Taking a Look at Perdue

As you know the Irish are set to play the Perdue Boilermakers in South Bend this Saturday. Hope you have your tickets, because it ought to be a great game. The Irish enter with a 2-1 record, and the Boilermakers are also 2-1, having dismantled Northern Colorado in a 42-10 blowout, losing to Oregon at home 26-31, and beating Central Michigan 32-25. The loss to Oregon shows that it’s possible for a good team to beat Perdue, and that they might not be as scary as they have been previously.

The stats seem to show that the Boilermakers and the Irish will get into a high scoring contest, as both teams have displayed an ability to put up some good offensive numbers, but both lack adequate defense. Perdue is averaging 33.3 points per game in offense, ranking them 5th in the Big Ten, whereas on defense they are averaging giving up 22.3 points, ranking them 10th in the conference. The Irish are averaging about 21 points on offense and 18 points on defense.

Boilermaker quarterback Curtis Painter, while showing flashes of brilliance, is not the concern here. Kory Sheets, their star tailback, has been the main drive behind the Perdue offense, having racked up 352 yards in three games (117.3 yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry). The Irish will have to contain Sheets if they expect to win.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

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