It looks like the 2021 Notre Dame football season is going to be one of those that every week will be a real challenge for Irish fans to watch. It looks like it’s going to be the edge of your seat for four quarters with the outcome not decided until the final minutes - or seconds. If you use them, get you blood pressure medications stocked up.

After the Florida State win, head coach Brian Kelly said the Irish had a lot of work to do. After watching the Toledo game at ND stadium last week, I wonder what did he work on the week prior?

It appeared the same problems were present and nothing looked much better.

The young and inexperienced offensive line looks just that and, in fact, took a step backwards against a Toledo team that was well-prepared for Notre Dame and primed for an upset.

Defensively, the Irish again gave up “big” plays but did also tightened up when needed. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has to do a better job with the secondary so those big plays don’t keep happening.

I must also say that Toledo was a very experienced team with 22 returners - 11 on offense and 11 on defense. Many of the 22 players were in their fifth, sixth and in once case seventh year of college ball. Toledo’s defense had ND’s young offense on its heels most of the game. ND really struggled to get a running game going. In addition, quarterback Jack Coan was sacked six times in the game. In defense of the Irish offensive line, it was a patch work of linemen used due to injuries, including its third-string left tackle.

ND was forced to go to a two-quarterback offense as freshman Tyler Buchner made his collegiate debut in an effort to jump start the running game. Buchner ran the ball for 68 yards on seven carries and also threw a TD pass. But it was obvious that his passing abilities are very limited at this time.

Kelly told the media after the game, “As you know from watching the game, we were trying to find ourselves offensively in the run game. We’re transitioning as we speak. I felt like going to Tyler there, he would give us the versatility in the run game that we needed.”

Although Buchner was impressive at times, Coan still played a majority of the snaps and eventually saved the day when he led the winning touchdown drive after Toledo took the lead with just over a minute remaining.

In the clutch drive, Coan dislocated a finger on his throwing hand, but a member of the ND medical staff was able to “pull” the finger back into place and Coan tossed the game-winner to tight end Michael Mayer on the next play.

ND was hurt by its own mistakes throughout the game as it turned the ball over three times, including a “pick-6” from Coan right before the half.

Today the Irish host an old rival in Purdue. The Boilermakers and Irish played continuously from 1945 to 2014 when the series ended. ND had to drop Purdue as a regular opponent when it agreed to play five ACC teams a year in football as part of the deal that has all other sports at the university playing in the ACC.

Purdue enters the game at 2-0. It beat Oregon State, 30-21, in the opener and then last week defeated Connecticut, 49-0. ND leads the series with Purdue, 56-26-2, and has won the last nine games played between the schools.

The game will be televised nationally by NBC-TV with a 2:30 p.m. airtime and kickoff about 2:40 p.m.

IRISH NOTES ... There were plenty of empty seats - the crowd was estimated to be about 15,000 below capacity - in ND stadium last week. I don’t know if it was due to the competition, or the new paperless ticket system, or COVID concerns or a combination of factors, but it will be interesting to see what it looks like today. As of Thursday, the game was not a sellout .... I have also been told that the television broadcast on the NBC-owned Peacock streaming network was a bust ... There were scouts from four NFL teams at the game - Buffalo, Indianapolis, Seattle and Washington ... Brian Kelly’s ND record is now 104-39. He is one win short of tying Knute Rockne for the most wins by a Irish coach ... Some game stats. Kyren Williams had 78 yards rushing on 16 carries and Chris Tyree had 12 yards on seven carries. Coan was 21 of 33 for 239 yards, one interception and two TDs. Mayer has seven catches for 81 yards and two TDs; Kevin Austin had 63 yards on four catches and Avery Davis had 29 yards on three catches. Defensively, JD Bertrand had a super day with 11 tackles. Cam Hart had seven and Kyle Hamilton and Jayson Ademilola added five each ... Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 35-5 (.875). Notre Dame is one of just four teams that have totaled five or fewer losses over that span joining Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State ... With the win over Toledo, Notre Dame has won 10-consecutive home openers under Brian Kelly. It ties for the longest win streak in home-openers since 1964-73, when Ara Parseghian also won 10-straight ... Notre Dame has won 25-consecutive games at home, setting its modern-era record for longest home win streak. It is the second longest active streak in FBS ... Coan led the Irish on the 75-yard game-winning drive in just three plays that was capped off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mayer. After the two-point conversion ... The defense, ranked a woeful 88th in the country, got a shot in the arm this week with the announcement that sophomore defensive end Jordan Botelho is available after missing the first two games ... Kelly said it’ll be a game-time decision Saturday as to whether Michael Carmody or Tosh Baker will get the start at left tackle. Both players are sophomores, who redshirted as freshmen last season. Carmody suffered an ankle injury in the win over Toledo, with Baker finishing. Carmody was making his first collegiate start after relieving freshman Blake Fisher in the Sept. 6 season-opening overtime win over Florida State. Fisher is out eight weeks with a knee injury ... ND dropped from eighth to 12 in the national polls, which was not unexpected ... ND lost two die-hard fans from our area in the past week with the untimely deaths of Margaret S. “Peggy Sue” O’Donnell of Jim Thorpe and Patrick “Patty” Coleman of Summit Hill. Both loved the Irish and had made many trips to South Bend. My condolences to their families ... In my preseason picks in my last column, I failed to mention the Stanford game. I’m giving the Irish the nod in that, despite the fact it is a away game and ND hasn’t done well in games at Stanford ... With two games in, it is apparent that this is not going to be the type of season I predicted. It looks like each week is going to be an adventure for Irish fans. Today old rival Purdue returns to the schedule. I my preseason picks I have the Irish winning today, but I must say after the Florida State and Toledo games, I’m thinking this is a toss up and another barn-burner.