First, let me start off by saying that I am neither a Notre Dame fan, nor a Notre Dame hater.  I root for them when they play certain teams, and root against them when they play other teams – but I have to comment on their most recent win against Purdue.

"WE DID IT! Thank God Purdue's head coach is an idiot or we wouldn't have had a shot!" (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The headlines will read something like “Clausen’s late game heroics give ND the win,” or “Notre Dame rallies for a fourth quarter comeback,” but there is something incorrect there.  While these headlines are accurate, they certainly are not true – at least not completely.

Ask anyone who saw the highlights and they will tell you about how Junior QB Jimmy Clausen fought through an injury to lead his team to victory with a TD pass to TE Kyle Rudolph with under a minute remaining.  That’s one way to put it.  The other way is Purdue handed Notre Dame the game with one of the worst coaching decisions I have ever seen.

Let me set the scene for you:  Purdue is trailing Notre Dame 17-14 late in the fourth quarter.  After a long drive, Purdue QB Joey Elliot hits Jaycen Taylor in the flat for what ends up being a 38-yard TD pass to give Purdue the lead, 21-17.  Notre Dame then gets the ball back on their own 28 with 3:41 left to play and only one timeout.  Pretending you are the coach of Purdue, I assume (and after watching that game this is a big assumption) that you know that simple math tells you a field goal can’t beat you, so all you have to do is prevent The Irish from scoring a touchdown.

After a sack and the use of their final timeout, Clausen – who was playing through a turf-toe injury (I give him credit because that injury is worse than it sounds) – puts together a nice little drive to get his team in Purdue territory with under two minutes left.  Remember, Notre Dame has no more timeouts.  Clausen, who finished the day 15-26 for 171 yards with a TD and a pick, threw a strike to one of his new weapons, WR Golden Tate, that netted him 17 yards and a first and goal on Purdue’s four yard line.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up a second, I want to use a timeout and give Notre Dame a shot to win this game...GO IRISH!"

Now, at this point the clock is under a minute and ticking as Clausen fires an incomplete sideline pass, intended for his WR Robby Parris.  So, it’s now second and goal on Purdue’s four with 41 seconds left.  Charlie Wies, in all his offensive brilliance, calls a running play (I guess thinking he can catch the defense tired and off-guard) which Purdue stops at the two yard line.

OK, so now Notre Dame is stumbling around trying to get to the line of scrimmage as the clock ticks away to either A – kill the clock (bringing up fourth down and only giving the Irish one final play to score), or B – run a play called at the line (which is easier to defend since the entire team is panicking to just get the play off, let alone execute successfully)… either way Purdue has the advantage.

So what does Purdue’s head coach Danny Hope do? He uses one of his timeouts with 36 seconds left on the clock.  Apparently he is a big Notre Dame fan and didn’t want this team to upset them.  I sat there wondering to myself, is this guy serious? Is he going to rip off his collared shirt and show the world the Jimmy Clausen No.7 jersey he has been wearing underneath his clothes this whole game?

"I may wear my pants pulled up to my chin, but at least I know not to call a timeout for the other team...thanks Danny!" (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

He not only stops the clock for Notre Dame, removing all the pressure that was just on them, but now he sends them to the sideline to get – not one – but two scripted plays to run.  He gave the Notre Dame offense a chance to catch their breath and say, “OK, here is where they are weak, let’s try this, and then this,” and for what? A chance to get his guys water? To tell them, watch the pass, watch the bootleg, don’t let them score?  I couldn’t get over it, and I wasn’t the only one.  Both announcers calling the game were stunned at this move, and I could only imagine what a Purdue fan was thinking (if he or she hadn’t already hung themselves because they are a fan of Purdue football).

So in short, although Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen will get all the credit – and like I said, much is deserved, they put together a great final drive – the real MVP of that game for the Fightin’ Irish is Purdue head coach Danny Pope.  I just kept picturing the Notre Dame post-game celebration in the locker room: all the players hootin’ and hollerin’, Weis trying to give a speech, and in comes Danny Pope, shirtless, with his chest painted blue, green and gold screaming “YEA! GO IRISH! WE DID IT!”