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FACTS & STATS: Site: Ross-Ade Stadium (67,332) -- West Lafayette, Indiana. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Notre Dame 2-0, Purdue 1-1. Away Record: Notre Dame 0-1, Purdue 0-1. Neutral Record: Notre Dame 0-0, Purdue 0-0. Conference Record: Notre Dame 0-0, Purdue 0-0. Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 52-26-2.

GAME NOTES: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish survived a scare last weekend, and they are now set for their annual rivalry game against the Purdue Boilermakers. Notre Dame, which is one of the few FBS Independents, squeaked by Michigan State last weekend by a 33-30 final. The Fighting Irish are now 2-1, as the lone defeat came in the final minute to Michigan two weeks ago. Charlie Weis, the head coach of the program, is always the subject of much scrutiny, but a 3-1 start would undoubtedly silence a few more critics. As for Purdue, it opened the season with a romp over Toledo, but back-to-back losses since that triumph have the squad in an unenviable position. After falling to Oregon by two points on the road, but Boilermakers dropped a 28-21 decision to Northern Illinois last weekend in front of a disheartened home crowd. Saturday's contest represents Purdue's final chance to prepare for the start of Big Ten Conference play. Notre Dame owns a commanding 52-26-2 series advantage over Purdue, including a victory in last season's meeting.

The Notre Dame offense has been explosive through three games, as the team is generating 34.0 ppg and 479.0 total ypg. Of the 13 touchdowns scores by the offense, 10 have come via the passing attack, and Jimmy Clausen is the man pulling the trigger from the quarterback position. Clausen has completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 951 yards and nine touchdowns with zero interceptions. He has benefited from having arguably the best wideout duo in the nation in the fold, as Golden Tate and Michael Floyd have been tremendous. Tate has made 19 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns, while Floyd has turned his 13 catches into 358 yards and five scores. Unfortunately, Floyd broke his collarbone against Michigan State and is out indefinitely. Clausen, who injured his toe this past weekend, figures to be good to go against the Boilermakers. In last weekend's narrow victory over Michigan State, Notre Dame moved the chains 25 times and finished with 437 total yards. Clausen threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, while Tate posted seven grabs for 127 yards and one touchdown. Armando Allen racked up 115 rushing yards and one touchdown on 23 carries, and he is clearly the club's workhorse back.

Opponents are scoring 22.7 ppg against Notre Dame, which is yielding 398.7 total ypg. The Fighting Irish pitched a shutout in the first game of the season against Nevada, but they were then victimized for 38 points by Michigan and allowed 30 points to Michigan State last weekend. It seems that this defense has plenty of room for improvement and isn't nearly as good as it appeared in week one. The run defense is yielding 4.9 ypc, and opponents are passing for 12.1 yards per completion against Notre Dame. Kyle McCarthy has been arguably the best defender for the Fighting Irish, as he has made 27 tackles to go along with three interceptions. Last week, Notre Dame permitted 459 total yards, including 354 passing yards, to Michigan State in the narrow home win. The Fighting Irish had only one sack and yielded a ton of big plays.

Joey Elliott is the man under center for Purdue this season, and he has completed 61 percent of his passes for 674 yards and four touchdowns. While those numbers are certainly solid, Elliott has thrown five interceptions, a major factor in the disappointing 1-2 record. Keith Smith leads the receivers with 17 catches for 222 yards, and Ralph Bolden is the top rusher with 421 yards and four touchdowns on only 62 attempts. The Boilermakers are generating 36.3 ppg and 440.3 total ypg, although the offense had its worst performance to date last weekend. Against Northern Illinois, Purdue got a pair of rushing touchdowns from Elliott, and the only other touchdown came on special teams. The Boilermakers lost three fumbles, the most obvious key to the loss. They also held possession of the ball for a mere 18:20, as they were completely dominated in that aspect of the game by the Huskies.

Opponents are generating 32.3 ppg and 434.3 total ypg against Purdue, which clearly has some room for improvement defensively. The club has already allowed seven rushing touchdowns and 181.0 rushing yards per game on 4.5 ypc. The pass defense has been shaky as well, permitting 11.3 yards per completion. There have been seven takeaways, so Purdue deserves some credit for being opportunistic, but a better all-around effort will be needed this weekend. Purdue yielded 454 total yards to Northern Illinois last weekend, including 280 rushing yards on 57 attempts. The Huskies controlled the flow of the game with that ground attack, keeping possession for over 41 minutes. The Boilermakers did register a pair of takeaways, but those impact plays weren't enough to sway the outcome in their favor.

Go with the Fighting Irish on the road in this game, as Clausen will find a way to get the job done. Still, expect things to be much more difficult without Floyd.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Notre Dame 34, Purdue 27