Notre Dame Breaks Through, Routs Purdue 56-30

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sept. 20, 2025 — Notre Dame found its first win of the 2025 season in emphatic fashion Saturday, dismantling in-state rival Purdue 56-30 at Notre Dame Stadium behind a career day from quarterback CJ Carr and a dominant offensive performance.

The Fighting Irish, who entered the day 0-2 after excruciating one-score losses to Miami and Texas A&M, exploded for 535 total yards and never trailed after the first quarter.

Offense Explodes, Defense Still a Work in Progress

Carr was nearly flawless, completing 17 of 20 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yard connection with Malachi Fields on Notre Dame's opening drive. Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love combined for four rushing touchdowns, and Price added a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown for good measure. Notre Dame scored touchdowns on seven of its first eight possessions.

But the same issues that plagued Notre Dame in its first two games resurfaced defensively. Purdue quarterback backups combined to throw for 303 yards and three touchdowns, and the Boilermakers held the ball for 28 minutes, converting 21 first downs against a Fighting Irish defense that has now allowed at least 30 points in three straight games.

Freeman: "We Can't Panic"

Speaking to reporters after the win, head coach Marcus Freeman celebrated the program's first win of the season while also emphasizing there was still significant work to be done.

"This is why you work hard," Freeman told his team, relaying the message postgame. "This is why you spend a lot of hours trying to come up with a plan that you're able to find a way to be victorious. You got to enjoy it and celebrate it. If you don't, it's going to be a miserable, miserable profession for coaches, but also the game for young people."

Freeman was quick to temper the celebration, however, reminding his group that one win doesn't erase the process still ahead.

"Let's enjoy this thing, but it's momentary gratification," Freeman said. "We understand this isn't the only reason we work for. We enjoy it in the moment, but the things that we desire are going to take delayed gratification. Got to keep working and find ways to improve — areas to improve, and there are plenty of them — and get back to work for the next opponent here before we know it."

On the continued defensive breakdowns, Freeman defended his unit's preparation while acknowledging the execution simply wasn't there.

"I don't think they're confused," Freeman said. "We just aren't executing. But it isn't like our guys don't know what they're doing. They know what they're doing." Freeman added that the defense is "getting better," pointing to a need for the pass rush and secondary coverage to work in sync. "We have to do a better job marrying up our coverage and our front."

What's Next

At 1-2, Notre Dame took its first bit of momentum into a road trip to Arkansas the following week, looking to build off its most complete offensive performance of the young season while continuing to search for answers on defense.

Box Score

Notre Dame 56, Purdue 30 — Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind.

SCORING BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4 F Purdue 7 16 0 7 — 30 Notre Dame 14 21 21 0 — 56

SCORING PLAYS Q1 13:49 — C. Carr 66-yd TD pass to M. Fields (ND 6-0) Q1 13:40 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 7-0) Q1 11:03 — D. Mockobee 14-yd TD pass to R. Browne (ND 7-7) Q1 10:58 — S. Porath PAT good (ND 7-7) Q1 5:57 — J. Love 1-yd TD run (ND 14-7) Q1 5:54 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 14-7) Q2 14:54 — S. Porath 48-yd FG (ND 14-10) Q2 10:06 — J. Price 21-yd TD run (ND 20-10) Q2 10:00 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 21-10) Q2 6:40 — J. Price 9-yd TD run (ND 27-10) Q2 6:33 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 28-10) Q2 1:49 — S. Porath 26-yd FG (ND 28-13) Q2 1:16 — S. Porath 35-yd FG (ND 28-16) Q2 1:13 — J. Price 100-yd kickoff return TD (ND 34-16) Q2 1:00 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 35-16) Q2 0:13 — R. Browne 24-yd TD pass to N. Tuggle (ND 35-22) Q2 0:07 — S. Porath PAT good (ND 35-23) Q3 13:07 — J. Love 46-yd TD run (ND 41-23) Q3 12:54 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 42-23) Q3 9:59 — C. Carr 48-yd TD pass to J. Faison (ND 48-23) Q3 9:52 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 49-23) Q3 3:49 — J. Price 1-yd TD run (ND 55-23) Q3 3:46 — E. Schmidt PAT good (ND 56-23) Q4 2:00 — M. Singleton 24-yd TD pass to J. Watson (ND 56-29) Q4 1:53 — S. Porath PAT good (ND 56-30, Final)

TEAM STATS Purdue Notre Dame Total Yards 369 535 Passing Yards 303 281 Rushing Yards 66 254 First Downs 20 27 Penalties-Yards 7-75 3-30 Turnovers 2 1 Time of Possession 28:00 32:00

PASSING Purdue (Mockobee/Browne/Singleton combined) — 25/40, 303 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT CJ Carr (ND) — 17/20, 281 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT

RUSHING Purdue — 28 att, 66 yds, 2.4 avg, 0 TD, long 12 Notre Dame — 43 att, 254 yds, 5.9 avg, 5 TD, long 46

RECEIVING Purdue — 25 rec (39 targets), 303 yds, 3 TD, long 31 Notre Dame — 17 rec (20 targets), 281 yds, 2 TD, long 66

KICKING Sam Porath (PUR) — 3/3 FG, long 48 Erik Schmidt (ND) — 0/1 FG

DEFENSE Purdue Notre Dame Total Tackles 59 59 Sacks 1.0 2.0 Interceptions 0 2 Forced Fumbles 1 1 QB Hits 1 3