Marcus Freeman didn’t love everything he saw after Notre Dame had Purdue buried, but the part he liked most was impossible to miss: the Irish defense hunted.
In a 49-10 win over Purdue in West Lafayette on Saturday, Notre Dame’s front played like it had a switch flipped. The ends and tackles, with linebackers Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaylen Sneed joining the rush, spent the afternoon collapsing the pocket and chasing Ryan Browne. The result was six sacks, pushing Notre Dame’s season total to 13 and moving the Irish into a tie for ninth nationally.
Bryce Young set the tone immediately by sacking Browne on the game’s first snap. He finished with two sacks, and one of them changed the game in a hurry: the quarterback fumble that Drayk Bowen scooped up and returned 15 yards for a touchdown. Young’s first-step burst and the constant heat from Notre Dame never really let Purdue settle in.
The rest of the sack production came from a mix of names and looks. Armel Mukam got to Browne, freshman Rodney Dunham came flying off the edge “shot out of a cannon,” and Boubacar Traore and Joey O’Brien shared the final sack, with O’Brien making his starting debut.
Freeman said the Irish were able to generate pressure with and without extra bodies. “I knew we had to get pressure on the quarterback,” said Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. “However many guys we had to send him, we would, but we got good four-man pressure.
"The one play which was huge was when Bryce sacked the quarterback, Boubacar forced a fumble, and Drayk scoops and scores. That was a huge moment for us.
I think it put us up 28. Then the offense comes back in a two-minute situation and scores, but that (strip-sack) was huge."
Even with the scoreboard tilted hard in Notre Dame’s favor, Freeman saw a stretch that bothered him early in the third quarter. He said the Irish slipped from the play style they usually show, with defenders not finishing plays the way he expects.
“I didn't think we had the play style that we usually have early in the third (quarter). There were a couple times I saw a couple of defenders not finishing the play, not physically running through the ball carrier and some uncharacteristic things, but that's the challenge.
"The score can't make you play a certain type of way. It's human nature to go out there and say, 'We're up 35-0.
We're good. I don't want to get hurt.'
But it's free will to choose to play the way that we demand.
"It's going to be a great teaching opportunity after we stop celebrating tomorrow. We'll watch the film and say, 'Hey, you tell me, is this the play style that we should play with?' Those honest conversations will happen tomorrow.”
In Other News...
Lincoln Riley Is Taking Heat While Notre Dame Gets More Good News
While USC coach Lincoln Riley was drawing criticism for his remarks after linebacker Desman Stephens II was ejected for targeting against Oregon, Notre Dame had a different kind of Sunday mood around its program. The Irish also picked up a pair of encouraging notes from their own side, with Jeremiyah Love and Joey OBrien both turning in performances that added to the positive buzz around the team.
Rileys explanation for keeping Stephens on the sideline after the ejection, and his claim that he did not see the celebrations, only added to the noise around USCs loss and the way it was handled. Notre Dame, meanwhile, kept its focus on the field and on a stretch of good news that extended beyond its own roster, with Purdue coach Barry Odom also weighing in after the Irish game. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Lost A Transfer WR In The Most Frustrating Way
Quincy Porters time at Notre Dame has hit an especially cruel snag before it ever had a chance to get started. Marcus Freeman said the transfer wide receiver will undergo season-ending patella surgery later this week, officially shutting down a 2026 campaign in which Porter never got to take a single snap for the Irish after coming over from Ohio State.
Porter had already been battling injury issues that kept pushing back his return, and the timing makes the setback sting even more. Under recent NCAA eligibility rule changes, he also cannot redshirt this season, which means 2025 is effectively gone from a roster-building standpoint and leaves Notre Dame waiting to see what comes next for a player who was supposed to add depth to the receiver room. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Got The Early Break Purdue Couldnt Recover From
Barry Odom had plenty to sort through after Purdues 49-10 loss to Notre Dame, but the Boilermakers defense drew the sharpest criticism. The first-year head coach pointed to several calls he believed hurt his team early, and the Irish took advantage as the game quickly slipped out of hand. Purdue also put itself in a difficult spot with a fake punt attempt that came close to working before turning into another swing moment for Notre Dame.
For a team trying to steady itself against FBS competition, the concern is less about one bad night than the trend it now sits in. Purdue has lost three straight games to FBS opponents, and the margins have grown each time, which only adds to the pressure to clean up the defense and avoid giving away momentum so early. [Read more 🡒]