Hum, drum – another belting of the Purdue Boilermakers by Notre Dame took place Saturday in West Lafayette, with the Irish pulling out a 49-10 victory. As you have no doubt heard by now, this was the first team Marcus Freeman led out of September undefeated, and he did so in convincing fashion against their sometime in-state rival. Let’s get into three of the top performances from this one as the Irish look toward another road matchup next week.
The Armel Mukam Ascendancy
You can pick any number of players in Notre Dame’s front
seven who had an amazing game on Saturday. The Irish absolutely abused their counterparts in black and gold all afternoon long, but the guy it made me happiest to see in the Boiler backfield was Mukam. The senior who came out of the transfer portal and back to Notre Dame for the 2026 season, a longtime reserve who few predicted to carve out a starting role even this season, was a force against both the run and the pass on Saturday. Beyond scoring a sack of Ryan Browne early as the Irish took control of the game, Mukam was devouring multiple blocks all afternoon and by so doing created ample opportunity for the likes of Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore to create backfield havoc.
We heard rumors coming out of camp that Mukam was playing far better than anticipated, but even then it surprised many to see Mukam at the top of the depth chart over transfers Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray. Four games in, it’s very clear that the reports were true and Mukam has finally been able to carve out a place for himself on Notre Dame’s defensive front after paying his dues for three years. A huge amount of credit has to go to Charlie Partridge for this as well, as the new defensive line coach has clearly brought the best out of the talent on his roster.
Joey O’Brien Arrives
If there was one area of concern for the Irish on defense heading into this game, it was a potential vulnerability at safety with both Tae Johnson and Luke Talich out against Purdue’s highly productive passing game. Joey O’Brien entered as a highly touted five-star prospect, but even with a player so gifted there are still always concerns about potential mistakes leading to busts and quick scores against an experienced and efficient quarterback. O’Brien proved all such concerns to be unfounded.
You’ve no doubt heard the Kyle Hamilton comparisons right now, and while we don’t have a large sample size it’s easy to see where they come from. O’Brien’s athleticism jumped off the screen against the Boilers from the deep secondary to the backfield, where he scored a sack alongside Boubacar Traore. The aforementioned pressure from Notre Dame’s front seven no doubt helped the young safety in avoiding any downfield mistakes, but it was nonetheless a flawless start for a player with a ton of expectations moving forward. Notre Dame’s embarrassment of riches on the back end continues to shine as this season goes on, and one can only imagine what Chris Ash and co. will be able to scheme up with these players when the Irish are back at full strength.
Tight End Involvement
It didn’t have a massive impact on this game, but the involvement of Notre Dame’s tight ends in this offense is important as the Irish continue to try to develop additional passing options beyond Jordan Faison and Micah Gilbert on the outside. After a couple quiet games from the law firm of Flanagan and Flanigan this game showed encouraging progress, as both big guys moved the chains through the air and Cooper brought in both a downfield shot from CJ Carr and a touchdown near the end of the game.
It feels wrong to have a Notre Dame passing game without a strong tight-end component to it, and Carr is a guy who likes to spread the field so we will likely not see a Michael Mayer or even Mitchell Evans-esque alpha emerge this season. But at least developing an option that has to be respected over the middle of the field will force opposing defenses to move in and create more room for Faison and Gilbert on the outside (Jaden Greathouse’s contributions from the slot are key here as well). Keep an eye on the firm moving forward as Notre Dame’s work-in-progress offense continues to flesh itself out.
