It was a week of firsts for Notre Dame's new football coach Brian Kelly. First Friday night pep rally, first walk to the stadium from the Basilica, first run through the tunnel.
But all Kelly could notice on his first game day were the Kelly green shirts.
"Lots of Kelly green shirts,"
he said. "Maybe it's just my background. . . . When I was at Cincinnati, we would always take a team to Penn State or Michigan and you'd always have to play up to being on the road. Now, it's 81,000 and it's our people. It's kind of nice having that 81,000 rooting for your team."
The Irish faithful have been desperate for their next savior, and Kelly gave them a reason to believe again Saturday as Notre Dame defeated Purdue, 23-12, at sold-out Notre Dame Stadium. Kelly, looking every bit the part of Ara or Lou with his gold and blue fleece pullover with the words "Irish"
on the front, got to celebrate the moment, hugging his assistants during the alma mater.
Kelly, college football's newest rock star, may not have been the biggest pop sensation in the house, since Taylor Swift - whose brother is a freshman here - was also in attendance. But he showed he could also command the big stage.
This wasn't a warm-up. Purdue may be young, but the Boilermakers are still a Big Ten team, and Kelly had to be pleased with the fact that his newly installed spread offense, which churned out a balanced 358 yards, was more efficient than expected after looking like a study in chaos the past two weeks in practice.
Redshirt junior quarterback Dayne Crist, a backup to Jimmy Clausen for the past three years, might not be there yet, but looks like he will be a quick study. Playing a full-contact game for the first time since knee surgery in November, Crist completed 19 of 26 passes for 205 yards and led the Irish on five scoring drives.
The Irish, taking advantage of the fact that Purdue's inexperienced secondary played a lot of Cover 2 zone in an attempt to limit Michael Floyd's touches, also rediscovered their long-dormant running game. Senior Armando Allen rushed for 93 yards on 18 carries and sophomore Cierre Wood had 58 on seven. Special teams were special with David Ruffer kicking three field goals of 22, 46 and 37 yards, and Notre Dame showed much more discipline than last year, committing just two penalties for 15 yards.
"We were all making our debuts today,"
Crist said. "It was a new era, so to speak, with the new staff. It was new for everyone. I think everyone understood and was definitely empathetic of Coach."
