Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546785
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 31 T he biggest reason Notre Dame's national title ambi- tions still burn so brightly a third of the way through the reg- ular season — on a day when it would have been understandable for those ambitions to look more like a flicker — was embodied in freshman safety Joey O'Brien. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound suburban Philadelphia product was tasked with making his first collegiate start against a Purdue passing attack that entered the weekend as the third-most pro- lific in the FBS. O'Brien didn't merely rise to meet the mo- ment. He crushed it. And not simply because of the extra help he received from coaches and teammates after learning that he had ascended to the top of the depth chart. From the moment he was cleared this summer following surgery to repair a broken left fibula, the former five-star recruit had been putting in overtime for the day a veteran Irish defense would need him. "Where I want to be, I want to be an All-American," O'Brien said after mak- ing 5 tackles and combining with se- nior defensive end Boubacar Traore on a sack, in 51 impressive defensive snaps in Notre Dame's 49-10 win at Purdue. "I want to help this team go to the na- tional championship," he continued. "I want to help them do whatever I can. So, if that means coming in early mornings, late nights, that's what I'm going to do." That doesn't figure to change when injured starter Luke Talich reclaims his spot in the starting 11, perhaps as soon as at North Carolina Oct. 3. Nor should it change when preseason All- American Brauntae Johnson returns, likely sometime in October, from the foot injury he sustained in Notre Dame's season opener and bumps Talich from the lineup. The Irish defense, with O'Brien in the lineup, held a team that was averaging 366.7 passing yards per game to 178. And 111 of those came from starter Ryan Browne before the Notre Dame deep re- serves on defense softened with a late Purdue scoring drive against the Boil- ermaker backups. Evans Chuba hit Bisi Owens with a 14-yard touchdown strike with six sec- onds left to cap a 75-yard drive in which Purdue (1-3) amassed roughly one-third of its 218 total yards for the game. "I know Coach [Chris] Ash, he's greedy like all of us," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "He didn't want to give up that last touchdown, but you know what? If we win the game 49-10 and you can get those valuable reps [for the reserves] that we're going to be able to teach from on both sides of the ball, we wouldn't trade it." All this came roughly a year after Pur- due scored 23 first-half points at Notre Dame Stadium before fading in a 56-30 Irish victory. What followed the next day was a coaches meeting that changed everything. A source described it as the meta- phorical equivalent of paint peeling off the walls, given the urgency, intensity and decibel level. "The bumpy road leads to better as long as you work, attack it and own it," Freeman said the day after that meet- ing. "I haven't been in the fire with Coach Ash. I know people who have. I've learned this week who he is when he's in the fire. He's a competitor and he's a leader." And Notre Dame's defense hasn't been the same since — in a good way. The best part of this 2026 version is that a unit that al- ready looks November-ready keeps pushing itself to get bet- ter. What did that look like sta- tistically at Purdue? Start with a fifth straight game holding an opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yards. The Boilermakers had 40 yards on the ground, as did Michigan State last week. Pur- due's came on 31 carries for a 1.3 average. The Irish also amassed a season-high 6 sacks. The de- fense scored a touchdown off one of those sacks, by Bryce Young, on a 15-yard fumble return by Drayk Bowen. The Irish also snuffed both of Purdue's fourth-down conversion attempts, one of those coming on a fake punt. In the bigger picture, what's happen- ing with the Irish defense has allowed. And Notre Dame accomplished that, sta- tistically and aesthetically, in some areas that were causing angst among the fan base, and not without reason, namely the running game and the tight end play. Yet Freeman continues to push hard on both sides of the ball, Sunday through Friday, chasing the ceiling this team never stopped believing it had — and then trying to raise it — even when Sat- urday's circumstances don't demand it. Put in the extra work like O'Brien. Play like adversity is on your doorstep. "The score can't make you play a cer- tain type of way," Freeman said. "That's the challenge that we all have. After we stop celebrating tomorrow, we'll get back and watch the film and say, 'You tell me, is this the play style that we should play with?' Those honest conversations will happen tomorrow. They're all great opportunities to learn from." ✦ The Notre Dame defense didn't miss a beat with freshman safety Joey O'Brien making his first college start in a 49-10 drubbing of Purdue. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER November-Ready Defense Flexes In Rout Of Purdue Eric Hansen covers Notre Dame athletics for On3, with a focus on Irish football. He can be reached on X @ EHansenND THE DEEP READ ERIC HANSEN