Turf toe is a painful, nagging injury. Clausen may not be 100 percent for the rest of the season, but as long as he can put weight on his foot to throw, he will be fine.
This injury shouldn't hurt Clausen's performance too much because he isn't a quarterback who relies on his feet to make plays.
The junior is all about throwing the ball. He has thrown for 951 yards and nine touchdowns with an incredible 188.6 efficiency.
As long as the offensive line continues to provide the protection Clausen has gotten in the first three games, Michigan State was the first team to sack him, Notre Dame will be fine.
The bigger concern should be running back Armando Allen. The running back is dealing with an injured ankle that kept him out of practice Wednesday.
Allen has come on strong the last two games, and he is providing a relief to the passing game by averaging 108.7 rushing yards. Allen makes teams respect Notre Dame's running game, and that keeps some pressure off Clausen.
If Allen can go Saturday, which coach Charlie Weis said he should, Clausen's turf toe is less of a big deal. Because Allen will make it impossible for Purdue to just blitz like crazy to hit Clausen, because if the Boilermakers sell out every snap Allen will break loose for big runs.