The Brian Kelly Era Gets Under Way

It was a successful day on Saturday for Brian Kelly in his debut as Notre Dame head coach, as the Irish took on rival Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium and came away with a 23-12 victory.

It was also a good start for QB Dayne Crist, who threw for 205 yards and a touchdown in his first start as an Irish quarterback. He threw his TD to T.J. Jones in the fourth to put the game on ice. Armando Allen scored the first TD in the first quarter on a 22-yard run, and Irish were up by 10 points at the half.

Cierre Wood was impressive in the backfield, running for 58 yards on 7 carries, and each of his first four rushes were for 10 yards or more.

But the defense was even more impressive. It was ND's Achilles heel last year, but they had four sacks and two interceptions on the day, and held Purdue to three points at halftime.

The Fighting Irish have a big one next week, as they take on longtime rival Michigan at South Bend next Saturday.

And no, I won't be seeing that game at Professor Thom's next weekend. (Many of you may know that Thom's is a hangout for Michigan fans. I wouldn't dare show up in my Irish gear on game day there.)