NOTRE DAME, Ind. – With partly sunny skies and a game time temperature in the middle 60s, it feels more like late October at the stadium.

• The crowd seems more than ready for a new era in Notre Dame football to begin. In fact, a fan sitting just a few rows in front of the press box window has a shirt which says on the back “Kelly says the right kind of guys win.”
• The Fighting Irish wins the toss and unlike most teams, they want to receive the ball instead of deferring to the second half. I guess Kelly wants to showcase that new offense right off the bat.
• It will be interesting to see if Kelly and NBC did come to an agreement as reported when it comes to less commercial interruptions, which would slow the pace Notre Dame wants to have when it is on offense.
• After an initial first down, Irish offense bogs down and Notre Dame forced to punt the ball near midfield.
• Notre Dame’s new 3-4 defense comes out of the gate quickly, forcing a loss of yardage on the first play and a three and out. Like the offense, the defense is faster than it was a year ago.
• Fighting Irish pick up a first down on their second series and then are forced to punt. Notre Dame has yet to go vertical in the passing game. Everything is underneath to the tight end, slot back or the running back.
• Purdue goes for it on fourth and a little more than a yard at the Notre Dame 45. The pass is good and the driver continues. The Boilermaker drive is thwarted when Darrin Walls picks off Robert Marve’s pass at the 16-yard line.
• Cierre Wood’s first official carry at Notre Dame goes for 16 yards. His second run good for 15 more. His third, goes for a minus 5 yards. Wood’s first four carries for the Fighting Irish are good for 41 yards.
• The Fighting Irish are off and running. The ground game leads to the first score of the season, a 22-yard jaunt by Armando Allen.
• The first quarter ends with Notre Dame leading 7-0.