Notre Dame football takes on the Purdue Boilermakers at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, and head coach Marcus Freeman’s 3-0 Fighting Irish squad is a massive favorite.

Most betting platforms have the spread around 27.5 points in favor of Notre Dame, a team carrying national title expectations into a matchup against Barry Odom’s Purdue program, now in its second year of building a foundation for future success.

On paper, the Fighting Irish have a huge advantage in this game.

If offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and quarterback CJ Carr get off to a strong start, Notre Dame could build an early lead that opens the door for younger players to see extended action in the second half. Injuries may also create opportunities for some of those youngsters to step into meaningful roles.

Here are the Notre Dame freshmen and young players who should have Fighting Irish fans intrigued on Saturday afternoon.

RB Jonaz Walton

A lot of people were excited about Walton after his showing in the second half against Rice, when the freshman had eight carries for 48 yards. He was actually the leading rusher on the day for the Fighting Irish in that contest.

After that performance, there was plenty of chatter that the 5-9, 214-pound runner could see increased opportunities last week against Michigan State. Yet Walton carried the football just a single time for a negative 1-yard result.

Freeman and company continue to speak the praises of this talented freshman who is not only physically well put together but also ran the 100-meter dash in track and field at 10.6 seconds coming out of the state of Georgia. With the inefficiencies the Irish have seen from Aneyas Williams, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Walton begin to get more and more opportunities each week.

This is a perfect game to get him some touches.

Nolan James Jr. has done enough, particularly with his performance against the Spartans, to ascend potentially to be the top running back on this team. But in order to create more explosives, a player like Walton could add a unique layer to the rushing attack. Keep an eye on No. 20 in the backfield for Notre Dame.

S Joey O’Brien

As I reported earlier this week, Notre Dame safety Luke Talich will not play in this contest while recovering from a thumb injury that required surgery. With Talich out and Brauntae Johnson still not available, the Fighting Irish will need to ride with some youth next to star safety Adon Shuler.

Expect O’Brien, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound five-star freshman, to get some opportunities. His combination of length and ball skills are tremendous. How O’Brien holds up physically will be worth watching, but regardless, he needs to play this weekend. There’s a possibility he might even start.

Purdue has a talented quarterback in Ryan Browne with the ability to throw the football around, so seeing how impactful O’Brien can be in pass coverage will be a unique test for the Fighting Irish defense under defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

DE Rodney Dunham

The five-star freshman defensive end had an incredible pressure this past week against Michigan State. It was so impressive that Freeman spent time during his media availability this week talking about finding ways to get Dunham on the field more for Notre Dame. That should be an easy indication that he is impressing folks behind the scenes after a strong offseason.

The Fighting Irish have a strong defensive end pairing in Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young as starters. Keon Keeley also figures into the rotation and is a good run stopper. But there is no player on this roster with as much pass rush upside as Dunham. The 6-4, 242-pound pass rusher needs to play more this week.

TE Ian Premer: The wild card

Through three games, Notre Dame’s tight end room has caught just six passes for 31 yards and two touchdowns. The run blocking from Cooper Flanagan and James Flanigan has been strong, but there is no threat of a passing game from the position right now. Whether that is a usage issue or a deliberate choice to deprioritize the tight ends in the passing attack remains unclear.

Premer has not played much other than a little bit in the second half of the blowout against Rice.

With a few games under his belt and some time to get more comfortable since enrolling in the summer, it would be worth seeing if he starts to get a more prominent role. At 6-6 and 245 pounds, Premer is an outstanding athlete. Notre Dame needs to get more out of the tight end position in the passing game, and he could be the spark that room has been looking for.