Jeremiyah Love rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 24 Notre Dame stormed to a 56-30 win over Purdue on Saturday evening in South Bend, Ind.
Jadarian Price added 74 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground for Notre Dame (1-2), which posted a resounding victory after losing to ranked opponents Miami and Texas A&M by four points combined to open the season.
Ryan Browne completed 21 of 34 passes for 250 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Purdue (2-2). Nitro Tuggle had a team-high 66 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Notre Dame outgained Purdue 535-379. The Fighting Irish finished with 254 rushing yards, compared with 76 rushing yards for the Boilermakers.
The game included a lightning delay late in the second quarter.
One play was all Notre Dame needed to grab a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. CJ Carr found Malachi Fields for a 66-yard touchdown
Purdue pulled even at 7-all on the following drive. Devin Mockobee took a handoff, stopped and fired a strike to his quarterback Browne for a 14-yard touchdown.
Love helped the Fighting Irish regain a 14-7 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter.
After Purdue made a 48-yard field goal to pull within 14-10, the Fighting Irish scored back-to-back touchdowns to seize a 28-10 lead. Price scored both times on runs from 21 yards and 9 yards.
Purdue kicker Spencer Porath responded with a pair of field goals of 26 and 35 yards to cut the deficit to 28-16.
Moments later, Price struck back with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to increase Notre Dame’s lead to 35-16.
Browne hit Tuggle for a 24-yard touchdown just before halftime as Purdue pulled within 35-23.
Notre Dame scored three straight touchdowns in the third quarter to grab a 56-23 lead.
Love set the tone for the second half with a 46-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive after halftime. Carr hit Jordan Faison for a 48-yard score three minutes later, and Price closed out the third-quarter scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Purdue finished the scoring on a 24-yard touchdown catch from Malachi Singleton to Jesse Watson with 1:53 remaining.
Carr completed 10 of 12 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Kenny Minchey completed seven of eight passes for 58 yards in a backup role.
