Purdue Football Makes Right Call By Pausing Notre Dame Series

New Purdue athletic director Tommy McClelland has barely broken in his office chair in West Lafayette, but he made one of the most important decisions for the football program. He hit the pause button the rivalry series with Notre Dame and has added West Virginia to the Boilermakers' 2027 non-conference schedule.

It was a move that needed to be made.

Yes, there's plenty of history between Purdue and Notre Dame. If you'd ask fans, there are probably a handful who would have loved to see the Boilermakers continue to play the Irish, blissfully hoping that they could pull off a major college football upset.

That's not in the best interest of the program, though. It's been demonstrated repeatedly that, right now, Purdue isn't on the same level as Notre Dame. The Boilers don't need their teeth kicked in for another two years to learn that lesson.

Notre Dame has won the last 11 meetings against Purdue, with the Boilermakers' last victory coming in 2007. Only three of those games have been decided by one possession. In the latest three-game series, the Irish have outscored the Boilers 171-47.

Hell, if Purdue combined its three point totals from those three games, it wouldn't have been enough to win one of those matchups. Notre Dame has scored at least 49 points in each of those contests.

In a statement released by McClelland on Tuesday, he acknowledged that the rivalry series will be re-evaluated for potential future scheduling.

“With the expected expansion of the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, there will be scheduling parameters for schools to follow, including having 10 regular season games against power conference opponents,” McClelland said. “Getting Coach Odom’s program into matchups that best serve our goals and ambitions has been a focus of mine since arriving in West Lafayette, and we are excited to add this game with West Virginia. The tradition-rich rivalry of Purdue and Notre Dame, a matchup that has been played on and off 90 times in program history, will be re-evaluated for potential addition to future schedules.”

A date for Purdue's trip to West Virginia will be announced at a later date.

Why Purdue needed to get Notre Dame off the schedule

Purdue Boilermakers running back Fame Ijeboi (2) runs the ball. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The harsh reality right now is that Purdue can't be concerned about the quality of competition it is playing in the non-conference slate. It would be fine to keep Notre Dame on the schedule if games were competitive, or if the Boilers needed to beef up their non-conference schedule for potential College Football Playoff contention.

Purdue's primary focus for the moment should be on bowl eligibility. Hitting the six-win mark consistently would be a major upgrade from the product placed on the field since 2023.

Taking a beating from Notre Dame every season hasn't been the one thing standing in the way of Purdue reaching six wins, but it's an unnecessary hurdle standing in the way of the Boilermakers.

This fall, Purdue played Notre Dame and Wake Forest, losing both games. Even if the Boilers only subbed out the Irish for an opponent from the MAC, they'd likely be sitting at 4-4 with four games to play rather than 3-5.

West Virginia is obviously still a Power Four school, but it's a program that is on a level playing field with Purdue. This matchup still provides the program with a chance to play a quality non-conference opponent without battling one of the top teams in the country.

For some, this might be a tough pill to swallow. Others might be celebrating. Regardless of how you feel, McClelland made the right call by pausing this series.

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