September 13, 1997
Notre Dame at Purdue Final Stats
By Brian Lucas, The Scholastic 1997 Football Review
It took Bob Davie two weeks to accomplish something that Lou Holtz couldn’t do in 11 years: lose to Purdue.
One week after a shaky 17-13 victory over Georgia Tech, the Irish attempted to right the ship against familiar opponent Purdue. It was the 52nd consecutive meeting between the two schools, with the Irish winning the last 11 by an average score of 39-11. The oddsmakers thought that this year would be no different and made the Irish 19-point favorites. The bookies won some money on this game.
In a game marked by numerous Notre Dame mistakes and a career day for Purdue quarterback Billy Dicken, the Boilermakers shocked the Irish 28-17 before a sellout crowd of 68,789 at Ross-Ade Stadium. Afterward, players and coaches alike were left searching for answers. “Whatever it is, we’re not getting it done,” Irish running back Autry Denson said. “But I can’t pinpoint one particular thing.”
The Irish were in Purdue territory seven times, including five inside the 40, to come away with only two touchdowns and a field goal. The poor execution irked Offensive Coordinator Jim Colletto. “We’re not making the plays when it really counts,” the former Purdue coach said. “It varies from position to position. It’s not just any one guy.”
While the offense was problematic, Notre Dame’s defense was far from blameless. Facing a Purdue team fresh off a 36-22 loss to Toledo the week before, the Irish gave up 485 yards of total offense, including a career-high 352 yards passing for Dicken. If not for some timely mistakes by the Boilermakers, the final score could have been more one-sided. “In all honesty, they let a couple other opportunities slip away,” Davie admitted.
One opportunity Purdue didn’t pass up came on its second drive of the game. Pinned on their own 1-yard line, Purdue faced a daunting challenge: gain significant yard age or risk giving the ball back to the Irish in good field position. Things looked promising for Notre Dame after Dicken was tackled for no gain, setting up a third-and-nine.
But in a preview of what the day would hold for the Irish defense, Dicken came up with a big play, a 13-yard pass to Brian Alford. Purdue did not face another third down on the 11-play, 99-yard drive that lasted 4:49. The Irish secondary helped Purdue with poor tackling. Strong safety Benny Guilbeaux failed to tackle Billy Watson, Purdue’s 225-pound tailback, on Watson’s 23-yard run. One play later, A’Jani Sanders had Watson lined up in the backfield but failed to wrap him up. The Purdue tailback turned a simple screen pass into a 28-yard gain and scored on a one-yard run on the ensuing play. “On their 99-yard drive, we had three missed tackles that were huge,” Davie said. “We gave them big yards after initial contact.”
Though the Irish held the ball for a combined 9:46 on their first two drives, they had no points to show for it. They finally got on the board with a 34-yard field goal midway through the second quarter by Jim Sanson, capping off an 11-play, 60-yard drive.. The Irish might have gained more than three points if wide receiver Raki Nelson hadn’t dropped a third-down pass inside the Purdue 10.
The Irish followed that mistake with an other error, this time courtesy of Deveron Harper’s late hit on the kickoff. That penalty gave Purdue the ball at midfield and the Boilermakers capitalized on the opportunity. Needing only five plays, Purdue took a 14-3 lead on Watson’s second 1-yard touchdown run of the game. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard pass interference penalty on sophomore linebacker Ronnie Nicks, which gave Purdue the ball on the Irish 14.
Notre Dame answered with an old-fashioned, pound-it-out drive. Starting at the Purdue 16, the Irish went 84 yards, 70 of which were on the ground. Denson, who had 104 yards, finished the drive with a 16-yard run around the right side, cutting the Boilermaker lead to four.
That’s how the first half ended, but it could easily have been 21-10. With 41 seconds remaining in the half, Purdue took advantage of a mix-up in the Notre Dame secondary. Isaac Jones caught a 47-yard bomb from Dicken, giving Purdue a first down on the Irish 15. Two plays later, Dicken completed what looked like a touchdown pass to Jones. A holding penalty nullified the score, however. The Boilermakers were also assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for celebrating after the apparent touchdown. Combined with delay of game on the next play, the Boilermakers fell out of field goal range and had to punt the ball away.
After exchanging punts to open the second half, the Irish drove to the Purdue 1 where they faced a fourth-and-five. Davie elected to go for it but the gamble backfire when Powlus’ pass to fullback Joe Goodspeed fell incomplete. “We knew we would have the match-up we wanted, that they were going to blitz,” Davie said. “We just let their nose guard get a little too much pressure.”
Looking to capitalize on the Irish failure Purdue marched to the Notre Dame one Facing a second-and-14, Dicken’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Kory Minor who returned it to the Irish 49. Notre Dame could not take advantage of the turnover though, losing 7 yards on three plays and giving the ball back to the Boilermakers. “Our sudden change offense didn’t perform well,” Davie said. “After Minor’s interception we had a penalty and then a run for a loss, then we’re third-and-17.”
Following a 58-yard punt by Smith that went through the end zone, Purdue got the ball back at its own 20. Dicken and the Boilermakers’ offense went back to work. They embarked on a 12-play drive that was halted at the Notre Dame 17. With a chance to put his team up by a touchdown, Purdue kicker Shane Ryan missed a 34 yard field goal attempt wide left.
Still only trailing 14-10, Notre Dame started a march from their 20. A 7-yard run by Goodspeed and completions to Denson and Brown left the Irish with a second-and-five from their own 39. On the next play, Powlus was flushed from the pocket and seemed poised to gain the first down. Purdue defensive end Rosevelt Colvin had other ideas, though, hitting the Irish quarter back from behind and stripping him of the football. Adrian Beasley scooped up the fumble and sprinted 43 yards for the touchdown, upping Purdue’s lead to 21-10,
The Irish responded by going three-and-out on their next drive for the first time in the game. On Purdue’s subsequent drive, Ryan again kept the Irish close, this time missing a 45-yard attempt. Notre Dame capitalized on this opportunity; driving 71 yards in 11 plays capped off by a 1-yard touchdown pass to Denson. That cut the Boilermaker lead to five, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Denson pushed the Irish point-after back to the 18, where Davie inexplicably decided to kick the extra point.
Down by four with only 1:47 left; the Irish were forced to attempt an onside kick. Sanson’s kick went only 7 yards before it was recovered by Purdue, effectively ending the game. The Boilermakers tacked on a touchdown 45 seconds later to make the score 28-17. Purdue had clinched its first win of the season.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Purdue because they played a great game,” Davie said. “But we are embarrassed.”
Notre Dame’s offense, despite scoring only 17 points, moved the ball effectively. They compiled 457 yards of total offense, 164 rushing and 293 passing. The passing yardage represented a career high for Powlus, as did his 31 completions and 41 attempts. The fifth-year senior wasn’t satisfied with the result, however. “We moved the ball pretty well, but we’re just not scoring,” Powlus said. “There’s definitely a problem, we just have to figure out what it is.”
Going into their toughest stretch of the season, with three consecutive games against top-25 opponents, the Irish were left searching for answers. And they knew that if they didn’t come up with some soon, they would face a long season of questions.