No. 3 Notre Dame did exactly what was expected on Saturday afternoon as the Fighting Irish cruised past Purdue 49-10.
The Irish offense rolled up 444 total yards and averaged 7.7 yards per play, while the defense held the Boilermakers to just 218 total yards.
Junior defensive end Bryce Young set the tone on the first play of the game when he sacked Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne.
“You all have the human element of nerves when you start, coaches, players, no matter who the opponent is,” stated Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. “Everybody has those natural nerves in their body.
“You start the game off with a big play like that and they chose to receive the ball, that's a huge momentum builder. Now we got to continue to build on that, but to win that play in that fashion is huge.”
The Irish tallied six sacks on the day, with Young leading the way with two. Notre Dame also registered nine tackles for loss and forced two turnovers.
Chris Ash’s defense has now held all four of its opponents this season to fewer than 300 total yards, with Purdue averaging just 3.2 yards per play.
Freeman made it clear the goal this week was to pressure Browne, and Notre Dame was able to generate consistent pressure with four rushers. That made life much easier for the back seven.
Young’s strip-sack of Browne led to a Drayk Bowen touchdown and essentially ended any hope of a Purdue comeback.
“I knew we had to get pressure on the quarterback, and however many guys we had to send, we would do, but we got good four-man pressure,” explained Freeman.
“The one play which was huge was Bryce (Young) sacks the quarterback, Boubacar (Traore) forces the fumble, Drayk (Bowen) scoops and scores. That was a huge moment for us. I think it put us up 28. Then the offense comes back in a two-minute situation and scored.
“But that play was huge. It was that pressure. It was the four-man pressure that we were able to get on the quarterback that really helped us defensively.”
The Notre Dame offense didn’t have its cleanest game of the year, but quarterback CJ Carr completed 14-of-22 passes for 237 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and he added a rushing touchdown.
Notre Dame also racked up 177 yards on the ground with Aneyas Williams leading the way with 80 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Jonaz Walton recorded 61 rushing yards, including a 44-yard run.
For Williams, it was a much-needed performance after a slow start to the 2026 season.
Freeman was more than pleased to see the junior finally get rewarded for the work he has put in.
“He came to work every day. All of our guys do it, but it's always great to see him. I don't know what his yardage was, but it was good to see him running the ball and have success. I'm proud of him.
“I wanted his Mom to know that. I told him that. Told his mom that. I love him because it doesn’t faze him. You can't shake him. He goes to work, and he had some rewards today because of the way he worked.”
The Irish also appear to have found something in receiver Micah Gilbert.
The junior recorded two receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, giving him 10 catches for 253 yards and a score over the last two games.
Freeman believes the connection between Gilbert and Carr has been building for quite some time, while the Charlotte native has also built trust with the staff.
“I think the trust has been earned over time,” said Freeman. “I think it's through the summer, it’s through fall camp. I think the previous years we had an injury or maybe had Beaux Collins, maybe, or Malachi Fields, but the trust has been earned between him and CJ.
“Then the game plan has called for it in the past couple of weeks and will continue to call for it, and they capitalize off it because there's repetition, repetition over and over in practice.
“So that trust has to be built, but I don't want it to be just a reflection of a big play. It takes time, and the game determines that opportunity to come.”
For a team with championship aspirations, those are exactly the kinds of developments Freeman wants to see as the season moves forward.
“This was a great win,” said Freeman. “These guys work extremely hard. We pushed the heck out of them this week, and we have to every week, but this one means a little bit something because you get that physical reward.
“That’s why I always say there’s no better feeling than the team glory concept that we talk about, but now you've got that physical reward, the Shillelagh Trophy, that you get to celebrate that everybody in that room earned. I'm proud of them.”
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