South Bend, Indiana – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish earned their first win of the season with a dominating win over the Purdue Boilermakers. Notre Dame improves to 1-2 on the season while Purdue falls to 2-2.
First Half: Defenses Struggle
Notre Dame got on the board first with a 66-yard touchdown pass from CJ Carr to Malachi Fields, on the Irish’s first offensive play from scrimmage, just 80 seconds into the game.
Purdue answered with some razzle-dazzle as running back Devin Mockobee took a handoff from quarterback Ryan Browne, before pulling up and floating a 14-yard pass back to Browne, who strolled untouched into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.
Notre Dame responded with Jeremiyah Love contributing 42 yards and a touchdown to put the Irish back in front. Purdue PK Spenser Porath kicked a 48-yd FG to pull Purdue back within four points at 17-10.
The Boilermakers’ defense had no answer for the Irish ground game. Irish RB Jadarian Price recorded touchdown runs of 21 and 9 yards in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 28-10. Purdue added a second field goal from 26 26-yds out to give Purdue some needed momentum.
On the next series, Purdue’s defense came up with a big play when Myles Slusher sacked Irish quarterback CJ Carr and jarred the ball loose. Teammate CJ Nunnally pounced on the fumble at the Notre Dame 19-yard line, giving the Boilermakers prime field position.
Before Purdue could capitalize, however, lightning in the area forced a delay with 1:31 left in the half and the Irish leading 28-13. Nearly two hours later, play resumed, and Spencer Porath knocked through his third field goal of the half to trim the deficit. But the momentum was short-lived—on the ensuing kickoff, Jadarian Price raced 100 yards for his third touchdown of the game.
Purdue managed to strike back before halftime, as Ryan Browne connected with Nitro Tuggle for a touchdown to make it 35-23 at the break. By halftime, the two teams had combined for 58 points and 517 yards of offense.
Second Half: Irish Take Control
Notre Dame wasted no time after halftime, striking for three quick touchdowns: a 46-yard burst from Jeremiyah Love, a 46-yard strike from CJ Carr to Jordan Faison, and a 1-yard plunge by Jadarian Price—his fourth score of the day.
Purdue’s only second-half points came late, capping a 5-play, 58-yard drive when backup quarterback Malachi Singleton found Jesse Watson for a 24-yard touchdown with under two minutes remaining. The Boilermakers finished with 379 yards of total offense, though just 93 of those came after halftime.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, stayed balanced and efficient, piling up 304 yards in the second half to go with 231 before the break.
Top Performers:
Notre Dame
CJ Carr: Threw for 223-yds on 10 of 12 attempts and 2 TDs
Jeremiyah Love: Rushed for 157-yds on 19 carries and 2 TDs
Jadarian Price: Totaled 4 TDs on 216 All Purpose Yards (74 rushing and 142 on kick returns)
Jordan Faison: Caught 5 catches for 105-yds and 1 TD
Purdue
Ryan Browne: Threw for 250-yds on 12 of 34 attempts, with 1 TD and 1 Interception
Spencer Porath: Converted on 3 of 3 field goals from 48, 26 and 35 yards
UP Next:
Notre Dame travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a noon kickoff against the Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference.
Purdue will play host to the Fighting Illini of Illinois to open Big Ten play.
