Week 4 of our series on 2026 opponent retrospectives brings us to another renewed series from the old Michiana tour, bringing us its fourth installment since the cessation of annual hostilities. This one will be easier to recall as it was just a year ago, and it also might make us feel a little bad.
Week 4: Purdue Boilermakers
Last matchup: September 20, 2025 – Notre Dame 56, Purdue 30
The real reason for my pity for the Boilers comes from pairing this game with the previous year’s installment in which the Irish won 66-7. Back
when this was an annual rivalry, Purdue could often be relied on as a tough out even in down years; that has not applied in more recent matchups. In each of the last two seasons Purdue has had to take the field against an angry Notre Dame team coming off a gut-wrenching loss, and it has lost those games by a jaw-dropping 122-37 margin. At least last year, they put up a little bit of a fight.
Each team came out swinging. The Irish went up 7-0 on their first play from scrimmage, a 66-yard pass from CJ Carr to Malachi Fields. The Boilers hit back with a lengthy drive punctuated by a trick-play touchdown pass from running back Devin Mockobee to quarterback Ryan Browne. Despite several massive Irish haymakers, including a 100-yard Jadarian Price kick return touchdown in which a tackler bounced off Price like a bullet off Superman, Purdue continued to hang around. At the end of the the first half the Irish up were up a disappointing 35-23 and the entire fanbase was cursing the name of Chris Ash.
In the second half the Irish defense finally found a way to put the clamps on, and they stayed on for the rest of the season. A 1-2 punch of a ridiculous 46-yard Jeremiyah Love touchdown run and a 48-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Jordan Faison stretched the lead to an insurmountable length. A garbage-time touchdown by each team finalized the tally.
While it was no one’s idea of a perfectly dominant win, this was an important one. It was the first win for a Notre Dame team that was clearly far better than its record indicated. The defense found its stride, an important development for a unit that had been leaking like a sieve through two and a half games. Game MVP honors are shared by Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, who were completely unstoppable. Love rushed for 157 yards with two touchdowns; Price was insanely efficient as he gained 74 yards only 9 carries for three touchdowns, plus the aforementioned kick return.
Will the Boilers put together a more competent unit in 2026 that is at least capable of putting a real scare into Notre Dame? For the sake of the old SOS, let’s hope so. Full highlights below:
