[dropcap]E[/dropcap]verett Golson is seemingly a force to be reckoned with.
The senior quarterback led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish once again Saturday night, throwing the football around for 25-of-40 attempts with 259 yards and two touchdowns. Also quick on his feet, Golson ran the ball for an additional 56 yards, including a 15-yard scramble to push the Irish ahead just before halftime.
“He just understands the game,” coach Brian Kelly said. “The game is slower for him than it was when he was here in his first year. The game has slowed down. He sees the field better. He can see it better. He’s not there yet. We missed some things tonight that would have changed the complexion of the game.”
Notre Dame would win in what is the last meeting between Purdue until 2020, 30-14. With the win, the Shillelagh Trophy will return to South Bend for the seventh consecutive year.
The road to victory wasn’t easy for the Irish, however. Receiver Amir Carlisle suffered a sprained medical collateral ligament in his right knee in the first quarter and never returned. Max Redfield was ejected in the second quarter after being called for targeting, Nicky Baratti re-injured his shoulder on the next play and starting Cole Luke left with a neck injury.
These losses resulted in Golson taking the load upon himself to lead the Irish. Golson targeted eight different players through the air with Will Fuller and Corey Robinson as his favorites.
Robinson caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown while Fuller had 51 yards and a touchdown of his own. C.J. Prosise had four receptions for 51 yards as well, making him the third receiver with over 50 yards on the day.
“Well, I like a lot of things about the team,” Kelly said following the game. “One is they love to play. They’ve got a great demeanor about the way they play this game. They’re a group that pays attention to the things that I need them to pay attention to relative to preparation. But, we’re really young. We’ll benefit from every day on the practice field. We will get better. So we’re still not a finished product by any means. We’re such a young team.”
Notre Dame is now heading into a bye week, giving them time to heal Carlisle, Baratti and Luke while also working on issues with the offensive line. Kelly said normally an early bye week would not matter too much for the team, but with the aforementioned injuries the Irish are suffering from, it comes at a great time.
“We’re not sustaining,” Kelly said. “I mean, we’re in position. We’re falling off a block here. We miss a fit here. And maybe it’s just the continuity took us a little bit longer. It’s nothing big, but it’s everything. It’s going to get better. They will get better. It’s just we’re not where we need to be. We’re going to keep working, keep grinding. We’ll get there. We’re just not there yet. We’re on the three yard line, we’re running a double team into the B gap, we slip and fall. Somebody fires through the B gap. Little things like that. They got to get cleaned up before we get to where we want to be offensively.”
Notre Dame football will return on Sept. 27 when the Irish travel to East Rutheford, New Jersey to take on Syracuse. Kick off is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET. On October 4, the 11th-ranked Irish will face Stanford at home. The Pit will be at that game providing live coverage.
