Don’t you hear the Huskies barking on your way to Purdue?
By Omar Ureña

SOUTH BEND, IN. September 14, 2024.

It was a long road back home to South Bend. The huskies are barking after they beat the Irish. That Saturday it was a gloomy night.

“-Hey you up there, Ignacio, tell me if you can not hear a signal of something or see some light somewhere.

-Nothing can be seen

-We should be close already

-Yes, but nothing can be heard”.

The long dark shadow of the men continued moving up and down, tripping over the rocks…” (1)

‘Now you gotta watch for Purdue son, catch and watch.‘

Watch these Irish coming back to the gridiron to be those resilient dogs. They are not stationery, they are moving as a gang of dobermans. The damn huskies and their joyful barking. A lot of people are mad at this Notre Dame program. Today the battle will be harsh. The Purdue offense at home won’t stop running, not until Rylie Mills and Howard Cross appear. Purdue punished the Indiana State “Gansitos Marinela” known as the Sycamores. They were destroyed 49-0 by QB #1 Hudson Card. 

This is just like the walk that Ignacio’s dad took to his hometown carrying a heavy body. The hills were rough and the moon was bright and spectral on the Irish way back to South Bend. The road to ‘el pueblo dorado’ has more than two strong legs and a heavy load among the steppen scenery of Northern Indiana. Purdue runs the ball fast and it will take more than cries at night to stop them . They are looking to harm enemies. 

‘Remember Ignacio when you said it was going to be a secure match for the Irish? You didn’t know that these Huskies were hungry like wolves.’ 

The Huskies stopped again and again. No gaps when the Notre Dame offense was on the field. Incredulous but there were no gaps open for the Irish. Still, Jeremiah Love ended up running for 79 yards and one touchdown. The Irish carry their destiny and pull the rocks among miles. The city of Tonaya looks bright right there.

“They spoke little. Each time less. At times he seemed to be sleeping. At times he seemed to be cold. Trembling. He knew when the trembling would seize his son because of the jerkings he felt…”

‘West Lafayette is not that far from South Bend’.

Now this is another Saturday, the sun shines bright over the Ross Ade stadium, where the students after a hard week will enjoy themselves, some of them are proud students from Mexico as Isabella, a junior aerospace engineering student from Guadalajara and Gilberto Morales Jr, freshman who attends the College of Engineering. The Fighting Irish have played for the Shillelagh Trophy vs the Boiler makers since 1957. Notre Dame leads the series with 40 battles won in the trenches and lost 19. Purdue’s last win was 33-19 in 2007 at Lafayette.

“There was the town. The roofs shone brightly under the light of the moon. He had the impression that he was being crushed by the weight of his son when the back of his knees bent in his final efforts…”

‘Don’t let the dogs fool you, you have a great spirit. You passed for 163 yards against Northern Illinois and ran for 11 yards in that particular play in the 1st quarter, as the whole stadium was seeing a lack of effort. It’s time for you to understand that destiny was because you thought you were in heaven. So Saturday we’ll make it to Lafayette to take revenge in the 88th battle of the Notre Dame and Purdue war.’ 

The series is 59-26-2 for Notre Dame. The Boilermakers have lost the last 8 meetings.

‘Our Fighting Irish are 28-14-2 when playing at this field.’

The Irish defense wants to dominate the next underdog. Ausberry must step up after having five tackles against the Huskies, same as Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa who had a career-high seven tackles.

The Irish offense must win this battle if they can beat the 8 box defense in critical circumstances. On air, Jaden Greathouse promises after having a career-high five receptions in the infamous game vs the Huskies. I’m seeing the Boilers explode as they hear the bell tolls while they fell 27-19 to the Irish.

“You didn’t hear that, Ignacio?- he said -You didn’t even help me with this hope”. 

‘You were weak in that game against Northern Illinois’.

“And even at the end, you couldn’t even tell me that you heard the dogs barking?”

(1) JUAN RULFO, No oyes ladrar a los perros. (El Llano en llamas, 1953)