After two close wins to start their season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have found their stride and are now 3-0. In a 27-13 win against the Purdue Boilermakers last Saturday, the Irish were finally able to open up the scoring thanks to a great showing by the offense and powerful, drive-stopping football by the defense. The running game, a part of Notre Dame’s offense in 2020 that was spectacular, seems to have figured it out as well, especially running back Kyren Williams.
Leading the Irish in rushing yards and coming in second for receiving yards on Saturday, Williams’ presence was felt by the Purdue defense. Williams ran for 91 yards on 12 carries for one touchdown and ran for 47 yards on two catches for another touchdown. Breaking tackles for extra yardage seemed to be a theme in Williams’ game against Purdue.
“That was my big emphasis this week—running through tackles. I don’t feel like I did that well enough last week. Being able to keep my feet running on contact was really big for me coming into this week and I have to keep on doing better with it,” Williams said in a press conference following their Saturday game.
This emphasis was seen in Williams' play on Saturday. In the fourth quarter, Williams battled for a 51-yard touchdown run in which he broke countless tackles, pushing through seemingly anyone who stood in his way. This display of athleticism astonished teammates and defenders alike.
Williams’ and the entire Notre Dame Fighting Irish have plenty to be confident about heading into their week four game against Wisconsin this Saturday. The Irish will take the field in Wisconsin at 12:00 PM ET.
ICYMI
Following his impressive performance against Purdue, Kyler Williams has been named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll. Read more about this honor here.
