Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539676
28 SEPT. 27, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED he got here in June, he's played boundary corner, played field corner and now he is playing nickel," head coach Marcus Freeman said after Notre Dame notched its first win of the season after two nar- row losses. "He doesn't bat an eye and doesn't complain and say, 'Woe is me.' It's. 'Yes, coach. Teach me. Make me bet- ter.' He's blessed with a skill set that very probably few people have, but he also has the mentality that he wants to be coached and he wants to be better and wants to find ways to improve. "And so, he is on the bumpy road like we all are. But because of what he did today, because of the work he puts in, the good and the bad, he's at a higher level on the bumpy road, a higher place. So, that's what we all have to understand, is that the discomfort, the struggles, at the end of the day, they make you better." Zackery and Johnson had at least played some in Notre Dame's previous games. Zackery replaced sophomore preseason All-American Leonard Moore (ankle) and Johnson started in place of captain Adon Shuler, who had to sit out the first half because of a targeting in- fraction in the Irish's last game. Each of them played 70 of 71 possible snaps. Golden replaced DeVonta Smith, who's missed the last two games with an ankle injury, and sophomore Karson Hobbs, who was apparently demoted after struggling mightily against both Miami in a timeshare, and Texas A&M, as a starter and finisher. Golden finished the lightning-delayed game with 5 tackles and 1 pass broken up to go along with his first career intercep- tion — a play he had seen before in the game and didn't defend well earlier. "[Defensive backs] coach Mick [Mike Mickens] talked to me about that play before the drive," Golden said. "He's like, 'You've got to be there.'" And now Freeman has some depth he can trust, even when Smith and Moore come back to the lineup. NOTRE DAME VS. PURDUE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 5:13 7:32 9:17 9:58 12:45 19:15 32:00 Third-Down Conversions 3-3 1-1 1-2 1-4 4-4 2-6 6-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-2 0-2 Average Field Position ND-39 ND-38 ND-28 ND-32 ND-39 ND-30 ND-34 Purdue 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 9:47 7:28 5:43 5:02 17:15 10:45 28:00 Third-Down Conversions 2-5 1-4 0-3 1-2 3-9 1-5 4-14 Fourth-Down Conversions 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 Average Field Position PUR-28 PUR-39 PUR-25 PUR-35 PUR-34 PUR-30 PUR-32 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND PUR Nega ve 6 5 0-5 27 38 6-9 10 6 10-19 14 13 20-29 2 4 30-39 0 1 40-49 2 0 50 or more 1 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 4 3 0 1 Purdue 3 1 2 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 1-10 ND34 Carr pass to Fields for 66 yards and a touch- down • 1-10 PU46 Love rush for 46 yards and a touchdown • 1-10 PU48 Carr pass to Faison for 48 yards and a touch- down • 2-8 ND37 Minchey pass to Gilbert for 26 yards Purdue • 1-10 ND40 Browne pass to Tuggle for 31 yards to ND9 True freshman cornerback Dallas Golden (No. 14) made his first career start, and notched 5 tackles, 1 pass broken up and his first career interception. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • There was a weather delay due to lightning in the area with 1:31 left in the second quar- ter. The delay started at 5:06 p.m. ET and the game resumed at 7 p.m. ET. • Notre Dame and Purdue play for the Shil- lelagh Trophy, a tradition which began in 1957. The Irish improved to 42-19 since the incep- tion of the trophy, including 23-6 at Notre Dame Stadium. Overall, the Irish are 61-26-2 the Boilermakers, including 31-11 in Notre Dame Stadium. • Redshirt junior running back Jadarian Price's 4 touchdowns (3 rushing, 1 on a kick return) are the most for a Notre Dame player since Audric Estimé rushed for 4 touchdowns at Stanford in 2023. • Notre Dame's completion percentage in today's game at 85.0 (17 of 20), is the best mark for the team since 2022 at Southern Cal when the team posted an 88.5 completion percentage (23 of 26). • Kicker Erik Schmidt became the first fresh- man to make a point after try since Justin Yoon in 2015.