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Despite having a plethora of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, Purdue couldn’t do enough to counter Notre Dame’s strong defensive attack.
Purdue’s offense struggled to convert on third down opportunities and failed to run the ball effectively, snowballing into a 27-13 loss at the hands of Notre Dame in South Bend. It was the first time the two teams met on the gridiron since 2014.
The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, with Mitchell Fineran converting on a 34-yard field goal on the team’s first possession. But that was all the scoring the Boilermakers could muster in the first half, trailing the Fighting Irish 10-3 at the break.
Out of the locker room, Purdue converted another field goal to make the score 10-6 but Notre Dame answered quickly on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Jack Coan to Avery Davis to put the Irish in front 17-6.
Purdue refused to go away.
The next possession, the Boilermakers were able to piece together a 6-play, 75-yard drive to draw back within striking distance at 17-13. Milton Wright hauled in a touchdown pass from Jack Plummer to get the Boilers within 4 points.
Purdue’s defense held strong, holding Notre Dame to a punt, field goal and another punt on its next three drives, but with just over 6 minutes to play, Kyren Williams broke off a 51-yard touchdown run to seal the victory for the Irish.
Struggles in the run game continued, totaling just 57 yards on 25 carries for the contest. Plummer had a decent performance, completing 25-of-36 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Aidan O’Connell also came in at the end of the game and threw for 104 yards on 11-of-17 completions but tossed 2 interceptions.
A scary moment occurred in the fourth quarter, when star receiver David Bell suffered a hard hit and remained on the field for an extended period of time. He was able to stand up on his own power, but left the game on a cart.
His status is still unclear.
For Notre Dame, Coan completed 15-of-30 passes for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Davis had 5 catches for 120 yards and Williams totaled 91 yards on 12 carries.
With the loss, Purdue drops to 2-1 on the year to close out nonconference play. The Boilermakers will play Illinois next Saturday in their first B1G contest of the season.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB