5 Thoughts From Purdue's Disastrous 49-10 Loss to No. 3 Notre Dame
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Another game between Notre Dame and Purdue, another dominant victory by the Fighting Irish. Marcus Freeman's squad pulled away from the Boilermakers with a 28-point second quarter and cruised to a 49-10 victory on Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Purdue looked completely outmatched for the first time this season. The same defensive issues reared their ugly head on Saturday. To compound the issue, the offense struggled to find any success against an elite Notre Dame defense.
As a result, the Boilermakers dropped to 1-3 on the season and have now lost 23 straight games to Power Four opponents and Notre Dame.
Here are a few thoughts from Saturday's blowout loss to the Irish.
A pair of 20-yard touchdowns early
For the first time this season, Purdue prevented an opponent from scoring on its first offensive possession of the game. The Boilermakers forced the Fighting Irish to punt on their opening drive, but that defensive success didn't last long.
On Notre Dame's ensuing possession, quarterback CJ Carr connected with Micah Gilbert on a 27-yard pass for the first score of the game. The Irish needed just four plays to drive 53 yards for the touchdown.
Then, on Notre Dame's next possession, Aneyas Williams ran 22 yards into the end zone untouched to give the Irish a 14-0 advantage. It was the first time this season the Irish had a run of 20 yards or more.
Offensive line was no match
Without question, Notre Dame's defense posed a threat that Purdue hadn't seen through the first three games. The Boilermakers were no match in the trenches for the Fighting Irish's defensive front.
Notre Dame finished the game with six sacks and nine tackles for loss, taking Purdue out of a rhythm offensively throughout the game. Bryce Young had the best afternoon disrupting the offense for the Irish, accounting for two sacks. Notre Dame's secondary accounted for 2.5 tackles for loss in the game, as well.
That included a sack on Browne in the second half, which resulted in a fumble and a scoop-and-score for Notre Dame's Drayk Bowden.
No defensive presence in the backfield
On the flip side, Purdue's defense got absolutely no penetration against Notre Dame's offensive front. The Boilermakers didn't record any sacks and only one tackle for loss, which came in the fourth quarter after the game had been decided.
Purdue was supposed to have an aggressive and "attacking" defense this season. There was none of that in Saturday's loss to the Fighting Irish. Perhaps the worst statistic, though? The Boilermakers didn't even have a quarterback hurry on CJ Carr.
That's a concerning statistic, especially as the Boilers will be playing only Big Ten opponents for the remainder of the season.
More explosives
Explosive plays continue to hurt Purdue's defense. The Fighting Irish totaled 11 "big plays" against the Boilermakers on Saturday — passing plays of 15-plus yards and rushing plays of 10 yards or more. Seven of those explosives came through the air, and four were on the ground.
Those explosive plays accounted for 300 of Notre Dame's 446 yards. Allowing opponents to hit on so many big plays has been soul-crushing for the Boilermakers this season. There are no signs of it getting any better, either.
Couldn't capitalize on mistakes
Purdue needed to play a near-perfect game to have a shot of staying within striking distance of Notre Dame. The Boilermakers forced the Irish to punt on their first possession, but couldn't capitalize with a good offensive drive.
On a third down in the second quarter, Purdue's defense came up with a stop, but Hudauri Hines was flagged for pass interference, ultimately leading to another Notre Dame touchdown. On the Irish's first possession of the second half, Charles Correa intercepted Carr to give Purdue the ball at the 31-yard line. The Boilers didn't get any points.
Would touchdown drives have changed the outcome? Probably not. Notre Dame probably still would have won this game somewhat comfortably, but at least it would have shown some fight. Maybe this game wouldn't have been over at halftime.
Instead, Purdue allowed every opportunity to slip through its fingers, as it now sits 1-3 on the season.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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