SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jadarian Price scored four touchdowns, including a 100-yard kickoff return, and No. 24 Notre Dame beat Purdue 56-30 on Saturday for its first win of the season.
The Irish beat the Boilermakers for the 10th straight time, including last season’s 66-7 blowout. Notre Dame leads the series 61-26-2.
Coming off losses against No. 4 Miami and No. 10 Texas A&M to start the season, Notre Dame (1-2) took command with three touchdowns in the third quarter to break away from a 35-23 halftime lead.
Price scored three rushing touchdowns (21, 9 and 1 yards). He carried the ball nine times for 74 yards and finished with 216 all-purpose yards.
Jeremiyah Love racked up 166 yards rushing on 20 carries, including scoring runs of 46 yards and 1 yard.
Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr was 10-of-12 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
The game was delayed by 1 hour, 54 minutes because of lightning late in the second quarter.
Quarterback Ryan Browne was 21-of-34 passing for 250 yards and one touchdown for Purdue (2-2).
Waiting game
Purdue has endured lightning delays in consecutive games. The Boilermakers had a lightning delay of 3:05 before it’s game against USC last week.
The takeaway
Notre Dame: The defense came under fire after recording only one sack and one interception in its first two games — a 27-24 loss to Miami and a 41-40 loss to Texas A&M. The Fighting Irish fought back with two interceptions and two sacks against Purdue. After giving up 23 points and 286 total yards of offense in the first half, Notre Dame allowed only one touchdown — with 1:53 left in the game.
Purdue: The defense looked sharp in its first two games, a 31-0 shutout of Ball State and a 34-17 victory against Southern Illinois. However, in its last two games — a 33-17 loss to USC and the Notre Dame romp — the Boilermakers gave up a combined 995 yards of total offense.
Up next
- Notre Dame plays at Arkansas on Saturday.
- Purdue is off next week before returning to Big Ten action against Illinois on Oct. 4.
