If only the Irish played like this every week.
Notre Dame came out onto the field with a plan. Senior quarterback Riley Leonard threw two quick passes at the start of the game, leading to any easy first down for the Irish. Leonard ran for 12 yards to pick up a second first down, trying to remind Irish fans of his throwing and running skills. Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love take a handoff from the 48-yard line and run it all the way home for a touchdown.
During Purdue’s first possession of the game, the Boilermakers collected one first down before punting from their own 36-yard line. The Irish and the Boilermakers exchanged several punts before the Irish started to put another drive together. Love ran for 21 yards after a sloppy operations penalty. After a pair of good throws to tight ends Eli Raridon and Mitchell Evans, Leonard missed senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas along the far sideline to make it third down. However, freshman running back Aneyas Williams kept the drive alive with a 9-yard run. Thomas made a man miss and picked up 13 more yards. Three plays later, Leonard ran it in himself, making it 14-0 in favor of Notre Dame.
The Boilermakers finally started to look alive towards the end of the quarter. Purdue’s tight end Max Klare picked up 21 yards on the first play of the drive, but it was soon stalled following a fumble recovery and an incomplete pass to Klare. On its next drive, Purdue attempted to advance the ball down the field again before graduate defensive lineman Jordan Botelho sacked quarterback Hudson Card for a loss of 13 on third down, forcing another punt.
The next drive ended with a quarterback scramble, looking like it was going nowhere until Leonard broke a tackle and ran 34 yards for the third Irish touchdown of the game.
Boteho was injured in the middle of the second quarter and was carted off the field with what looked like a right leg injury following a sack by senior defensive tackle Jason Onye. After getting the ball back, junior center Ashton Craig went down injured and also had to be helped off the field. On third-and-3, Thomas picked up 23 yards for a much-needed first down. Later in the drive, Evans picked up 19 to set the Irish up at the Boilermakers’ 13-yard line, with Leonard running in another score for Notre Dame.
The very next play from scrimmage, Botelho’s backup — sophomore Boubacar Traore — picked off Card and scored another Notre Dame touchdown. Purdue received possession and punted after lack of momentum. On the next Irish drive, junior running back Jadarian Price scored from 70 yards out. The Purdue fans were so out of there.
As the green started to become more prominent in Ross-Ade Stadium, the Boilermaker offense returned to the field to try to stop the bleeding. It was not able to, as junior quarterback Steve Angeli threw his first touchdown of the year (and the first passing touchdown of the season for Notre Dame) to sophomore tight end Cooper Flanagan.
At this point, Purdue decided to rejoin the game. Card threw a 52-yard pass to wide receiver Kam Brown. Two plays later, Card hit De’Nylon Morrissette for Purdue’s first score of the game. Angeli and the offense responded with a 42-yard field goal.
The first play of the fourth quarter was a second Angeli touchdown pass to graduate tight end Kevin Bauman.
Card continued to attempt deep passes, but the Boilermakers looked defeated and uninterested, knowing there was no hope to turn this game around. He threw a late interception (caught by freshman defensive lineman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and tipped by Onye) and sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey finally entered the game for Notre Dame. He took after his starting quarterback and ran it in himself to get Notre Dame to 66 points.
Freshman quarterback CJ Carr got into the game right before the two-minute timeout, taking his first snaps of the season. The final score was 66-7 in favor of Notre Dame.
Head coach Marcus Freeman was obviously pleased with how the Irish performed, particularly with their proficiency running the ball and how the defense played.
“I’m most proud of the way [the Notre Dame players] came out of the locker room in the second half,” he said. “The ability, as we told them last week, to handle success [was important]. I think [in] the second half we outscored them 24-7, which was huge. After being up 42-0, to be able to come out and, no matter who's in the game, to be able to perform they way we performed was really good.”
