No update on Marve; Sunday notes
Coach Danny Hope had no update on Robert Marve's injured left knee when he spoke with reporters on Sunday before Purdue practice.
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Marve injured his knee - the same one that's twice been repaired after torn ACLs - in the fourth quarter of a 20-17 loss to Notre Dame. Marve walked off the field with a wrap on his knee and was scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday, he said after the game.
"It's hard to tell with the amount of struggles he's had," Hope said when asked if there was an initial prognosis. "Last week in the opener, his knee buckled and we all kind of held our breath for a little bit and he was OK. (On Saturday), it gets buckled under pressure and there's some swelling and some soreness but you won't know until they do an MRI.
"So I have no idea what to expect, really, to be honest with you. I've got my fingers crossed and am praying about it."
Marve was injured when the pocket collapsed around him in the fourth quarter. After Josh Johnson forced a fumble to give the ball back to Purdue in the red zone, Marve took a first-down snap and got pressure immediately. The Irish blitzed their corner, and right tackle Trevor Foy appeared a bit late to slide over to pick up the blitzer. Akeem Shavers, who started the play in the backfield, had released into the flat, but Marve was looking toward the left side. As soon as KeiVarae Russell hit Marve low, defensive tackle Louis Nix was there to crunch Marve high after being Peters Drey.
After the game, Marve met with reporters and said he didn't know the severity of his injury. Hope said Marve's spirits seemed "OK" on the bus ride home, but he had seen him only briefly on Sunday.
"We hope everything is OK with him," senior receiver Antavian Edison said. "I think he'll bounce back real soon, though. I hope it's nothing major."
A struggleA key matchup of the game against the Irish figured to be their defensive front against Purdue's offensive line.
Notre Dame appeared to have the edge, registering four sacks and limiting the Boilermakers to only 90 yards rushing on 30 attempts.
"Sure, we struggled a little bit," Hope said. "We played against a really good defensive front. A lot of offensive lines would struggle against that outfit. We moved the ball some and manufactured some points when we needed to. … I would have liked to have blocked them a little bit better. We can perform a little bit better.
"I think we went out there and played hard and tried to execute as well as we could but, again, we had our hands full with the quality of the competition."
Justin Kitchens started at left tackle after Kevin Pamphile had that label in Week 1. They alternated the first eight series before Kitchens got the nod on the final three consecutive.
Cody Davis played one series at right guard in place of Devin Smith in the first half, the one that produced Purdue's first touchdown.
Ticking downThe Boilermakers still are searching for answers on how a late third-quarter drive stalled.
After Dolapo Macarthy caught a 4-yard pass and went out of bounds, Purdue had third-and-goal from the 1-yard line with the third quarter coming to a close.
But Purdue was whistled for a delay of game after that play. Then it called a timeout with 20 seconds remaining.
"We've gone back and looked at the scoreboard and the play clock and we're trying to figure out where the time went, but we're missing about 12 or 13 seconds somewhere," Hope said of the sequence after Macarthy's catch.
After the timeout, Marve got sacked after rolling right and Purdue was forced to settle for a 33-yard field goal and a 17-10 deficit.
No concernAfter committing only three penalties for 15 yards in the opener, Purdue had eight for 51 against Notre Dame.
"We had more penalties than I would have liked, but it was spread around a little bit," Hope said. "I don't think we had any pre-snap penalties on defense, offsides, and that's important. So we're doing a good job of keying the football.
"I think we're doing a good job in the penalty category. We had more (Saturday) than we did than the week before but the competition was much more challenging. I think we have a good handle on that."
Hope said the team will continue to bring officials to practice. They were a consistent presence during training camp, and Hope thinks that helped the team have better discipline.
Hope said Akeem ShaversClick NoteworthyHere to view this Link. had cramps against Notre Dame, but he's "fine." He confirmed that Ricardo AllenClick NoteworthyHere to view this Link. has an ankle injury, which is what Allen said after the game after not playing the final defensive series.
Despite not having Allen for the final drive, Purdue stayed aggressive. The Boilermakers blitzed consistently on the drive, bringing at least one player four times on Notre Dame's first seven plays. Both of ND's third-down conversions on the drive came against pressure.
"I like the play-calling," Hope said. "We made a few more mistakes than what we'd like to. The game was very, very close. We haven't made very many mistakes in practice on the defensive side of the ball. That's encouraging. Made very few mistakes last week in practice. Made a few more mistakes in the game, but the game was a little more pressing than practice. We still have some polish to do, but I really like where we're at and the ways the guys are playing and the potential of our football team."
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