Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scor

FACTS & STATS: Site: Ross-Ade Stadium (62,500) -- West Lafayette, Indiana. Television: ESPN. Home Record: UND 1-1, Purdue 2-0. Away Record: UND 1-1, Purdue 0-1. Neutral Record: UND 0-0, Purdue 0-0. Conference Record: UND 0-0, Purdue 0-0. Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 54-26-2.

GAME NOTES: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will try to continue their early- season turnaround on Saturday night, as they visit Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette for a tussle with in-state rival Purdue.

After dropping their first two games this season thanks to a pair of fourth- quarter meltdowns, the Fighting Irish have gotten back on track with two straight victories. They followed a convincing win over then 15th-ranked Michigan State with a 15-12 triumph at Pittsburgh last weekend. Another win on the road would certainly add to the team's confidence entering a key three- game homestand beginning next week against Air Force.

Purdue was idle last week. In their previous outing, the Boilermakers improved to 2-0 at home with a 59-0 rout of Southeast Missouri State. It was the largest margin of victory ever at Ross-Ade Stadium, and it also marked the Boilermakers' first shutout win since 2004.

Notre Dame has won the last three meetings with Purdue and 20 of the last 25 overall to take a 54-26-2 series lead.

Irish sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees is still a work in progress, but each week he appears to get a little more comfortable. The youngster is completing 66.4 percent of his passes and has thrown seven touchdowns, although he has also tossed six interceptions. Playing on the road last week at Pitt, Rees was largely ineffective for three quarters. Then, in the fourth quarter, he led his team on a game-winning 11-play, 85-yard touchdown drive in which he completed 8-of-8 passes. The drive helped Rees atone for a couple of earlier miscues, including a lost fumble and an interception on the Panthers' goal line. After the game, head coach Brian Kelly noted how Rees has been able to adjust to defensive looks he is seeing for the first time. Another productive rushing game from Cierre Wood also helped his cause, as the Irish tailback rushed for 94 yards on 23 carries, just shy of his season average of 98.2 ypg. Star wideout Michael Floyd is averaging nearly nine catches and 106 receiving yards per tilt, but he drew extra defensive attention on that final drive, and Rees did a good job taking what the Panthers gave him.

Ever since a fourth-quarter collapse at Michigan a few weeks ago, Notre Dame's defense has really stepped up to the plate. The Irish followed that effort by holding a nationally-ranked Michigan State squad to a single touchdown while taking the Spartans' ground game completely out of the mix (29 net yards). Last week, they shut the door on Pitt by allowing only 268 total yards and one touchdown for the game. Te'o Manti led the way with 10 tackles (eight solo) and a sack, while Darius Fleming picked up a pair of sacks. On the season, Manti paces the unit with 41 tackles to go along with two sacks. Robert Blanton has intercepted two passes and broken up another three. One of the few hiccups was a roughing the kicker call that turned a 4th-and-20 into a first down for the Panthers, which they turned into a 19-play touchdown drive. Through four games, the Irish have been plagued by too many costly penalties and miscues for coach Kelly's liking.

Meanwhile, Purdue enters this contest with two weeks of preparation, and head coach Danny Hope is sure to have a trick or two up his sleeve to test the Irish defense. The Boilermakers feature a balanced attack, as they average 258.7 passing yards and 212.3 rushing yards per game. Confidence should be high following their 59-0 drubbing of SEMO. In that game, quarterbacks Caleb TerBush and Robert Marve combined to complete 21-of-25 passes as Purdue finished with 627 yards of total offense, its highest total under Hope and most since November 20, 2004 against Indiana. It marked Marve's first game action since tearing an ACL early last season. On the ground, Purdue's 393 rushing yards were its most since a 315-yard effort against Toledo on September 5, 2009. The Boilermakers did not have a single offensive play that lost yardage in the game and only had to punt once all day. Playing against an improved Notre Dame defense as opposed to a school from the Football Championship Subdivision, they aren't likely to repeat those kinds of numbers.

For Purdue's defense, the victory marked the program's first shutout since 2004 as the Boilermakers limited the Redhawks to just 153 yards of total offense. It was the first time Purdue held an opponent under 200 yards since September 11, 2004 (vs. Ball State), and the first game under 100 yards passing by an opponent since October 10, 2009 (at Minnesota). The Boilermakers played an aggressive, downhill style, posting 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. For all intents and purposes, the game was well over by halftime with the score 38-0. The Redhawks managed just 57 yards in the first half as their offense started just one play on Purdue's side of the field. All in all, it was a big step up from the Boilermakers' previous outing in which they gave up 24 points and became the first team from a BCS conference to lose to Rice in 10 years. Now the challenge is to put forth another strong effort against a Notre Dame offense that boasts a few big-time playmakers.

Notre Dame has started a season 0-2 only seven times in the program's 123-year history. Of those seven occasions, the Irish have rebounded to finish with a winning record only twice. Can they do it again this year? A win this weekend would go a long way, but in order to do so they'll have to continue to play disciplined football in all phases for four quarters.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Notre Dame 33, Purdue 20