With a 45-20 thrashing of the Boilermakers, Notre Dame posts a blowout win over Purdue for the sixth year in a row
By Amanda Clinton
1991 Scholastic Football Review
Despite a new head ‘football coach, Jim Colletto, and an acclaimed rising star at quarterback, the Purdue Boilermakers once again found the power of Notre Dame football unstoppable.
The degree to which the Boilermakers were outplayed by the Irish is evident by the final statistics from the game. Notre Dame gained over two times as many net yards rushing with 267 as compared to Purdue’s measly 106 yards. Out of the 16 attempted passes, the Irish completed 14; while the Boilermakers attempted 27 passes and came up with 18 completions. Notre Dame plowed to an average per play gain of 7.6 yards while Purdue averaged 4.6 yards per play.
The Irish defense tore their way through players in order to attack the quarterback and ended up sacking the quarterback four times. Purdue, in comparison, never had the opportunity to sack Irish quarterback Rick Mirer and even gave him enough time to score two touchdowns.
What does all this add up to? A thorough 45-20 thrashing in Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium.
Irish fans got a surprise at the outset after Notre Dame stuffed Purdue and gained possession at their own 20-yard line. Freshmen Paul Failla trotted onto the field in place of Rick Mirer at quarterback. Mirer had been dealing with an injury to his rib cage for the entire week.
“Rick was fine at practice on Monday. Tuesday he came out to practice and tore the cartilage in his rib cage,” said Irish coach Lou Holtz. “He couldn’t throw a ball two yards on Tuesday. He couldn’t throw a ball two yards on Wednesday. He was qualified to start in the game but we decided to start Paul Failla.”
Failla couldn’t take the Irish anywhere as Notre Dame did not score in the first quarter. Mirer came into the game.
Purdue gained possession at the end of the first quarter. The Boilermakers were able to bring the ball to Notre Dame’s 27-yard line before the quarter ended. The first quarter ended without any points on the board.
Purdue continued their possession in the beginning of the second quarter. Hunter threw for a gain of 11 yards, landing the Boilermakers at the Irish 18-yard line. Purdue rushed to the 14-yard line and then Hunter shot an pass to tight end Tony Simmons, bringing Purdue to the Notre Dame three. Running back Earl Coleman was stopped by the Notre Dame defense at the one, but Rogers was able to run wide to the right for the touchdown.
With a score of 7 -0 the Boilermakers were on top. This was the first time since the third quarter in the 1987 game that Purdue had ever taken the lead against Notre Dame.
“We got off to a slow start and dug ourselves into a hole, falling behind 7-0,” said Holtz. “But I thought we responded well.”
Notre Dame most definitely responded. Fans watched as the Irish amassed 21 points by the conclusion of the first half.
Notre Dame received the kick off from Purdue and started the possession at the Irish 35-yard line. Mirer began the drive by launching a pass to Dawson, taking Notre Dame to the 42-yard line. Tailback Tony Brooks, through two plays, brought the Irish to the Purdue 48-yard line. Sophomore Jerome Bettis received a pass from Mirer, gaining eight yards. On the next play Bettis carried the ball another two yards, pulling the Irish to the 38-yard line. The Irish scored on a 29-yard bootleg by Mirer who kept the ball, dashed up the middle evading several Purdue players, and squeezed into the end zone for a touchdown.
Purdue took control of the ball at the Boilermaker 20-yard line. But Purdue was able to gain seven yards before turnovers hit them hard and Hunter was smacked and fumbled the ball. Sophomore Bryant Young recovered for the Irish at the Purdue 17. Brooks carried the ball up the middle three yards. Sophomore Willie Clark ran left for five, Bettis ran up the middle for three, and then, with Notre Dame only six yards form the end zone, Bettis rumbled in to put the Irish on top 14-7.
Purdue gained control of the ball at their own 20-yard line but were only able to gain seven yards before punting. Through seven plays the Irish were able to get within scoring range at the Purdue 15-yard line before Tony Brooks carried the ball up the middle for four yards and fumbled when he was brought to the ground.
“Coach didn’t want me to get down after I fumbled the ball because he feels more comfortable with people who are experienced out there,” said Brooks.
Holtz expressed his satisfaction with Brooks despite his fumble. “Tony Brooks is outstanding, other than the time he put the ball on the ground. He ran as a man with conviction today.”
Freshmen quarterback Matt Pike came in for Purdue’s starting quarterback Hunter. The first play of their possession he attempted to run up the middle but gained no yardage and fumbled in the process. Purdue recovered at their own eight. Proving he wasn’t a quick learner, Pike tried going up the middle again and fumbled again. Refusing to look a gift horse in the mouth twice, the Irish recovered.
Mirer proceeded to throw a pass to tight end Derek Brown. Brown extended and snagged the ball before diving to the ground for a touchdown. The scoring drive, which took place in one play and covered five yards, lasted only six seconds. The Irish increased the gap in the score by seven more points and ended the half with a 21-7 lead.
In the second half after a Notre Dame touchdown by Bettis, Purdue gained possession. Eric Hunter threw a pass to Rodney Dennis, Dennis received the ball, faked left and then ran right before being stopped by Matt Johnson and Rod Smith. His 31-yard pass play brought the Boilermakers to the Notre Dame 22-yard line. Hunter ran right but found a dead end when he came face-to-face with junior linebacker Demetrius DuBose. After throwing an incomplete pass, Hunter found a connection with Arlee Conners. Despite two Irish players latched onto his ankles, Conners struggled to the goal line and threw himself into the end zone to change the score to 28-14.
The third quarter ended with another Notre Dame touchdown. Purdue’s Hunter was sacked for a loss of eight and fumbled. Irish junior Junior Bryant recovered at the Purdue 39. Bettis and Brooks then proceeded to take turns running the ball for a total of 30 yards. Mirer pulled back from the line and scanned for a target while several hungry Purdue players broke through the line. Mirer tip-toed around the diving bodies and connected with the tight end Brown for a new score of 35-14.
In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame turned yet another mistake on the part of Purdue into a touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Kevin McDougal checked in for Mirer. McDougal passed to junior Will Pollard for a gain of 17 yards bringing the Irish to the Purdue 25-yard line. Sophomore Clint Johnson carried the ball five yards before Clark made an impressive run which included spins, fakes, and dodges landing at the four. Mihalko brought the ball in the end zone to increase the gap to 45-14.
“I thought that offensively we played very well,” said Holtz. “Defensively we had our moments but we’re not as consistent as we have to be. I thought our defensive line played well and we had good pressure on the pass.”
Part of the success of the defense can be attributed to Lake Dawson who caught six passes for a total of 81 yards for a career high.
“Today was a good day,” said a modest Dawson. “I was just trying to do the things the coaches were asking me to do. The offensive line gave Rick enough time and he was able to get the ball to me or anyone else that was open. They played a deep zone so I was able to find a lot of holes underneath.”
The Irish once again overpowered the Boilermakers. The offense was able to pull together and execute several tremendous plays.
In 1990, Notre Dame beat up Purdue and then went on the next weekend to lose to Stanford. Such a let down weighed heavily on the minds of all the coaches as they prepared the Irish to go west and face the Cardinal.