Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 25 1st Career touchdown for both Notre Dame freshman quarterback Noah Grubbs and junior wide receiver Matt Jeffery on a 4-yard con- nection in the fourth quarter for Notre Dame's final score. 3.5 Games before Notre Dame committed its first turnover of the season. On the Irish's first possession of the second half against Purdue, junior quarterback CJ Carr was picked off by Boilermakers linebacker Charles Correa. Notre Dame finished the game with a +8 (9-1) turnover margin on the year. 4 Touchdown drives for the Fighting Irish on their last four possessions of the first half, after punting the first time they had the ball. 5-0 Record for Carr as a starting quarterback against Big Ten opponents. The five wins have come by an average score of 41-17 — 56-30 over Purdue and 34-24 over Southern Cal in 2025, and 41-13 over Wisconsin, 27-10 over Michigan State and 49-10 over Purdue in 2026. 6 Sacks for Notre Dame against Purdue, a sea- son high. The Irish recorded 4 of those quar- terback takedowns in the first half while the Irish built their 35-0 halftime lead. Junior defensive end Bryce Young led the way with a career-high 2 sacks. 32 Non-offensive touchdowns — after senior linebacker Drayk Bowen's 15-yard fumble return in the second quarter against Purdue — have been scored by Notre Dame since the 2021 season, which leads the FBS. The Irish have three non-offensive touchdowns so far this season, and the score by Bowen marked his first career touchdown. 35 Points for Notre Dame in the first half, marking the first time in program history that the Irish have scored at least 35 points in the first half of three consecutive meetings against the same opponent. The Irish built a 35-23 lead versus the Boilermakers last year in South Bend en route to a 56-30 win and amassed a 42-0 advantage at the break on their way to a 66-7 rout in 2024. 44 -Yard run for freshman running back Jonaz Walton, topping junior running back Aneyas Williams' 22-yarder earlier in the game for the lon- gest by an Irish ball carrier this season. 59 Minutes and 54 seconds was how long it took for Purdue to score its lone touch- down against Notre Dame. It marked the first second-half touchdown allowed by the Irish this season. The Irish still limited the Boilermakers to 10 points, a year after Purdue scored 30 in a loss to the Irish in South Bend. The low point total this year came after Purdue averaged 39.3 points per game in their first outings. 77 Points scored by Notre Dame in the first half of its last two visits to Ross-Ade Sta- dium. That is a program-best for consecutive visits to a venue, surpassing the 63 tallied at Stanford in 2023 (28) and 2025 (35). 111 Passing yards for Purdue senior quar- terback Ryan Browne, who came into the game averaging 341.3 yards per game with three 300-yard games (317, 329 and 378). 171-47 Is Notre Dame's scoring advan- tage over Purdue in the teams' last three meetings — an average score of 57.0- 15.7. The Irish have outscored the Boilermakers 115-17 in their last two visits to Ross-Ade Stadium. 2021 Was the last season in which Notre Dame entered October with a per- fect record prior to this year's 4-0 mark heading into the game at North Carolina Oct. 3. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 22 -Yard touchdown run for Notre Dame junior running back ANEYAS WILLIAMS in the second quarter. It was the Irish's first run of 20 or more yards this season. The Irish entered the game as one of two FBS teams, along with Arkansas, without a run of at least 20 yards. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER