Sept 26 | Purdue

IRISHDODGER

IRISHDODGER

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MacIrish75 said:
There’s a certain expectation out there that for our defense to be successful that the opponent isn’t allowed to have any positive plays. MSU isn’t Rice. They’ll be a solid B1G team this year.
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Maybe but outside of a few explosives, the Irish D completely shut them down. It was the Irish offense that prevented this from being a blowout. I think Sparty will be a solid B1G team in a few years but I can’t help thinking this was Fitz’s Super Bowl. He's always hated ND and combined with Bullough coming over from ND to his alma mater, I can’t imagine them putting up a better fight vs the better teams in their conference. Especially if Hall & Edwards can’t get healthy.
 
Ndaccountant

Ndaccountant

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FightingIrishLover7 said:
My NDNation father said that the run defense was very dissapointing Saturday.
I don't even know what universe I'm in now
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I think people do not truly understand the strategy ND deploys. They see the inputs of recruiting rankings, draft pick projections, efficiency stats, etc. and think that means we should beat everybody 49-3 that isn't in the top 10.

The truth is thus far in 2026....ND knows they have the superior roster top to bottom across all 12 opponents. They know that to lose in at least 10 of the games, it would be because of TOs or fluke plays. So instead of trying to score 50 each game, they design a safe game plan they know will prevent major mistakes and/or let the roster and depth shine thru. Winning the 2H convincingly is not an accident, nor a weakness. It is by design.

So yes, I can see why fans feel disappointed. Holding MSU to 167 yards is fantastic. ND held MSU to 40 yards in the second half going by game logs. It may seem like it was sluggish or disappointing, but ND knew MSU could not win the game without luck. The 2H was complimentary football, plain and simple.

Now that Freeman has the roster built, this works. The key will be taking a few more chances against the likes of BYU and Miami. I think they will, but people will not appreciate how beautiful this is playing out because they want CJ to win a Heisman.
 
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notredomer23

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The first non-season opener, away game under Freeman has largely been a "get-right" game, Not that there is anything that drastically needs to get right besides the running game, but I bet we see an offensive explosion on Saturday. The away game helps renew focus....

2022 - UNC - 45-32, and was 38-14 early 4th, when before that the offense under Drew Pyne was horrific
2023 - NC State - 45-24, NC State went 9-3.
2024 - Purdue - 66-7
2025 - Arkansas - 56-13.
 
Rudy89

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Some Irish Bloke said:
I pray you are hitting "cash out" every time. lol
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No I gotta risk and potentially lose the money for it to work. It’s my tribute i pay to the football gods.

It is part of a gambling/fun money budget I allocate for myself & some of it is house money thanks to winning various baseball games, nascar races, & indycar races in the offseason.
 
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SportsingHard

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FightingIrishLover7 said:
My NDNation father said that the run defense was very dissapointing Saturday.
I don't even know what universe I'm in now
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I did some checking to see how long NDNation's been disappointing people--26 years. Came out of the Irish Recruiting Pub and before that Thomas Schlidt's Irish Recruiting Journal, where an amateur Mike Frank made a name for himself. I remember a young Andy Wisne (future ND DT) coming on there to discuss football and let us know his older brother Jerry committed, probably late 1994.

Of course, I was reading Prister and BGI ten years before that.
 
Dale

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Long or JOB? Depth chart technically would indicate JOB

 
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tirishman505

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As great as the defense has been, Christian Gray has been beat pretty bad in every game in a similar way to last year. Purdue is probably going to be his best test until Miami and I'm curious how he does.
 
Jiggafini19Deux

Jiggafini19Deux

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Best case scenario, MSU was Gilbert's breakout game. That gives you Faison and Gilbert in the passing game. Need the third threat to emerge.
This is what I'm telling myself anyway. If they can open up another passing threat, it makes everything else that more much able to get opened up.
 
Some Irish Bloke

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Jiggafini19Deux said:
Best case scenario, MSU was Gilbert's breakout game. That gives you Faison and Gilbert in the passing game. Need the third threat to emerge.
This is what I'm telling myself anyway. If they can open up another passing threat, it makes everything else that more much able to get opened up.
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If Greathouse's TD stood and it wasn't called for a delay of game I think we'd all be singing a different tune about his impact, or lackthereof, on Saturday.

At any rate, with the emergence of Micah Gilbert to support Faison, I'm sure one or two will emerge as the third/fourth options between Porter, Greathouse, Graham, and the TEs. Maybe one of the Freshman get more burn as they earn the staff's trust. Greathouse going from "why isn't he our best WR anymore" to "can he be our third WR?" is a good place to be.
 
Jiggafini19Deux

Jiggafini19Deux

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Some Irish Bloke said:
If Greathouse's TD stood and it wasn't called for a delay of game I think we'd all be singing a different tune about his impact, or lackthereof, on Saturday.

At any rate, with the emergence of Micah Gilbert to support Faison, I'm sure one or two will emerge as the third/fourth options between Porter, Greathouse, Graham, and the TEs. Maybe one of the Freshman get more burn as they earn the staff's trust. Greathouse going from "why isn't he our best WR anymore" to "can he be our third WR?" is a good place to be.
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Greathouse or TE makes the most sense.

If they can open up the passing game a bit more, I think they can really open up the run game.
 
jerseyborn1971

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I know absolutely nothing about football and even I can usually guess when it's going to be a run vs a pass for some reason. I played a little game in my head last week and was right way more than I thought I'd be. If my dumbass can see it and I don't even know what I'm looking for, I'd imagine the opposing defenses see it. Their problem is probably they can do anything to stop the passing game anyway. The run plays were easier since we don't have the elite talent we had the last 2 years.
 
Irish2155

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Just had to double check…yes, my Peacock account is still active. The lady must be floating that bill.
 
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