Notre Dame Routs Purdue: 5 Stats That Tell the Full Story

You count on your best offensive weapons to make plays and that's what Notre Dame got from running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price on Saturday. The two combined to rush for 240 yards on 29 carries, while scoring a combined five rushing touchdowns. Their 8.2 average yards per carry were a tonesetter against a Purdue defense that had no hopes of slowing either.

Notre Dame's Again Leaky Defense: 6.5 Yards Per Play Allowed in First Half

For the third week in a row, Notre Dame's defense was slow to get going, allowing Purdue to average 6.5 yards per play in the first half. At no point was the suspect defense more of an issue than just before halftime, when following a Jadarian Price kickoff return, it allowed Purdue to go 75 yards in six plays and just 53 seconds to score an unlikely touchdown.

To Ash and Notre Dame's credit, the defense was much improved in the second half, but allowing 30 points to this Purdue outfit won't quiet any of the doubters, and nor should it.

Notre Dame's Big Play Offense: 66, 21, 100, 46, and 48 Yards

As much as an issue as it was for Notre Dame to slow down Purdue's big plays early, it's worth praising the Fighting Irish offense and special teams for providing game-changing plays of its own regularly on Saturday.

Notre Dame scored eight touchdowns for the game, and five came on explosives from 21 or more yards out. More impressively, four came on plays of 46 yards or more.

I know Purdue is Purdue, and the football program has seen better days than what Barry Odom is trying to build from currently, but Saturday gave a vision of what this Notre Dame offense can be when a team has to worry about both the run and the pass.

Purdue's Final First Half Drive: 6 Plays, 75 Yards in 53 Seconds

And I'll add, without using a timeout. Notre Dame's end of half defense was awful, as immediately following Jadarian Price's 100-yard kickoff return for a score, it allowed Purdue to make quick work of the Irish defense and score before halftime. The thing is, is how effortless Purdue made it look. Pitch and catch, pitch and catch, right down the field.

It didn't end up mattering in the final score of the game, but in a drive you expected Notre Dame's defense to perform like it "had to have it," it was a no-show to close the half.

Thunderstorm Delay: 1 Hour and 54 Minutes

An afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium turned to a large part of an evening there for the roughly 80,000 fans in attendance. Thunderstorms rolled through the area just before halftime that had fans running for cover all over campus.

For Notre Dame, it brought back flashbacks of 2023 when a severe weather delay at North Carolina State resulted in the legendary tale of Audric Estime's hot dog, turned long touchdown run.

It's not going to win any awards for best picture, but it was a necessary step Notre Dame needed as it tries to turn the ship from the disappointing 0-2 start.