Purdue @ Notre Dame (10/2 @ 1:30EST)

[EnviedOne]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-1) vs. (#15 AP/#15 ESPN/USA Today) Purdue Boilermakers (3-0)

The Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 2, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. EST.

The Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795/Natural Grass) in Notre Dame, Ind.

The Tickets: They're all sold -- with this being the 176th consecutive sellout at Notre Dame Stadium (the first 130 coming at the old 59,075 capacity). The Purdue game marks the 224th home sellout in the last 225 games (dating back to 1964). It also is the 166th sellout in the last 190 Irish games and the 30th in the last 31 games involving Notre Dame, dating back to the end of the 2001 season (only last year's game at Stanford was not a sellout).

The TV Plans: NBC national telecast with Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Pat Haden (analysis), Lewis Johnson (sideline), David Gibson (producer) and John Gonzalez (director).

The Radio Plans: For the 37th consecutive season, all Notre Dame football games are broadcast on more than 300 stations in all 50 states by Westwood One with Tony Roberts (play-by-play), former Irish running back Allen Pinkett (analysis), Larry Michael (pregame/halftime) and Al Smith (producer). A live broadcast from the Notre Dame student station, WVFI, also is available via the Notre Dame athletics web site at www.und.com. All Notre Dame football games may be heard in South Bend on U93-FM (92.9) with pre- and post-game analysis featuring Sean Stires, Shawn Lewallen, Jack Nolan, Mirko Jurkovic, Reggie Brooks and Vince DeDario. All Irish games also are carried live in the Chicago market on ESPN Radio 1000.

Real-Time Stats: Live in-game statistics, courtesy of College Sports Online's GameTracker, will be made available for the Purdue game, via the Notre Dame (www.und.com) and Purdue (www.purduesports.com) athletics web sites.

Web Sites: Notre Dame (www.und.com), Purdue (www.purduesports.com).

IRISH CONTINUE THREE-GAME HOMESTAND WITH MATCHUP AGAINST #15 PURDUE

Fresh off its largest victory at home in nearly two years, Notre Dame (3-1) will look to keep its momentum going when it plays host to No. 15 Purdue Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (EST) at Notre Dame Stadium. The contest will be televised nationally by NBC, marking the 141st consecutive Irish football game to be broadcast across the country by one of four major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS or ESPN).

Behind a potent offense and an opportunistic defense, Notre Dame rolled to a 38-3 win over Washington last Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Sophomore quarterback Brady Quinn etched his name in the Irish record books, tying the school record with four touchdown passes, three of which came in a 21-point first-quarter outburst. Senior wideout Matt Shelton also continued his strong play of late, catching a career-high four passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, while junior tight end Anthony Fasano also snared a career-best two scoring passes.

On defense, the Irish turned in an aggressive, yet disciplined performance, forcing five turnovers and limiting the Huskies to a single field goal. In the past three games, the Notre Dame defense has registered 14 takeaways (3.5 per game) and has allowed only two offensive touchdowns, both of which came inside the final three minutes of the game after the outcome had been decided.

Purdue (3-0) has been sharp on both sides of the ball during the first month of the season. Led by quarterback Kyle Orton, the Boilermaker offense is ranked third in the nation, churning out more than 561 yards per game. Purdue also leads the country in scoring offense (49.33 ppg.) and Orton himself is second nationally in both pass efficiency (188.10) and total offense (344.33).

The Boilermakers are coming off a 38-30 win at Illinois in their Big Ten Conference opener last weekend. Orton completed 35 of 50 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for a fifth score. Wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield was on the other end of 11 Orton passes, piling up 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

NOTRE DAME-PURDUE SERIES NOTES

• Notre Dame and Purdue will be meeting for the 76th time, with the Irish leading the all-time series by a 49-24-2 count.

• The Irish have won three of the past four games between the two teams.

• Notre Dame also has won the last 13 meetings in Notre Dame Stadium, with Purdue's last series victory in South Bend coming in 1974 (when the Boilermakers upset the second-ranked Irish).

• The Irish hold a 25-10 all-time series advantage at Notre Dame Stadium.

• Including this weekend's game, at least one team has been ranked nationally in 17 of the past 18 meetings, dating back to 1987 -- the 2001 game was the only time in that stretch that neither team was ranked. • Saturday's game will mark just the sixth time in 76 series games that Purdue is ranked higher than Notre Dame. In the previous five such meetings, the Irish have won three times (1952, 1980, 2000). • Notre Dame has averaged 26.1 points per game in the past 10 matchups against Purdue.

IF NOTRE DAME WINS ...

• It will be Notre Dame's 14th consecutive victory over the Boilermakers in Notre Dame Stadium, extending a streak that began in 1976.

• The Irish will have swept three Big Ten opponents for the first time since 2002. Prior to the '02 season, in which the Irish swept Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State, Notre Dame last beat all the Big Ten teams in 1993 when the Irish went 4-0 against Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue.

• Notre Dame will have won four of the last six meetings vs. Purdue.

• Notre Dame will win its 26th game against Purdue at home. • An unranked Irish squad will earn its first victory over a ranked Purdue squad since 1952 (26-14).

IF PURDUE WINS ...

• It will mark the first victory by the Boilermakers in Notre Dame Stadium since 1974, when Purdue upset second-ranked Notre Dame, 31-20.

• Purdue will have won two consecutive games in the series for the first time since 1984-85.

• The Boilermakers will claim their 11th victory in Notre Dame Stadium.

NOTRE DAME-PURDUE SERIES HISTORY

• The series started in 1896, with Purdue collecting a 28-22 victory in South Bend. The only current NCAA Division I-A schools that played Notre Dame earlier than Purdue are Michigan (1887 - first game in program history) and Northwestern (1889).

• The teams played seven times from 1899-1907 before a 11-year break (the longest hiatus in the history of the series). The teams resumed play in 1918 and met every year until 1923 before a 10-year break in the series. The teams then met in 1933, '34 and '39 and the series has been continuous since 1946, tying with the USC rivalry for Notre Dame's second-longest continuous series (Notre Dame and Navy have played every year since 1927).

• Notre Dame's 49 series wins against Purdue are the second-most against any opponent -- 67 against Navy is the highest.

• Purdue has beaten Notre Dame more times (24) than any other school besides USC (28).

• Notre Dame has registered a defensive touchdown in three of its last four games against the Boilers and has a defensive and special teams TD in two of its last three games with Purdue.

• The Irish have not been shut out by the Boilermakers since 1933 (a 19-0 loss in South Bend). • The winner of the game is presented the Shillelagh Trophy, a tradition started in 1957. The trophy was donated by the late Joe McLaughlin (a merchant seaman and Notre Dame fan who brought the club from Ireland). Notre Dame has taken home the Shillelagh Trophy 30 times in the 47-year history of the award.

Courtesy of UND.com

[EnviedOne]

I call a shocker... Our D rises to the occasion and slows Orton Down. We win by a field goal, Notre Dame 24, Purdue 21.

[Irish_hung]

Originally Posted by Svoboda

I call a shocker... Our D rises to the occasion and slows Orton Down. We win by a field goal, Notre Dame 24, Purdue 21.

sounds like a plan!

[pappy]

either going to be close, or a blow out either way. don't really give two shits, as long as the irish come out on top.

[EnviedOne]

Originally Posted by pappy

either going to be close, or a blow out either way. don't really give two shits, as long as the irish come out on top.

Man, that didn't go quite as expected. Purdue is damn good.

[irishtexan10]

They pulled it off with Orton. Man he's good.

[EnviedOne]

Originally Posted by irishtexan10

They pulled it off with Orton. Man he's good.

I don't think good is a proper description. Anything short of awesome doesn't do Orton justice this year.

If he is not the frontrunner for the Heisman, the system is flawed. He's 95-of-127 for 1,367 yards with 17 TDs and 0 interceptions. He's got a couple of running scores, too.