Notre Dame has been quite disappointing in its 0-2 start to the 2025 season, but the good news is the Irish get another chance to get the season back on track. Notre Dame will host an improved Purdue (2-1) squad this weekend and the Irish offense will have a chance to continue improving. After an inconsistent season-opening performance against Miami (Fla.), the Irish offense took a jump against Texas A&M. The unit will look to take yet another big jump this weekend when they take on the Boilermakers.
Notre Dame hung 66 points on Purdue last season, but this a much improved Boilermaker defense under first-year head coach Barry Odom and defensive coordinator Mike Scherer. Even with those improvements, if Notre Dame plays well it should be able to get rolling against the Boilermakers. There are four very important keys to victory for the Notre Dame offense in this matchup.
Let's dive into the keys to victory for the Notre Dame offense.
1. Start Fast - Getting off to a fast start is always important, but it's especially important for the Irish in this matchup. Notre Dame needs a huge boost in confidence in every phase of the game, and the offense getting off to a fast start does that. A fast start will help talented redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr to continue developing, and if the offense is balanced and can establish the run game it takes some pressure off Carr to have to carry the offense. A fast start - which is scoring touchdowns on at least three of its first four or five possessions - also takes some pressure off the struggling Notre Dame defense. Knowing the offense is rolling will allow that unit to just focus on doing its job and not feel the need to be perfect in order to win.
A fast start should also give some juice to the fanbase, especially those in attendance. Notre Dame fans were rightfully not thrilled about the start to last season's home slate, which included a loss to Northern Illinois and a sloppy win over Miami (Ohio). They will be even less thrilled about this season's start, and for good reason. This offense coming out hot and giving the fanbase something to be excited about and cheer about would also help invigorate the team. That kind of start would also put doubt into the minds of the Purdue players, who will realize the real Notre Dame team finally showed up to play .... at least on offense.
2. Attack Purdue - One of my concerns about this game, and about the struggling defense, is how head coach Marcus Freeman will react to it. The concern being that Freeman, in an attempt to protect his scuffling defense, will force the offense to slow down its pace. That he'll demand a run heavy, ball control, steady game plan that tries to limit possessions and allow the defensive coaches to have more time to make in-game adjustments between series. Having star running back Jeremiyah Love and standout Jadarian Price as key figures in the game plan is important, and establishing the ground game is absolutely something Notre Dame should look to do, but there's building around a strong run game (or what should be a strong run game) and then there's having an intentionally methodical approach with the goal of shortening the game.
I want to see Notre Dame do just the opposite. This offense has been a big play unit so far, with Notre Dame already producing 11 plays of 20+ yards and five plays of 30+ yards. What Notre Dame has not been thus far is an efficient offense. The unit has struggled with pace, with being stagnant on too many drives and there hasn't been much urgency on that side of the ball. I want to see offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock come out with a game plan designed to really go after Purdue. Use some pace, have a lot of variety with pre-snap movement that puts Purdue in some bad spots and creates favorable offensive matchups, attack all parts of the field and look for ways to generate more big plays. But being more aggressive with the pace and being more aggressive with the run game and willingness to throw the ball down the field should also open up more chain moving opportunities that lead to greater efficiency.
This offense is really talented and close to taking off, assuming the offensive line can improve. The unit needs to be unleashed against Purdue.
3. Play Together, Play Smart - One of the big reasons for the lack of efficiency on offense is that this unit isn't playing smart and isn't playing together. There have been way too many missed opportunities in the first two games, which kept the offensive from being more efficient and explosive. We've seen the tackles miss blocks and allow unblocked edge players to come up field, we've seen interior blockers whiff and blow up plays, or miss blocks in crucial situations. We saw Jordan Faison - who otherwise blocked very well - whiff on a 3rd-and-3 run that could have led to a score, but instead led to a 4th-and-1 the offense could not convert.
This unit has to play smarter from an assignments standpoint and they have to play better together. That also includes the offensive line showing a better feel for their combination blocks, which have lacked proper timing, and at other times has resulted in blockers simply missing who they are supposed to get. They have to clean up those assignment mistakes, show more cohesion and be more sound. If they can do that the backs will take off and have a huge game against Purdue, just like they did last season. If the line keeps blocking like it has the first two games there will be some big plays, but also some miscues that stunt the offense.
4. Get The Ball To Jaden Greathouse - Transfer wide receiver Malachi Fields had a breakout performance against Texas A&M and tight end Eli Raridon is off to an outstanding start in his first season as a starter. Raridon leads the team in catches (9) and yards (182) so far, and Fields has quickly emerged as a favorite target for Carr. Obviously you want each of those two players to remain focal points of the offense, and the same is true for Love, who is the team's best player. But a very important part of the offense has not done much this season.
That would be Jaden Greathouse, who has only been targeted four times and caught just two passes on the season through two games. Greathouse has been splitting reps with Will Pauling instead of the trio of Greathouse, Pauling and Faison being in more of a three-man rotation at the field (Z) and slot positions. Pauling can certainly help this football team and Faison is a playmaker, but Greathouse has the tools to be a dominant football player, but Denbrock and wide receivers coach Mike Brown need to do more to make sure he's a focal point of the offense.
Brown needs to make sure Greathouse is on the field more, and Denbrock needs to design and call more plays that have Greathouse as one of the primary reads. That should allow Carr to start getting into more of a rhythm with Greathouse. If Notre Dame can get Greathouse rolling along with Love, Fields and Raridon this offense could become elite.
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