Purdue football blown out by Notre Dame

WEST LAFAYETTE — At halftime, the Purdue football team was booed off its home field.

Trailing by 42 points against a team that just lost at home to Northern Illinois, this seemed justified.

The Boilermakers had two weeks to prepare for Notre Dame, yet allowed nearly 400 yards, including 278 on the ground, in the first half alone.

The 19th-ranked Fighting Irish were dominant on offense and defense in their 66-7 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday.

This after the Irish averaged just 18.5 points over their first two games, while Purdue entered on a high from a 49-0 win over Indiana State two weeks ago.

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Purdue football’s historically bad performance

Nobody in the 137-year history of Purdue football has beaten the Boilermakers as bad as Notre Dame did Saturday.

Just six years ago, Purdue gave up 56 points in the first half to Auburn during the Music City Bowl. And that Citrus Bowl against LSU was just 21 months ago, a 63-7 Purdue loss that until Saturday was worst in program history.

The 63 points scored by Purdue’s opponents in those two outings were once a Purdue record, one that now belongs to Notre Dame.

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Purdue lacks offensive attack

Notre Dame’s defense is elite, despite whatever offensive struggles it had in the first two games.

Five plays into Saturday’s game, the Boilermakers were down 7-0. Notre Dame quickly made the Boilermakers one dimensional. Until Reggie Love III gained a combined 24 yards on three carries late in the first half, Purdue had accumulated negative rushing yards. The Boilers finished with 38 yards on 25 carries, averaging 1.5 yards.

Under heavy pressure, Hudson Card looked like a different quarterback than the record-setting version two weeks ago.

Card finished 11 of 24 for 124 yards and two interceptions, the lone highlight a short toss to De’Nylon Morrissette for a touchdown after hitting Kam Brown for a 52-yard reception.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.