Notre Dame raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 49-10 victory over Purdue. The Fighting Irish moved to 4-0 by shutting down the Boilermaker offense and scoring points with relative ease. CJ Carr spread the ball around through the air while Aneyas Williams and Jonaz Walton led the ground attack. Drayk Bowen scored on a fumble return for the defense as Notre Dame recorded six sacks.

Each team went three and out to start the game. Purdue then began a march that reached midfield before a fake punt on fourth down fell short. Carr warmed up by hitting Jordan Faison before firing a 27-yard scoring pass to Micah Gilbert. The Irish forced a punt on the ensuing series by the Boilermakers and took over on their own 14. Gilbert was again off to the races when Carr hit him in stride over the middle. Purdue’s secondary finally caught up to him after a 56-yard gain. Williams finished the drive untouched with a 22-yard burst into the end zone.

Notre Dame shut down Boilermaker quarterback Ryan Browne on the next possession with a pair of sacks. The Irish again took over on their 14 with a 14-0 lead. Carr went to work and hit tight end Cooper Flanagan with a seam pass into scoring territory. A few plays later, a pass interference penalty against Purdue set up a touchdown run by Carr.

Now trailing by 21-0, the Boilers began to unravel. Another sack by Notre Dame produced a fumble, and Bowen scooped it up for an easy score. Browne could not find an open receiver on the next series and Purdue punted it away. Faison’s 17-yard return moved the Irish across midfield with four minutes remaining in the half.

That was plenty of time for Carr to guide his team into the end zone. Jaden Greathouse delivered the key play of this drive with a 28-yard catch. Carr then picked up a first down on a draw play to move the ball inside the five. Two plays later, he found Nolan James for the touchdown.

A lethargic Irish team took the field to open the third quarter. Carr promptly threw his first interception of the season. Both the read and the throw were uncharacteristically poor. Purdue quickly moved inside the ten yard line but the defense stiffened. Bryce Young forced Brown to throw the ball away on fourth down and the visitors took over.

The Boilermakers earned another chance when the Irish failed to move the ball. Kicker Jacobo Echeverria Lozano took the goose egg off the scoreboard with a 48-yard field goal to make it 35-3. At this point, Notre Dame’s offense seemed to wake up from its third quarter nap. Faison’s one handed catch despite tight coverage covered 31 yards. Williams hurdled inside the five to open the final period before Carr hit Flanagan with a scoring toss.

Coach Marcus Freeman inserted his reserves as backup quarterback Noah Grubbs led the Irish attack. Grubbs began an 89-yard march by hitting Jerome Bettis for 26 yards. Walton then broke off the best run for Notre Dame this season with a 44-yarder. Matt Jeffery recorded a touchdown moments later on a perfect throw by Grubbs to make it 49-3.

Purdue’s Evans Chuba engineered the lone touchdown drive of the day for the Boilers as time ticked away. Chuba connected with Bisi Owens with six seconds remaining to give the home crowd a reason to cheer. Coach Freeman was not pleased with this ending but Notre Dame’s 49-10 margin was worth a B+ grade.

The Irish outgained Purdue by 444 to 218 on the afternoon. Roughly one third of the Boilers’ total offense came on its final drive. Notre Dame had eight plays of 20 or more yards compared to just one for Purdue. Each team had one turnover. Surprisingly, the Irish failed to record an interception but Bowen did score on a fumble return.

Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions.

• Will Notre Dame continue its streak of committing zero turnovers? Just shoot me now for asking.
• Can the Irish defensive front dominate Purdue’s offensive line? Six sacks, numerous pressures, and only 40 yards rushing. I think that is a “Yes”.
• Which quarterback will have the best protection? Carr was untouched. Meanwhile, Browne has been moved to Witness Protection.
• Will the Irish ground game explode against Purdue’s poor run defense? Williams broke the team’s 20-yard run barrier and Walton shattered it later.
• Can Notre Dame’s patchwork secondary contain Browne’s talented receivers? Yes. The Irish limited yards after catch while the front four disrupted Purdue’s timing.
• Will Carr target Jaden Greathouse or any of his tight ends in the passing game? Mission accomplished, and it was encouraging to see.
• Can Notre Dame score on defense or special teams? The Irish put yet another defensive score on the board. We are getting spoiled.
• Did I just jinx the Irish with my first question? Obviously. It appeared that Carr felt even worse than I did but that is no consolation.

There were a number of quality performances by the Irish. It was good to see Williams bounce back after a few tough outings and fan criticisms. Freshman safety Joey O’Brien performed well in his first career start. Young and Boubacar Traore terrorized Browne all afternoon, while Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa continues to dominate. Faison and Graham made spectacular plays while Greathouse and the tight ends shared in the bounty. In other words, it was a complete team victory.

Notre Dame will remain on the road next Saturday with a game against Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tarheels. Update: Television coverage will be provided by ESPN. Kickoff is at 12:00 Noon Eastern Time. If the game gets out of hand, the camera crew can always focus on Bill’s girlfriend.