Notre Dame’s road to redemption started on Saturday with a much-needed 66-7 victory over Purdue (1-1) at Ross-Ade Stadium. Following a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2, the No. 18 Fighting Irish (2-1) needed to make a statement on Saturday. They did just that. Notre Dame handed Purdue its worst defeat in school history (the previous high was 56 points four times). In overpowering the Boilermakers, Notre Dame retains the Shillelagh Trophy with a ninth consecutive win—dating back to 2007—over their in-state rival. It was Notre Dame’s highest point total and largest margin of victory in the 88-game series against Purdue.
“Obviously proud of the way our guys played,” said Marcus Freeman in his post-game press conference opening statement. “Prepared the mindset, the mentality in terms of preparing for a good opponent. And obviously, you go to run the ball on offense, two takeaways on defense. We just played lights out. It was good to be part of. So proud of the guys. Enjoy this victory. As I told them, it’s hard to win. Like we saw last week, it’s hard to win. And so, enjoy it. We’ll get back to work on Sunday or Monday and be ready for our next opponent.”
Notre Dame Runs Wild
Notre Dame established the run game early. With Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in the backfield, it makes sense for offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to feed them both the ball. Love broke off a career-best 48-yard scoring run on the first drive of the game for the Irish. He exploded around the right corner and scampered up the sideline for an early tempo-setting touchdown. The dynamic runner has now scored in each of the first three games of the season. Love rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on six carries in the first half. He finished the day with 11 carries for 109 yards.
Price weaved in and out of the Boilermaker defense en route to a 70-yard score in the waning seconds of the first half. The scoring run put the Irish up 42-0 at halftime. The 42-point halftime lead is the highest for a road team in college football this season. Price carried five times for 77 yards and a touchdown in the first half. All told, he amassed 86 yards on eight carries.
For the game, the Irish racked up 362 rushing yards. Four different Notre Dame players scored a rushing touchdown—Love, Price, Riley Leonard, and Kenny Minchey. The feat marked the first time that has happened for the Irish in 24 years.
Leonard’s Record-Setting Hat Trick
Leonard, a dual-threat quarterback, bounced back from a dismal outing a week earlier. In a confidence-boosting performance, Leonard scored three first-half touchdowns, all on the ground. In the process, he became the first FBS player with 100 or more passing yards, 100 or more rushing yards, and three touchdowns in a first half since Lamar Jackson in 2016. Jackson won the Heisman Trophy that season.
Leonard led the Irish running game in the first half. He carried the ball 11 times for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Through the air, he completed 11-of-16 passes for 112 yards. In Leonard’s most impressive run of the first half, he stiff-armed a defender, stayed in bounds, and rambled 34 yards for the score. With the game out of reach, Leonard did not play in the second half, giving way to Steve Angeli.
“I thought last week was tough for me. It was pretty awful,” said Leonard at his post-game press conference. “I felt like the biggest thing for me was I didn’t do a good job of handling success after Week 1, and I learned from that. I learned the hard way last Saturday. But I think it’s important that I learned from that. And after a game like this, you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. My coaches and teammates, all credit to them. All credit to Coach Free for bringing me to his offense and every day, saying, ‘Hey, you’re the guy. I trust You. I have all the confidence in the world in you.’ That kind of stuff built me up, and for this game, I was extremely prepared all week.”
First Touchdown Pass of the Season for Notre Dame
With Leonard on the sidelines relaying plays in the second half, Angeli saw his first live action of the season. He promptly made it count. Angeli’s first passing attempt resulted in Notre Dame’s initial touchdown pass of the 2024 season through 11 quarters. He connected with Cooper Flanagan for a 28-yard score early in the third quarter. Angeli tossed a second touchdown pass, this one to fifth-year senior tight end Keven Bauman. The touchdown was a memorable highlight for Bauman. It was the first touchdown of his collegiate career after returning from a knee injury that kept him out of the 2023 season.
For the game, Angeli completed 6-of-9 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Kenny Minchey saw time at quarterback. He completed his only pass attempt for four yards. Following Leonard’s lead, Minchey also scored a rushing touchdown.
Costly Injuries
Notre Dame’s young and inexperienced offensive line got even thinner in Saturday’s Game. Right guard Billy Schrauth left the game with an injury in the first half. Additionally, center Ashton Craig went down and needed help getting off the field. On the other side of the ball, the Irish lost defensive end Jordan Botelho, who was injured and carted off the field in the second quarter.
Subsequently, Rocco Spindler replaced Schrauth and Pat Coogan came in for Craig at center. Freshman Boubacar Traore, who took a 34-yard interception to the house, replaced Botelho.
Morale Booster
The Irish faithful may have lost faith in Freeman’s squad this year after the embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois. After Saturday’s beat down of the Boilermakers, Notre Dame appears to have regained its footing. For the game, the Irish offense amassed 578 total yards. Notre Dame’s stifling defense held Purdue to just 162 total yards. Purdue quarterback Hudson Card was 11-of-24 passing for 124 yards and one touchdown. He threw two interceptions. Notre Dame was 7-for-12 on third downs, compared with Purdue going 1-of-12 on third downs. Notre Dame racked up 27 first downs for the game. Purdue, which had an extra week of preparation but looked ill-prepared, moved the chains just six times all day.
Above all, the offense spread the wealth, and the unit played inspired football for four quarters.
“Shoot. It was great, man,” Love said in his post-game presser. “All practice this week, we practiced hard, trusted our guys, and to come out in the first half and do that well rushing, it’s a great thing to see. I’m proud of everybody. All the backs did well. The quarterbacks did well. Shoot, our O-line blocked great. I had lots of holes, so seeing that and seeing our preparation led to that outcome, it’s great, man.”
Looking Ahead
To sum up, Notre Dame’s impressive team win over Purdue should temporarily silence the critics. Furthermore, the statement victory gives the Irish momentum going forward. They will likely still need a flawless journey the rest of the way and win out to have any prayers of reaching the College Football Playoff. Next up, Notre Dame hosts Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 21.
“Did we learn from last week? Can we handle success? It’s the job of the head coach and every individual to be numb to success, to failure,” Freeman said on CBS. “This is a huge challenge for us. I think we’ve learned. We’ll see how this week goes, but it’s my job to make sure their mindset is where it needs to be as we get ready for Miami (Ohio).”
