Purdue Football insider Nathan Baird joins Irish Breakdown's Sean Stires to take a look at the Boilermakers heading into Saturday's game against Notre Dame. They discuss the impact second year Purdue head coach Ryan Walters has had, former Texas transfer quarterback Hudson Card's play, what to expect from Purdue's offense and defense in Saturday's game against the Fighting Irish and more.
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So come and get the protection you need while protecting those around you. King Super's, a world of care is in store. Visit king supers.com/vaccines for more restrictions and exclusions apply. See site for details. Well, we get to talk a little bit of Purdue this week and we've got Nathan Baird with us. He covers the Boilermakers for the Indianapolis Star. How you doing today, Nathan? I'm doing great, Sean. How's it going? Awesome. Thanks for doing this. You know, this used to be a pretty big rivalry, obviously. You know, like they played what, they played 87 times all time. They played what was it from 1946 through 2014 every year, basically. But, you know, this is only the first time in a handful of years, basically, in the last decade that they played. Is there a lot of excitement from the Purdue side to get Notre Dame back into West Lafayette this weekend? No, I think there is. And I think, you know, it's interesting how these two fan bases would probably look at this rivalry, right? Because I think from Purdue's standpoint, there aren't a lot of Notre Dame's out there, but from Notre Dame's standpoint, there kind of probably are a lot of Purdue's out there, to some extent. I don't think they mean that pejoratively. I just think you could sub Michigan State in for Purdue, right? There's a great history there between those two teams when they used to play. But it is different. They played from, as you said, '46 to 2014. And I think something has been missing a little bit there because that was just such a part of life as being a Purdue fan, I think, from people that I've talked to. And I think they're eager not just to experience this history again a little bit, but for the opportunity because, regardless of where Notre Dame is in any given year, that's always a win that can help lift Purdue, especially as they're trying to get things going here under Ryan Walters. Yeah, I mean, obviously the reason for the discontinuation is the Big Ten expanded a few years back, the schedule expanded, and now there's even more expansion in the Big Ten this year. Before we kind of dig into Purdue, I guess, I am curious, are they, you know, talking about the excitement with Notre Dame, what's sort of the feel of this new look Big Ten from a Purdue perspective? But obviously doesn't get any easier when you add some of these teams now. Yeah, I think it remains to be seen exactly what this is going to mean for Purdue, but it certainly doesn't make their life any easier when you've got Washington, which is just in the National Championship game, Oregon, which people think could be there this year, although. Rough start for them maybe USC, which always seems like this sort of dormant behemoth that could be out there. That's not great for Purdue and especially it's a program that in its history has really based itself on regardless of the results. They develop quarterbacks here they are able to still, you know, have either legendary quarterbacks here or guys who go on to notoriety in the NFL, and the Big Ten as a whole doesn't do that. But now you're, that's already a little bit starting to change with Ohio State and J.J. McCarthy, but now you start adding the kind of quarterbacks, those programs out west have produced, and it's going to be even more important for Purdue to keep developing those guys keep finding those guys and making sure that it can sort of hang from a quarterback standpoint with the rest of this league. Sure. Ryan Walters, it going into his second year now they're at Purdue and you know this is a guy with an offensive background they they struggled defensively last year we can kind of get into that a little bit I'm just curious though, like, going into year two what do you think is the biggest difference that he's made in Purdue football in the short amount of time that he's been there. Well, from a defensive standpoint, you know, last season they had star power, you know, Dylan Benjamin had this amazing freshman season, kind of came out of nowhere, a guy that Notre Dame had had created when he was out of high school here in suburban Indianapolis. And Nick Scott and up front, getting a ton of sacks, but now he's off to Texas A&M and they still have, I think they were going to replicate some of that star power, the question was going to be, and what I think they did most effectively was going out to the transfer portal and sort of elevating the level of talent across the board, where maybe you don't have as many holes in your starting 11 as teams could go after last season. And you've still got guys like KJ Jenkins, who's moving from rush into middle linebacker because that's really where he projects is having the best potential NFL career and he's had he started off with a strong game. And also the transfer portal guys that they brought in, Nylon Green, a guy they got from Georgia who hasn't actually been able to play it and they don't expect him to play Saturday. Kendrick Breedlove, another guy who came in in the secondary, like they just, they have added guys who took guys who were starters last year, and maybe push them down a little bit on the depth chart. They created more depth, but more to the point, it helps them talent equate with an opponent maybe like Notre Dame in a way that they couldn't last year. That's interesting. You know, like when you look at scourton, who you mentioned they obviously lose him but then sounds like moving some different pieces around to kind of see if that works out for them. They were at the bottom of the big 10 in terms of points per game allowed last year. Do you think that, you know, again, I don't know how much you can put on a resounding win over Indiana state and FCS team in your one does does it feel like they might see some defensive improvement this season. I would expect defensive improvement just from those things that I was talking about before, but also, and I hate to sound like a coach. This definitely sounds like coach big. I think there is something holistic here because I think the offense is going to be better too. Last year, this defense did not give this offense any margin for error. And last year this offense really didn't give this defense any margin for error. And I think the floor of both sides of the ball is going to raise this year and you saw some evidence of that in the opener. I think this it's only an FCS opponent in Indiana state, but going 24 25 this Hudson card did and the only in completion being a bomb over the top that they think they actually should have connected on is pretty remarkable like it's hard to go 24 25 against air. So you saw some of the poise and just the facility he has being a second year guy in Graham Harold's offense. And they think that alone helps elevate things but they also went out and got more talent at receiver the Jamal Adrian a guy who was actually here last year. It was injured. He looked like he might be their number one go to guy. They've got a guy named CJ Smith who came in from Georgia who also isn't playing it and may not play Saturday, but is crazy fast. They had a true freshman come in didn't even get here till this summer. Name Shamar Rigby who just went and won a job in preseason camp and is impressed everybody. It's kind of the same thing I was saying about the defense like they feel like they have taken all of those positions and just they're better everywhere and the offensive line should be more intact too. I think all of those things are going to help this offense move the ball and are going to take some pressure off of this defense and look because this defense is designed to attack. This I was just talking to Gary Danielson actually about this game is going to be calling the game for CBS. And he was pointing out that you know Purdue plays very aggressive and asks a lot of its cornerbacks and gives opponents opportunities if they want to take them but it comes with a cost you're getting blitz is coming from all sorts of places. And when you play that kind of defense you are again it's kind of baked in that you're probably going to give up something you're often has to be able to punch back more consistently than it did last year I think that's on the table for Purdue to do this year. I mean it's there's some similarities there in the way that Notre Dame plays defense without golden and you know we saw some we've been talking about that this week sometimes you gamble with those blitzes they pay off sometimes you gamble with those blitzes and you get a big play. And obviously Notre Dame hasn't been able to make some of the big play you know they weren't able to make big plays last week they made more against Texas A&M the week before so I think that you know whose defense may be you know sort of is is more stable could be a big key this weekend. Well in Purdue's defense last year I wasn't here to see it but the numbers tell it like big plays were a problem. Now they weren't that good on third down or in the red zone either defending. So those were also problems but they gave up a lot of big plays and we don't really have anything to go by any state was not in a position to challenge them. But I do think that could be one of the defining things of Saturday's game is if when Purdue comes on the attack and there's that risk reward that goes along with that. That's a big enough reward for the risk they're taking without giving up enough giving up some of those big plays for Notre Dame that frankly we haven't really seen from Notre Dame through a couple games. I think some of that Northern Illinois is a better defense probably than people give them credit they were like a top 25 defense nationally and Purdue almost has to prove that it is at a Northern Illinois level of defense to some extent in a game like this. America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members prize picks is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Unlike other apps on prize picks it's just you against the numbers. All you do is pick more or less on two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll in. Get in on the daily action with your friends and become part of the prize picks community today. You can now win up to a hundred times your money on prize picks with as little as four correct picks. 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Well as again Indiana State doesn't really have the personnel to really match what Purdue is doing even but you wanted to look for like some individual guys who you were hearing things about let's see what it looks like in real competition. You know a guy named will help who is a second year defensive end is the one that they're expecting to step up and then take some of that scout and load and provide some of that pass rush. He had a great game he was getting in the backfield at a couple of sacks it was it was making a huge impact right away the guys that they brought in his transfers on the other side CJ Madden from Georgia she to Silla from Boston College who's played Notre Dame before. Those guys you saw the attack those guys can provide you saw KJ Jenkins move back to Mike linebacker yet show off that you sort of sideline to sideline mobility he's going to need to have to thrive at a position like that. You started to see what could apply against better teams you know that it's going to not be look as easy as it did like that was just a pretty much a domination from start to finish in a lot of respects in that game. At the same time, you saw some of the individual things that tell you that those players might be able to rise up and make big plays in a more contested game. What about Hudson card you know you touched on him a little bit the Texas transfer this is year five for him he was probably solid not spectacular didn't get any free passes though last year I don't think they played any FCS level teams it was pretty good you know like they played a Fresno State I think at some point that would have been the closest thing to you know it's a really good step down yeah yeah but at the same time a really good team so how do you what what are what are sort of the the expectations for for him going into this season. I think the expectations for him are improvement I thought last year was kind of adequate now he was banged up a little bit the offensive line in front of him was definitely banged up I think they used a different starting offensive lines last year. He actually had to miss a game late in season because of his own injuries so assuming both of those things are improved this year which obviously through one game they are then the platform is definitely there for him to step up in a second year and if you look historically at you know it's interesting like Purdue and Notre Dame both having to go into the transfer portal to solve their quarterback situations right Purdue went and got a guy that it knew would be around for a couple of you don't know anything anymore with transfer portal but if you look at a couple of years in the first year and then he'll be around for a second year like he can build something behind him whereas Notre Dame for the second year in a row went out and got a first year guy. And you can look throughout college history over the last several years and a lot of the like big impact even when a guy has a strong first year that second year can really be the jump whether you're talking about Baker Mayfield, whether you're talking about me Joe Burles the best example that he was very ordinary in his first year and then Joe the second year, even Bonix and Jane Daniels last year I would get that as they did yeah yeah you saw huge jumps in some cases in that second year in a system. For some of those guys maybe there were some some coordinate changes too but that that jump that you can make in the second year I think is what people have looked at with Hudson card like having again just that that base of experience in this offense. Not just what that means schematically but from talking to him about it talk to other guys on this team about it. There's also something relationally there's also something about just kind of the presence that you have in the locker room on the field that is you can only kind of get organically over time that trust that builds over time. And they think that that is an asset that they have now in their second year you look around the big 10 and a lot of people have transfer quarterbacks but not a lot of people have like a second year starting quarterback. And can he make that an asset when they play this is their first of I think they play six six of their last 11 as a way it's situated right now who knows who gets hurt or demoted. But I think six of those are against first year transfers and it may not make a difference when you're playing a team that's as talented top the bottom is like Oregon or Ohio State who I have first year transfer quarterbacks. But in a game like this, maybe it makes more of a difference in if it comes down to being a fourth quarter game. Does you know they did of course lead the big 10 in rushing last year so you know they have that. Does it feel like the success or failure of this season comes down to how card ultimately performs or is there something else maybe they should put it on. Yeah the lead in rushing yards per game it's not quite the same as leading in like snap to snap effectiveness rushing the ball though they were okay with that too. I think a lot of it that's going to be determined by this offensive line but there's reason to believe that that could get even better this year. But I do think a lot is on Hudson card because again the big 10 is a tough league and then I don't know you get almost. I think people aren't here almost think of Notre Dame is like an extension of the big 10 in some ways they're certainly like the the behemoth of the north of the historical behemoth the north it just happens to not be in the big 10. Sure but but to compete with teams like this to beat teams like this and they've got a tough schedule they Notre Dame was one of four preseason top 10 teams on their schedule this year. In addition having to go out Wisconsin who they haven't beaten the last 17 tries and and some other to go into Oregon State. So it's it's a tough schedule and the quarterback plays probably going to be a determining factor in a number of those games and I don't think it means a Hudson card has to come out and be amazing I'm certainly when I was making that comparison I'm not arguing that Hudson card is going to jump up to Joe burrow Jayden Daniels level of play probably not even bow next to some extent. But if he improves his efficiencies whether that's yards per attempt whether that's just completion percentages off to obviously as good a start as you can get almost on that. If all of those things if that levels up and you see that kind of filter through this offense I think that's going to give them a chance to win games that they could not win last year. They even saw last year they had a very winnable game against Northwestern but that's the one he missed and the quarterback play just wasn't good enough in his absence but they think if he had been there that would have been one more win. So there were even with those four top 10 games and actually now this one I think people have probably moved from the likely loss to like maybe more up for grabs territory but even if they lose this game and you set those four games aside. That's still a lot of opportunity on this schedule to move forward from where you were last year from a record standpoint and I do think that a lot of it is on his shoulders but I asked about that before the season he said. And like yeah bring it on like that's why you play quarterback you want it on your shoulders. You know again they had that Indiana state game just the way that worked out and with the bi-week in between does this almost feel like that was the exhibition game this this is kind of the opener and everybody's going to find out a lot more about Purdue this week. Yeah the kind of the way I wrote it after the game was that game that Indiana state game I thought told us how good this Purdue team could be in November especially considering how many young guys were making an impact in that game. I don't know if it tells us anything about how they'll match up against Notre Dame. So there still is a lot of like unknown going into playing your first opponent of this caliber. I think Ryan Walters a Purdue coach had said pretty openly like when I first saw this schedule. I wasn't that happy about it he didn't really like having the bi-week the idle week that early in the season. And then when they saw that they had some guys banged up some key guys they thought that that was going to maybe be an asset that they could have someone like Nyland Green who was talking about CJ Smith back for this game. So for a while he was talking about it as being an asset to heal guys up. It happens but it does not sound like either of those guys will play I really thought in particular CJ Smith with his just pure speed when you're looking at a defense this strong a secondary this strong like what Notre Dame has. I thought that that could be a guy that would use this term again like help talent equate against what is clearly a very talented secondary. And at the same time they have added some other weapons the tight end Max Claire is a matchup problem I think for teams and he has a real rapport on the field with Hudson card and that could be a weapon that they use on on Saturday. But that was the one that I thought if they could get him back that it might make a big difference in a matchup like this and they'll have to try to find a way to create some big plays without him. Hey Irish Breakdown listeners it's Urban Meyer this fall the game changes join me Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and broadcaster Rob Stone as we bring you a new perspective on football and culture every week. We will be joined by the biggest name in sports and talk about everything inside and outside of the lines. Let us guide you through a new era of college football. Watch triple option on YouTube or listen on Apple podcast Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. Hey Irish Breakdown listeners it's Matt Liner. I've got a podcast called throwbacks with actor J for R will be talking all things sports but also so much more. We'll give you the behind the scenes stories from my days as the quarterback on an iconic college football team to Jerry's days as a star on an iconic TV series. So subscribe to throwbacks on YouTube Apple podcast Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. Well you talk about big plays on the back on the other side with Purdue does it like are they are they a team that feels like they can make big plays or they have the weapons to do that or going back to kind of who they were last year is that a team that kind of needs to grind it out a little bit more. Well from a defensive standpoint you mean or from an offensive standpoint like can Purdue make those kind of plays do you think. They I think definitely think they can but again what you saw against Indiana State I mean they had some big explosives later in that game that didn't necessarily tell us as much. But I think also even from a grind at standpoint you're going to have an offense that is probably putting itself in better positions on second and third down and just being able to be more methodical with it at times. That's where it goes back to having that sort of cohesiveness with the defense like just keeping your offense on the field sometimes even if it only yields a field goal or flips the field, giving your defense a better chance to go out and make its plays. I do think though they do have some some shots that they can take downfield and and open things up a little bit with this offense and especially when you start to think about it in terms of well you know they already had a pretty solid backfield. And then now Max Claire has emerged as a tight end and they'll play two tight ends they came out in the last game in 12 formation. So they are looking for ways to get him on the field and then making an opponent adjust to that with its personnel and then how do you take advantage on top of that. I think those are things that were theory theoretically there for them last year and they all start to become a little bit more real. Now when you start to look at the personnel that they have now. This is the last time these two teams played of course was at Notre Dame Stadium three years ago and there was a big and again you were covering Ohio State at that point but you're back on the beat there at Purdue. The drum produced drum became a big subject of conversation because you know it couldn't come through the visitors tunnel so they weren't allowed to bring the drum and has that become a talking point at all this week in Purdue land. You know it is not something that I've heard in conversations with the team I do know that it is a topic a greater topic like as we as an art roles are looking for things. Sure the team doesn't care about the drum as much right it has been written about I think there is some sort of resolution I think that drum will be there. I doubt that it has an impact on the how that game turns out on Saturday but that's what I mean those are the things that you get in college sports that you don't get anywhere else right like there's no there's no version of that in the N. F. L. where you're having this sort of controversy if you will about whether a team gets to bring its drum or where in the stadium the band sits. Those sort of things only exist at this level and sometimes they seem kind of petty but they definitely do add to I think an atmosphere about the game. This year obviously it's at Ross State Stadium can't keep the drum exactly exactly this will be something though I mean you're from now have me back on and we'll have an update on this about whether or not they get to take the drum to Notre Dame Stadium that's going to be the it'll come up again next year I'm sure. Well I was going to say you know like because again when this series was played every year there was always just you know it's with the proximity of the programs and because there were always just little kind of jabbing points that seemed like it would come up from time to time. It's something something that you kind of miss I think when you don't have that series going on all the time. It definitely things like that I think those are the kind of rivalries that sort of help define generations I think you can go back and obviously Notre Dame's had the best of this rivalry. But you can go back to every living generation of Purdue fans except the current one but you go back to every living generation of Purdue fans and they probably have a memory of a huge game where they beat Notre Dame I was talking to Drew Drew Drew Brees a few weeks ago to name drop and was asking him about the like jumping leaping two point conversion he had in 1999 it was actually 25 years ago today that he had that big two point conversion that played into how that game unfolded a big win for Purdue so like every generation has those stories and I mentioned Gary Danielson before talking to him today he went 0 and 3 against Notre Dame in his career as a Purdue quarterback. And they were pretty good at the time and that's the thing that you regret the most is that from the Purdue standpoint when you're pretty good and you have the opportunity to beat Notre Dame to either rise up to that level and beat them or to win it when Notre Dame is wounded or takes a dip do you capitalize on that and in the past 70 years of history there have been I think two coaches who you would say actually did that Joe Taylor and Jack Molentop and those are like the two legendary Purdue football coaches and now and they both but only two in that span to beat Notre Dame on their first try and now Ryan Walters is taking his shot on Saturday. All right looking forward to it Notre Dame and Purdue coming up this weekend down in West Lafayette he's Nathan Baird covers the boilermakers for the Indianapolis start a lot of great stuff Nathan thanks for your time I appreciate it. Sure thing thanks Sean. [Music] [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
