Notre Dame didn’t need long to make the point Saturday afternoon. Purdue was supposed to be the kind of opponent the Irish handle by force, not finesse, and once the game settled in, that’s exactly how it played out. Notre Dame built a 35-0 halftime lead and turned the rest into a showcase of depth, even if the performance never reached perfection.
The first half was all Irish control. After a shaky opening on offense, Notre Dame took over on both sides of the ball by the middle of the first quarter and never let Purdue breathe. Then came the second half, where CJ Carr’s rough stretch briefly gave the Boilermakers a sliver of life.
Carr opened the third quarter with some ill advised throws, including his interception of the season. But Purdue still couldn’t do anything with it. Needing to move the ball just a little more than 30 yards, the Boilermakers still couldn’t punch it into the end zone and then failed miserably on fourth-and-goal to keep the shutout intact.
Purdue finally got on the board later in the quarter with a field goal, but Notre Dame answered immediately and in a way that left no doubt about the gap between the two teams. Carr threw his third touchdown pass of the game, and all but one of those scores came on short throws. After that, it was backup time.
The Irish reserves didn’t blink. Noah Grubbs stepped in and threw his first career touchdown pass to Matt Jeffery, who caught his first career touchdown pass. Against an overmatched Purdue team, Notre Dame’s second unit kept the pressure on without much drop-off.
Still, the game gave the Irish a few things to clean up. Carr wasn’t especially sharp, and the interception stood out as a throw that never looked properly lined up. He also missed a fairly easy pass one play before that.
The run game had its own uneven stretches. At times it looked ready to take off, only to stall back into the kind of grind that makes every yard feel hard-earned.
As Purdue wore down, Notre Dame found more space on the ground, and true freshman Jonaz Walton provided the spark with a 44-yard run that set up Grubbs and Jeffery’s first career touchdowns. Even so, this marked the third time in four games that Notre Dame failed to produce a 100-yard rusher.
The next two weeks should offer more of a tune-up than a true test. Notre Dame gets North Carolina next Saturday, then Stanford. After that, things ramp up quickly with a trip to Provo and BYU.
In Other News...
North Carolina Fans Eye A Notre Dame Home Game Worth Planning For
Notre Dames 2026 trip to Chapel Hill already stands out on the calendar, and not just because it puts the Fighting Irish on the road against a North Carolina program trying to make the most of a marquee home date. The matchup is set for Oct. 3 at Kenan Stadium, and tickets are already on sale, with prices varying by seating. For fans on either side, it is the kind of game that can shape a fall trip plan well before the season even begins.
The broader schedule around it only adds to the intrigue, with both teams 2026 slates laid out and a mix of past results and upcoming matchups still waiting to be defined by the years progress. Most kickoff times remain to be determined, which leaves plenty of room for the buildup to that Saturday in Chapel Hill to grow. For North Carolina fans especially, this is one of those home dates that feels worth circling early, even if the bigger question of how both teams arrive there is still unwritten. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame's Defense Just Changed How The Rest Of The Schedule Feels
Notre Dames defense spent the first half against Purdue making the rest of the schedule look a lot different. The Irish shut out the Boilermakers over those first two quarters and kept them bottled up with a pass rush that came from everywhere, turning pressure into sacks and turnovers while the offense spent its time benefiting from short fields and momentum.
Bryce Young was at the center of it, finishing the half with two sacks and a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and true freshman Joey OBrien added a sack of his own to the mix. Purdue managed only 78 passing yards and 12 rushing yards before halftime, the kind of total that suggests Notre Dames defense is not just playing well, but capable of making an opponents entire game plan collapse. [Read more 🡒]
No. 3 Notre Dame Gets A Rivalry Test Fans Wont Want To Miss
Notre Dames next stop brings a familiar rivalry back into focus, with the No. 3 Fighting Irish set to visit Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be available nationally on Peacock, giving fans a streaming-only window into a matchup that has long carried a little extra edge, especially when the Shillelagh Trophy is on the line.
It will be the 90th meeting between the schools, a reminder that this isnt just another nonconference date on the calendar. Paul Burmeister and Yogi Roth will be on the call, and for Notre Dame, the trip offers another measuring stick in a season where every ranked test can shape the bigger picture. [Read more 🡒]