Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/380743
BY DOUGLAS FARMER P urdue will not show up on Notre Dame's schedule again until the next decade, and the Irish seemed to breath a sigh of relief at that thought. In five of their last six meetings, the Boilermakers (1-2) have played Notre Dame (3-0) frustratingly close, though losing all six contests. A 30-14 Irish victory con- tinued both trends in the sixth rendi- tion of the Shamrock Series, played at Lucas Oil Stadium Sept. 13 in India- napolis. "They're always going to give us a battle, and we understand that," sopho- more linebacker Jaylon Smith said. "We preached it every day during practice this week. We knew what we were get- ting into." Throughout the first half, Purdue matched Notre Dame. The Irish strug- gled to find breathing room until se- nior quarterback Everett Golson lofted a pass above two defenders to sopho- more wide receiver Corey Robinson for a 15-yard score and a 24-14 lead in the third quarter. Golson finished the day 25-of-40 passing for 259 yards with two touchdowns, while Robinson received the game ball after his three catches for 52 yards and the score. "Amazing, amazing," Golson re- peated in describing Robinson's snag. "Corey did a great job all night of com- municating and understanding what he sees." Robinson's touchdown provided Notre Dame a two-possession lead, but not too long before that, the Irish had trailed for the first time this sea- son. Notre Dame senior tight end Ben Koyack fumbled at the Irish 26 — the team's first turnover of the season — and the Boilermakers capitalized with three minutes left in the first half to take a 14-10 lead. After the victory, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly expressed apprecia- tion for how his team handled the deficit and the doubts that came with it. "You know you're going to face ad- versity," he said. "At some time, it's go- ing to present itself to you. It's a matter of how are your teammates going to SURVIVE AND ADVANCE Notre Dame holds off Purdue for 30-14 victory, despite numerous injuries and an ejection