved, that unit should perform better the rest of the year. Notre Dame football's defense will have their best performance of the season against Purdue.
There's one last bold prediction to make about this game.
Notre Dame will get their first win of the season
Notre Dame will find a way to defeat Purdue on Saturday. The team is in desperate need of a win, and Marcus Freeman will help get it done for them.
The team's record may be a bit misleading. That is what college football podcaster Joel Klatt believes. Klatt defended Notre Dame on his recent college football show.
“This has got to be the best 0-2 team that we've seen in a long time,” Klatt said Tuesday.
Time will tell if these predictions prove true. Notre Dame and Purdue play Saturday at 3:30 ET.
