No. 3 Notre Dame cruised to a 49-10 win at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, dropping Purdue to 1-3. Next up, the Boilermakers head to Illinois to battle for The Cannon.
Notre Dame left no doubt on Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium. The No. 3 Fighting Irish punted on their opening possession, scored touchdowns on their next four, and cruised to a 49-10 win over Purdue after taking a 35-0 lead at halftime.
The loss drops Purdue to 1-3 and extends its losing streak to three games, and extends the Shillelagh Trophy drought to 11 straight games in this series. Purdue has not beaten Notre Dame since 2007, and there is no evidence that trend will break anytime soon.
“Credit to Notre Dame. Really good team. I certainly think they’ve got a chance to be a playoff team,” Barry Odom said after the game. “We’re not there yet, and we’re working every single day to find a way to build this program into winning ways. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
How Notre Dame Built a 35-0 Halftime Lead
Purdue’s defense got the stop it needed on Notre Dame’s first drive, sparking a little bit of hope that this game might go differently than recent matchups between these two programs. That hope vanished quickly, as the Fighting Irish picked it apart from the second drive and on.
Quarterback CJ Carr hit Micah Gilbert for a 27-yard touchdown to cap a four-play, 53-yard drive and open the scoring in the first quarter. Another Carr-to-Gilbert connection, this one for 56 yards, set up Aneyas Williams’ 22-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. It was Notre Dame’s first run of 20 yards or more all season, and the Irish went on to a season-high 177 rushing yards, led by Williams’ 80 on 14 carries.
Carr added a one-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0. Then came the play that effectively ended the afternoon. With 4:15 left in the half, the Irish sacked Ryan Browne and forced a fumble, which linebacker Drayk Bowen, an Andrean alum, scooped up and returned 15 yards for the first touchdown of his career. Carr closed the half with a three-yard touchdown pass to Nolan James Jr. with less than a minute to go.
Purdue’s offense, meanwhile, never found its footing. The Boilermakers’ first four drives ended with the punt unit on the field. Its most promising drive of the half reached midfield before stalling, and Odom called a fake punt for the second straight week. Unlike the successful fake at UCLA, the direct snap to Antonio Harris came up just short, to which Notre Dame then turned their shortened field into a touchdown.
“If we would’ve gotten our eyes outside on one of the blocks instead of inside, instead of six inches short, it would’ve been a first down,” Odom said.
By halftime, Notre Dame had outgained Purdue 291 yards to 130.
Notre Dame’s Defense Shuts Down Ryan Browne and Purdue’s Offense
Purdue came into Saturday averaging 39.3 points per game, and Browne led the Big Ten at 341.3 passing yards per game. Notre Dame’s defense, which is one of the best in the country behind coordinator Chris Ash, took all of it away.
Browne finished 18-of-28 for 111 yards, averaging about six yards per completion after entering the day averaging 10.1. He was under pressure most of the afternoon, and Purdue’s receivers struggled to get open downfield. Evans Chuba took over at the start of the fourth quarter, and Purdue finished with just two completions of more than 15 yards.
The running game fared no better. Purdue ran for 40 yards at 1.3 yards per carry, with Fame Ijeboi held to 41 yards on 12 carries. Notre Dame’s six sacks and nine tackles for loss did plenty of damage to that total.
Injuries up front certainly didn’t make it any easier. Purdue was already without Zionsville product and Notre Dame transfer Joey Tanona, then lost starting tackle Jude McCoskey and guard Marques Easley in the first half. At one point, two true freshmen, New Palestine star Brock Brownfield and Rico Schrieber, were on the line. Tight end George Burhenn, a McCordsville native, also missed the game.
“They’re one of the elite groups right now in college football, and we’re not,” Odom said. “So, we’ve got to coach it better.”
Purdue actually ran 10 more plays than Notre Dame and won the time of possession battle 35:16 to 24:44. It didn’t matter, though, as the Irish averaged 7.7 yards per play to Purdue’s 3.2, and the Boilermakers’ 218 total yards and 10 points were both season lows. Purdue’s lone touchdown came in the final minute, when Chuba found Bisi Owens.
Purdue’s Defense Still Searching as Special Teams Shine
Carr showed why he’s projected as a future first-round NFL Draft pick, completing 14 of 22 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of work. Notre Dame finished with 444 yards, and Purdue didn’t record a sack for the second time in two weeks.
Purdue has now allowed 38, 53, and 49 points in its last three games. It entered Saturday last in the Big Ten in scoring defense at 36.3 points per game, and that number has now climbed to 39.5.
There were a few positives sprinkled throughout this game. Linebacker Charles Correa jumped a Carr pass in the third quarter for Carr’s first interception of the season and Purdue’s second takeaway of 2026. Correa’s first career interception gave the Boilermakers the ball in Notre Dame territory for the first time all day.
“I thought it was better at times,” Odom said of the defense. “We just have to be consistent…I thought the communication was better, and although it was not what we wanted, we’ll build on it.”
Special teams were the brightest spot again. True freshman Jacobo Echeverria Lozano hit a career-long 47-yard field goal and is now 8-of-9 on the season. Punter Dylan Drennan averaged 52.2 yards on six punts, including a mammoth 78-yarder, and pinned three inside the 20.
Looking Ahead: Purdue Heads to Illinois for The Cannon
There’s no time to dwell on this one. Purdue travels to Champaign this Saturday to take on the Fighting Illini at 4:15 p.m. ET at Gies Memorial Stadium. The Illini sit at 2-2 and 0-1 in Big Ten play after a 42-19 loss at Ohio State and open as a 9.5-point favorite.
Purdue leads the all-time series 48-47-6 and is 15-8 against Illinois this century, but the Illini have won the last two meetings. Browne made his first career start in a 50-49 overtime loss in Champaign in 2024, and Illinois pulled away to a 43-27 win at Ross-Ade last season. After dropping his first three Cannon games, Bret Bielema has won the last two.
The trophy has a story worth knowing. In 1905, a group of Purdue students hauled a cannon to Champaign to fire off after a win. Purdue won 29-0, but Illinois fans found the cannon hidden under a culvert and took it before the celebration could start. Hall kept it on his farm near Milford, Ill., where it survived a fire, and later suggested it become the trophy when the series resumed in 1943 after a 12-year break.
A win would put some hardware back in West Lafayette. Purdue entered 2026 on losing streaks in all three of its trophy games, and Saturday’s loss kept the Shillelagh in South Bend. The Boilers haven’t held the Cannon since 2023.
What to Watch in Champaign
Illinois’ defense is in flux. Bielema and defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck mutually parted ways on Sunday, just four games into Hauck’s tenure after he came over from coaching FCS Montana. The Illini rank third-worst in the Big Ten in total yards allowed and last in the conference against the pass at 255 yards per game. Ohio State’s star receiver, Jeremiah Smith, torched them for 12 catches, 217 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday.
That’s an opening for Browne. After a rough afternoon against Notre Dame, a struggling Illinois pass defense is a chance for him to get back to the form that had him leading the Big Ten in passing through three games. How healthy Purdue’s offensive line is by Saturday will go a long way toward that.
The bigger picture matters, too. Odom is 3-13 since taking over before the 2025 season, and Purdue has lost 19 straight conference games. The Boilermakers likely won’t be favored in any of their games this month, but none of those games look out of reach, and both fans and recruits need a reason to believe the program is headed in the right direction.
“Everybody wants me to wave the white flag, but that’s not in my DNA,” Odom said. “Our team is going to come out and fight.”
Saturday in Champaign is the next chance to prove it.
