Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 26, 2026 39 GAME PREVIEW: PURDUE for a few more weeks, then it will be. It's been one missed block here, one misread by the running back there, and the play design hasn't done them any favors. Rest assured, Notre Dame is well aware of the problem and has been in the lab trying to figure out a solution. Odds are, the Irish find one by Week 4. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PURDUE PASS DEFENSE It feels like the same question comes up with every Notre Dame opponent: "Can they find a pass rusher?" Purdue is no exception. Wisconsin answered that with a definitive "Yes," because Sebastian Cheeks gave Irish offensive tackles Will Black and Guerby Lambert problems. Purdue's best bet heading into the season was probably Modozie, who had 6.5 sacks in 2024 with Army but did nothing at Georgia last year and has done nothing so far in 2026. The potential breakout player here is Jeremy Lewis, a junior college product from Iowa Western Community College who leads the Boilermakers with 6 quarterback pressures and 1.5 sacks so far this season. Block him, and a Notre Dame offensive line that has been better in pass protection than in run blocking for more than a year. Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez was very productive against Purdue, completing 16 of 27 throws for 225 yards (8.3 yards per attempt) with 1 touchdown. That probably does not bode well for facing Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. The Boilermakers threw heavy resources at the sec- ondary — cornerback Don Saunders (Utah) and safety John Slaughter (Colorado) have played a lot — but it remains to be seen if they acquired a real difference-maker. Veteran cornerback Hudauri Hines is the lone returning starter on the back end, and if the Boiler- makers are smart, they'll throw him at Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison all game. However, the Irish have yet to face a pass de- fense that can truly take away every option for Carr. Unless the Boilermakers are a lot better at rushing the passer than we think, that shouldn't change in Week 4. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS This one might get a little personal. Notre Dame poached Purdue's kicker, Spencer Porath. The worst part: He didn't even enter the transfer portal. He withdrew from Purdue and enrolled at Notre Dame. Odom was particularly displeased because he found out on social media, not from the specialist himself. Porath went 3 of 3 on field goals in his first two games with the Irish, opening his junior season with a 52-yard field goal. He was also 12 of 12 on extra points. To replace Porath, Purdue chose true freshman Jacobo Echeverria Lozano. He connected on 6 of 7 field goals in his first two games, with a long of 39. The Pittsburgh product who was born in Colombia seems like a keeper, but true freshman kickers are true freshman kickers. Beyond the kicking game, Buffalo transfer punter Dylan Drennan has averaged 46.3 yards per punt so far with the Boilermakers. Notre Dame fresh- man Jasper Scaife had his first punt blocked, but he's produced a 44.3-yard average since then. The biggest return threat between the two teams is probably Notre Dame punt returner Jor- dan Faison, who set a career high with a 37-yard return against Rice. Beyond the blocked punt, the Irish have done a nice job of not letting special teams beat them. They'll have a fake in their back pocket if they need one, but odds are, they will not. Their biggest advantage is usually that they can cover kicks and punts with eager freshmen who would start for their opponent. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Odom can be forgiven for his 2-10 first season at Purdue, because the train wreck (pun intended) left behind by former head coach Ryan Walters was always going to be a multi-year fix. His dubious record was more of an upgrade over Walters' 1-11 mark in 2024 than it seems, because the Boilermakers were significantly more competi- tive. Purdue lost by seven to Minnesota, three to Rutgers and five to Michigan, and its losses to Notre Dame and Southern Cal were close for a half or three quarters. The average scoring margin improved from -26.4 to -11.0. However, with a defensive coordinator vacancy following his first season in West Lafayette, Odom chose to hire Kevin Kane, who was Walters' de- fensive coordinator during his two seasons at the helm. Kane was responsible for one of the worst defensive seasons in program history in 2024, and Odom — who shares some connections with Wal- ters, having worked with him at Missouri in the past — decided to bring him back. Curious DC hire aside, Odom's teams are typi- cally well coached. He has always been known as a questionable recruiter but someone who will get the most out of subpar talent, and he did that in two successful seasons at UNLV. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has re- spect for Odom, but any reasonable person would take him and his staff over Purdue's any time. Since a poorly executed first offensive series in Week 1, Freeman and company have done a terrific job keeping the Irish focused through a stretch of the schedule when it's easy to become complacent. As always, coordinator continuity helps as well. Notre Dame brought back all three of its coordina- tors and features an enviable group of position coaches, which will help the Irish take advantage OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 3 Xavier Townsend 5-11 195 5th 17 Bisi Owens 6-4 217 5th WR 5 Chauncey Magwood 6-0 204 6th 19 Asaad Waseem 5-11 185 Sr. WR 8 De'Nylon Morrissette 6-1 205 5th 80 Brandon Kinsey 6-1 200 Fr. TE 81 George Burhenn 6-5 245 Sr. 85 Luca Puccinelli 6-6 270 Jr. LT 68 Nuku Mafi 6-4 325 Jr. 79 Joey Tanona 6-6 310 5th LG 65 Brock Brownfield 6-4 300 Fr. 56 Marques Easley 6-6 315 Jr. C 50 Boaz Stanley 6-4 305 5th 76 Ethan Trent 6-2 295 Sr. RG 59 Micah Banuelos 6-2 310 Sr. 56 Marques Easley 6-6 315 Jr. RT 72 Jude McCoskey 6-8 310 Sr. 77 Jatavius Shivers 6-6 316 Sr. QB 15 Ryan Browne 6-4 225 Sr. 1 Evans Chuba 6-4 225 Jr. RB 2 Fame Ijeboi 6-0 215 Jr. 22 Antonio Harris 6-1 213 Jr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 11 Keyshawn Burgos 6-5 285 5th 8 CJ Madden 6-4 273 5th DT 92 Curt Neal 6-0 301 5th 94 Rodney Lora 6-3 302 Sr. DT 40 Ian Jeffries 6-4 303 Sr. 97 Wisdom Simms 6-4 319 Sr. DE 23 Trey Smith 6-4 266 Sr. 33 Jeremy Lewis 6-4 260 Jr. LB 5 Charles Correa 6-3 230 Jr. 16 Anthony Speca 6-2 231 Jr. LB 0 Jojo Hayden 6-2 245 Sr. 20 Winston Berglund 6-2 233 Sr. CB 7 Don Saunders 6-4 201 5th 29 Dee Newsome 6-3 185 Sr. CB 4 Hudauri Hines 6-1 201 Jr. 12 Ryan Turner 6-0 200 5th S 13 John Slaughter 6-2 210 Sr. 10 Ta'Vari Hampton 6-0 190 So. S 2 Jaden Mangham 6-2 210 5th 21 Justin Denson Jr. 6-2 207 Jr. NB 6 Mister Clark 6-0 195 Sr. or 1 Smiley Bradford 6-0 200 Jr. PURDUE TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 92 J. Echeverria Lozano 5-11 180 Fr. 45 Seth Turner 6-1 200 Sr. P 42 Dylan Drennan 6-2 207 Jr. LS 46 Luke Raab 6-2 230 Jr. 89 Luke Klare 6-6 231 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KR 20 Travis Terrell Jr. 5-9 180 Jr. PR 3 Xavier Townsend 5-11 195 5th SPECIAL TEAMS