‘Notre Dame’ Fighting Irish vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind.
Sept. 26, 2026, 2 p.m. ET, 1 CT, 12 noon MT, 11 a.m. PT
TV/Video: Peacock online streaming; no broadcast TV/ cable
Radio: Sirius XM Channel 85 &’ Notre Dame’ Radio Network
[PDF] ‘Notre Dame’ vs. Purdue game notes – Depth Chart
The ‘Notre Dame’ Fighting Irish take on the Purdue Boilermakers for the 90th time Saturday afternoon in Ross-Ade Stadium, continuing an historic in-state rivalry that began during the Grover Cleveland administration in 1896. The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series 61-26-2.
Continuing an in-state rivalry.
Game 4 | Squaring off for the Shillelagh#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/lUqiM6ZRxk
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 25, 2026
Purdue is the #3 passing team in major college football at 367 passing yards per game, a staunch test for the Irish pass defense. Individually, Boilermaker QB Ryan Browne is actually the #2 passing quarterback in the country, in terms of yards per game, at 341 yards per game, while CJ Carr is #44. In terms of passing efficiency, Purdue’s Browne is ranked a bit lower, at #19, compared with #14 for CJ Carr.
Yet Purdue is mediocre running the ball, tied for #112 out of 138 teams in Div. I-A/FBS for rushing yards per game. (Interestingly enough, that puts them just seven spots behind ‘Notre Dame,’ who are #105 for team rushing. The Irish are right behind Charlotte and Fresno State.)
And while Purdue’s overall defense is weak, they can get absolutely steamrolled on the ground, even while also giving up appreciable passing yardage.
Last week, in a two-touchdown Purdue loss to unranked UCLA, the Bruins and Boilermakers combined for 90 points and 1,133 yards of offense. UCLA won the scorefest 52-38 while outgaining Purdue 645 yards to 488.
In addition to surrendering what was, for UCLA, a solid 276 yards through the air, Purdue’s defense gave up a whopping 369 yards rushing, at 7.7 yards per carry. In other words, against Purdue’s defense, unranked UCLA had nearly a service-academy-type day running the ball, yet piled on top of a solid power conference passing day.
The Bruins did accomplish it while running a lot more plays, 80 offensive plays compared with 59 for Purdue, with the Bruins unleashing 48 running plays versus 32 passes.
Irish Videos
For total defense, Purdue is ranked #126 out of 138 teams. (By comparison, ‘Notre Dame’ is now #3 for total defense.) Purdue is #106 for passing yards allowed per game, and #125 for rushing yards allowed per game.
To prove they are at least as good as unranked UCLA, the apparently still-reloading ‘Notre Dame’ rushing attack would have to gain more than 370 rushing yards against Purdue, or perhaps more than 330 yards if they have roughly 43 carries, as they did against Michigan State.
The Boilermakers are still ramping up under second-year head coach Barry Odom, who previously had led UNLV into the national rankings before heading to West Lafayette. In his final year with UNLV in the Mountain West Conference, Odom led the Rebels to an 11-win season, bowl win and top-25 ranking.
One curious added twist for Purdue — on special teams, they added 47 more passing yards, thrown by the punter on a fake punt.
Irish in the News
- Irish Travel to Purdue for Shillelagh Trophy Clash – ‘Notre Dame’ Athletics
- [PDF 58pp] ‘Notre Dame vs. Purdue media game notes – ‘Notre Dame’ Athletics
- ‘Notre Dame’ Seeks September Sweep Against Familiar Foe; Purdue will provide an interesting challenge for the Irish with a pass-happy offense and lackluster defense. Can ‘Notre Dame’ take advantage? – Sports Illustrated
- Game Preview and How To Watch: No. 3 Notre Dame vs Purdue; Live coverage begins at 1:30 PM ET on NBCSN and Peacock
- ‘Notre Dame’ gears up for in-state rivalry matchup at Purdue; Third-ranked Irish face first true road test of the season – WNDU
- Spoilers? 3 Things Purdue Must Do to Help Its Upset Chances vs. No. 3 ‘Notre Dame’; Do the Boilermakers have any shot at pulling off an upset on Saturday? Here are three things that must happen for Purdue to have that chance. – Sports Illustrated (Purdue section)
- ‘Notre Dame’s’ Boubacar Traore ‘Blessed’ to Spearhead Pass Rush Against Purdue; The senior made his mark known against the Boilermakers two years ago. Now, he’s coming back and eager to get after their quarterback once more. – Irish Illustrated
- Much-improved Purdue QB Ryan Browne heads for rematch with ‘Notre Dame’ – NWI Times/South Bend Tribune
- ‘Notre Dame’ Looks To Groove The Run Game Against Purdue; The Irish will face a familiar in-state foe who allows a ton of yardage on the ground. This needs to be the week the Notre Dame ground game comes together for all four quarters – Sports Illustrated
- Luke Talich update: Notre Dame safety ruled OUT for Week 4 at Purdue – Blue & Gold Illustrated
- DT-Francis Brewu is focused on improving his pass rush from the middle of the Irish defensive line. DE-Boubacar Traore marvels at how grounded star CB-Leonard Moore remains. RB-Nolan James Jr. unfazed by heavy workload against Spartans. Matt Jeffery: Yet another Notre Dame walk-on success story. – Irish IllustratedQuote/Unquote: Notre Dame’s Marty Biagi, Nolan James Jr., Matt Jeffery, Boubacar Traore, Francis Brewu;
- Notre Dame Football: Purdue Boilermakers Q&A with Hammer and Rails – SBNation/One Foot Down
- What to know, and a prediction, for Purdue football vs Notre Dame – Lafayette Journal & Courier
- ‘Notre Dame’ football takes on Purdue on Saturday – WSBT
- How Notre Dame football star Leonard Moore impacts teammates, community – South Bend Tribune
- Vanilla offense needs more flavor: Keys to a Notre Dame victory over Purdue – Observer
- Future of Notre Dame-Purdue football rivalry faces uncertainty amid college football changes; The in-state rivalry is locked in through 2028, but playoff expansion and grueling league slates leave future matchups in question. – WNDU
Game week
Squaring off for the Shillelagh Trophy
at Purdue
📍 West Lafayette, Indiana
📆 Saturday, Sept. 26
⏰ 2 PM ET
📺 Peacock#GoIrish☘️ | @tirerack pic.twitter.com/XZ5u0du1GY— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 21, 2026
Purdue Weather
