Notre Dame football's dominance of Purdue sends Boilers to basketball season | Noie

WEST LAFAYETTE — Find a flaw. 

Watch the tape of this one with the analytical eyes of a coach, and you probably could pinpoint one or two or three areas where No. 3 Notre Dame football might have and could have been better against Purdue when this game was a game, but it's hard to argue with everything else. 

Who would listen? Why listen? This was one to sit back and enjoy. No stress, even with CJ Carr's first interception thrown this season to start the second half. Be happy. Really.

Once Notre Dame scored, it scored often and never offered Purdue close to any kind of hope in a 49-10 victory Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. 

Make that four straight wins this season and 14 in a row since the Irish last loss more than a calendar year ago.

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Notre Dame's third game in four weeks against a Big Ten team ended in similar fashion as the previous two. Lopsided. Laughable, even. The challenges – along with October – are slowly creeping into view. Soon there will be no more Wisconsins or Michigan States or Purdues, which has now lost 11 straight and 13 of 14 to its in-state rival. 

Word around West Lafayette was that NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal was appearing as a guest DJ at one local establishment. Purdue could've used the Diesel for some rim protection in this one. Even a team of Shaqs wasn't going to slow this Irish train. 

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It's time to start thinking about basketball for the Boilermakers (1-3). Notre Dame, in turn, turns attention to an October that will help define its regular season. And beyond.

Big drum or no big drum, this one was no big deal. Too much talent on the other side. Too much of everything. Notre Dame can make teams feel small and insignificant. It did again on Saturday.

In its last two visits to Ross-Ade, Notre Dame has led by a combined score of 77-0 at halftime.

The Purdue student body could be seen streaming down the stairs nearest their section even before Drayk Bowen picked up a Ryan Browne fumble and raced 12 yards to make it 28-0. Fire up the kegs at the frat house. There was plenty of afternoon still remaining.

In a battle for yet another shillelagh, the Irish delivered another shellacking.

You knew Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was feeling good when on the second drive of the second quarter, with the Irish already up 14-0 and driving for another score, called for three passes to the tight ends. Three! In one drive. Included in the mix was a 27-yarder down the seam to Cooper Flanagan.

That's how well everything was working, and how wide-open the playbook was, for Notre Dame, which went four plays for 18 yards and out on its first drive, then followed with two scoring drives of eight total plays for 139 yards.

How wide open? Notre Dame's third scoring drive featured a fourth-and-1 call — from the Boilermaker 24. Carr picked up two to keep moving in the right direction. That drive also featured the first Wildcat snap to Aneyas Williams.

The Irish were just getting warmed up. Everything they wanted to run, they ran.

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Adding insult to everything, Notre Dame took over late in the first half from the Purdue 49. Six plays and 79 seconds later, the Irish were again in the end zone. Just because. It also would receive the third-quarter kick.

Defensively, Notre Dame weathered a little of everything while this one was close, doing so while working with a third-string safety – freshman Joey O'Brien – making his first career start. He was in for senior Luke Talich, who sported a bulky/length cast on his left hand. Talich, who was hurt in the Michigan State game, was in for starter Brauntae Johnson, who suffered a left foot injury in the opener against Wisconsin.

That game opened the month. This one closed it.

Is there anything this team cannot weather? We may find out in October.

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Notre Dame football's dominance of Purdue sends Boilers to basketball season | Noie

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