Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 OCT. 3, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT Considering the way Notre Dame showed up to Ross-Ade Stadium and pummeled Pur- due, there were no real momentum swings. But there was one clear moment that ener- gized the Irish toward an onslaught. With 4:24 left in the second quarter, junior defensive end Bryce Young erupted off the edge for his second sack and forced a fumble by Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne. Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen then scooped it up, sprinted 15 yards and scored, giving Notre Dame a 28-0 lead. The defense then rode that momentum on the ensuing drive, getting another stop and giving the Irish offense the ball back at mid- field. Notre Dame ran its two-minute drill and scored again with 29 seconds left in the half. "That was a huge moment for us," head coach Marcus Freeman said afterward. STATS OF THE GAME Entering the game, the Boilermakers had the No. 3 passing offense, averaging 366.7 passing yards per game. That average will drop sharply after the Irish shut down the Boilermakers' aerial attack. With the help of a ferocious pass rush, the Irish held Purdue to 178 yards passing, including just 111 from Browne. Notre Dame also capitalized on Purdue's putrid run defense, which ranked 125th of 138 teams with an average of 207 yards per game allowed. The Irish rushed for a season-high 177 yards and 2 touchdowns on 32 carries. The Irish run defense, meanwhile, re- mained dominant. It held Purdue to just 40 yards on 31 attempts, an average of 1.3 yards per carry. For the game, Notre Dame outgained Pur- due 444-218 in total yards and had 19 first downs compared to the Boilermakers' 16. O-LINE KEPT THE QUARTERBACKS CLEAN While the Notre Dame defense was con- stantly in the Purdue backfield, the opposite was true when the Irish had the ball. The Notre Dame offensive line kept start- ing quarterback CJ Carr and backup Noah Grubbs upright, not surrendering a sack on their 26 drop-backs. Most impressively, Joe Rudolph's unit kept Carr and Grubbs clean despite using 12 different offensive linemen, including freshmen Grayson McKeogh and Charlie Thom. Thom made his Irish debut. If Notre Dame wants to keep marching to- ward a national championship, it will need Carr to stay healthy. And the offensive line did its part. Carr and Grubbs combined to complete 16 of 26 passes for 267 yards with 4 touch- downs, with Carr throwing 1 interception. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY KYLE KELLY QB CJ CARR The junior signal-caller ended up throwing his first interception of the season, but aside from that, it was another brilliant performance. Carr threw for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns in the same facility — Ross-Ade Stadium — in which he made his collegiate debut two seasons ago, as the fourth-string quarterback in a 66-7 victory over the Boilermakers. He also ran for a touchdown and converted a fourth down with a short run, finishing with 10 yards on 3 carries. Freshman Noah Grubbs replaced Carr with 13:30 left in the fourth quarter and got to be the trigger man for two drives as well as the kneel-down to run off the last 4 seconds of the victory. Nine different players caught passes from Carr and Grubbs, led by senior Jordan Faison's 4 for 66 yards that pushed him past the career 1,500-yard mark. He is the 22nd player in Irish history to reach that level. S JOEY O'BRIEN The 6-foot-5, 200-pound freshman didn't just survive his first college start and one that came against the nation's No. 3 passing offense. He thrived. Joey O'Brien collected 5 tackles, assisted on a sack and played strong in coverage. And he did so playing 51 defensive snaps, tied for the team lead with fellow safety Adon Shuler. O'Brien was filling in for senior Luke Talich, who had started Games 2 and 3 as an injury replacement. Talich missed the Purdue game with a wrist injury and could return for the road game at North Carolina Oct. 3. Game 1 starter and preseason All-American Brauntae Johnson remains out with a foot injury that he suffered in the first half of the season opener Sept. 6. Purdue came into the 90th rendition of its rivalry game with Notre Dame averaging 366.7 passing yards per game. The Boilermakers finished with 178, 111 of those coming from starter Ryan Browne before the reserves from both teams finished out the game. DE BRYCE YOUNG Helping the Irish defensive backs shine was an Irish pass rush that produced a season-high six sacks as well as four QB hurries. The 6-6, 260-pound junior had 4 tackles, including 2 sacks. He forced a fumble on his second sack that Irish linebacker Drayk Bowen returned 15 yards for a touchdown. That's the 32nd special teams or defensive touchdown for the Irish since the 2021 season, the most of any team in the FBS. The Irish have three so far this season. Young also was strong for the nation's sixth-ranked rushing defense, which held Purdue to 40 yards on 31 carries for a 1.3-yard average and long run of 10 yards. GAME BALLS BY ERIC HANSEN In his first career start, freshman safety Joey O'Brien recorded 5 tackles, assisted on a sack and played strong in coverage. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER