The No. 18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish seek to put their upset loss against Northern Illinois in the rearview mirror when they travel to West Lafayette to take on in-state rival Purdue on Saturday.
Coming off an uplifting Week 1 road win at No. 20 Texas A&M, one that had the Irish up to No. 5 in the AP Poll, the Irish fell flat on their faces against a Huskies team that earned their first-ever win against a top-10 opponent. Notre Dame was outgained by over 100 yards, committed two turnovers, missed two field goals, and converted only three of 10 third down attempts.
Notre Dame will play on campus at Purdue for the first time in 11 years as it seeks a ninth consecutive victory over the Boilermakers.
Here’s how to listen to the game on the radio.
Here’s How To Watch Notre Dame Football in Week 3
- Start time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: CBS/Paramount+
- Radio stations: Notre Dame Football Radio Network: Sirius XM Channel 129; Purdue Sports Radio Network: 96.5 FM WAZY, Purdue on Varsity Network App
- Betting lines:
- Spread: Notre Dame -10
- Total: 45
- Moneyline: Purdue +295, Notre Dame -375
This is the second of five straight games Notre Dame will play in the state of Indiana. The Fighting Irish will not play a game outside of the Hoosier State until Oct. 19, when they travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The trip to Purdue marks the first time Notre Dame will play at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2013. The Irish have won eight consecutive games in this rivalry, five of them by double digits, since the Boilermakers last defeated them in 2007 under then-head coach Charlie Weis.
Current head coach Marcus Freeman spoke this week about turning the page from the euphoria that comes with a big time road win over a ranked opponent and the letdown that comes with a humiliating home loss against an unranked opponent that was a 28.5-point underdog.
“That’s the challenge we have as a football program is how do we handle success and make sure each week we’re approaching the opponent the right way,” Freeman said this week. “The reality is that we have the talent. We have the coaching staff to be a great football team — much better than we displayed on Saturday. But we have a lot of work to do to ensure that we perform that way [in] each opportunity we get.”
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The offense looked completely out of sync against Northern Illinois, nothing like the offense that averaged 39.2 points per game last season to rank seventh among all FBS teams. The Irish averaged fewer than 5 yards per pass attempt, threw two interceptions that led to two Huskies field goals, and possessed the ball for only 25:22 on Saturday.
As much doom and gloom seemingly surrounds the Notre Dame football facility at the moment, Freeman knows the best medicine for outside noise is to change the narrative with results on the field.
Purdue is coming off a bye week after it downed Indiana State 49-0 in the season opener on Aug. 31. The Boilermakers are in their second season under head coach Ryan Walters, who is seeking to become the first Purdue coach to knock off Notre Dame in his first meeting against the Irish since Joe Tiller in 1997.
“We’ve got a great challenge for us. Our guys will be ready, and we’re gonna have a great week of preparation mentally and physically and then get back at it,” Freeman said.
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