ESPN

Had big Bruce Gaston chosen Notre Dame over Purdue, it's unlikely the defensive tackle would have been this charged up for Saturday's season opener in South Bend.

Landing with the Boilermakers presented the true freshman from St. Rita an opportunity to push his weight around immediately.

"I can't stress how happy I am to play [Notre Dame]," said the 6-foot-2, 300-pounder, who made ESPNChicago.com's All-Chicago Area Team as a senior after recording 16 sacks and 99 tackles. "We're so hyped for this game."

Gaston, heavily recruited by Purdue, ND, Boston College, Michigan State and Wisconsin, arrived in West Lafayette this summer with a shot to play right away after Mike Neal was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Kevin Pamphile was expected to replace Neal but is out with a foot injury and probably won't return until the Boilermakers begin Big Ten Conference play.

"I think it being my first game, I never knew who my first game was going to be against, what it was going to be like," Gaston said. "Playing at the Division I level against Notre Dame for your first game, that's just like a dream come true. It doesn't get any better than that."

Boilermaker buzz

Purdue coach Danny Hope: "I think our No. 1 rivalry game is IU. Maybe I'm out of line with that comment. They're both great rivalries. They're both a lot of fun. Going against a storied program like Notre Dame, it's always a big coup when you win. In the long run, opening the season with Notre Dame is a real blessing for this team. It created a sense of urgency for us to prepare."

Senior WR Keith Smith: "You could open up against someone else, but this is going to be a nationally televised game. It's going to be one of the biggest games on at that time. Everybody's going to be watching. So you want to be as prepared as possible to execute your game plan and go out there and win the game."

Junior LB Joe Holland: "We anticipate that they might try to change the tempo up a little bit and that does put a little stress on the defense. We know we need to focus on getting lined up and getting the call from the sideline. If we do that, we should be able to keep up. Coach Hope said nothing's stopping us from lining up quickly. It will be a challenge."