Notre Dame vs. Purdue

The year was 1896. The United States had just completed a presidential election, pitting Ohio Governor William McKinley against youthful orator William Jennings Bryan, the first of two such elections that McKinley would win. In the world of sports, the Games of the First Modern Olympiad were staged in Athens, Greece, some 1,500 years after the last Olympic Games of the ancient era. The great Cy Young already had won 192 of his Major League-record 511 wins, Ty Cobb was a nine-year-old boy, still nine years away from his Major League debut, and George Herman "Babe" Ruth was but a baby. At the University of Notre Dame, the finishing touches were being made on the latest addition to the university’s campus, a replica of the Shrine of Our Lady at Lourdes, France. It was 1896, and Notre Dame and Purdue played for the first time on the gridiron.

The Notre Dame "program" was still in its nascent days, having played only 25 games prior to their mid-November match-up with their neighbors from West Lafayette. Meanwhile, Purdue was playing in only its 52nd game. (Interestingly, Notre Dame and Purdue both played their first games in 1887.) Notre Dame's coach, Frank E. Hering, who would go on to later fame as the "Father of Mother’s Day," worked only on a part-time basis. Nevertheless, his three-year tenure at Notre Dame, during which he went 12-6-1 (.658), was the longest for a N.D. coach until 1913 when the school hired Jesse Harper to fill the role in a full-time capacity. Meanwhile, Purdue was enjoying its status as a charter member in the newly founded Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, forerunner to today's Big Ten Conference.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about that first game between these ancient foes was that it was a high-scoring affair. In an era where touchdowns were worth only four points, Notre Dame and Purdue put on what must have been for that era a clinic of offensive football. Purdue won that first game, 28-22. One-hundred and ten years later, the Irish and Boilermakers still play one another annually on the gridiron.

Like Michigan State, Southern Cal, and Navy, Purdue is a regular on Notre Dame football schedules. This Saturday will mark the 78th meeting between the schools, as well as the 61st consecutive season in which they will meet on the gridiron, dating back to 1946. Notre Dame holds a 50-25-2 record against Purdue. Aside from Navy, Notre Dame has played and beaten no opponent as frequently as Purdue. Conversely, no schools other than Southern Cal and Michigan State have beaten the Irish more frequently than Purdue.

Despite pressure from the Big Ten in the 1940s to drop the Irish from their football schedule, officials at Purdue always set aside a place for the Irish, surely a pragmatic move because of Notre Dame's immense popularity and national radio network. Historically, Purdue has scheduled Notre Dame at many times when other Big Ten school flatly refused to do so.

Perhaps because Notre Dame traditionally has owned this series, the games that stand out always seem to be Purdue victories. One such game was the 1950 contest at Notre Dame, in which the #1 Irish lost to Purdue, 28-14, snapping N.D.'s school-record 39-game unbeaten streak. Similarly, in 1968, the schools met again at Notre Dame with the Boilermakers ranked #1 and the Irish ranked #2. Purdue handed the Irish their only home loss ever in a #1 vs. #2 game.

The last time these teams met at Notre Dame, Purdue won for the first time in 30 years at N.D., 41-16, in one of N.D.'s worst home defeats ever. Last year, the Irish exacted revenge at Purdue, winning 49-28 in a game that was not as close as the score indicated.

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

Other notes:

-The Irish have won four of their first five games only three times since 1996, starting 4-1 in 1996, 5-0 in 2002, and 4-1 last season.

-At least one team has been ranked in this series in 19 of the last 20 seasons (2001).

-Notre Dame holds a 25-11-0 record against Purdue at home (22-10-0 at Notre Dame Stadium).

-The winner of the Notre Dame-Purdue series receives The Shillelagh Trophy, which was donated to the schools in 1957 by the late Joe McLaughlin, a merchant seaman and fan of Notre Dame, who brought the club from Ireland.

-These schools will continue to meet yearly, as they have every year since 1946.

-In the ongoing competition between Michigan and Notre Dame for college football's all-time best winning percentage, here is how things stand after last week:

#6 Michigan defeated unranked Wisconsin at home, 27-7, moving their record to 853-280-36 for a winning percentage of .7451. This week, #6 Michigan travels to unranked Minnesota.

#12 Notre Dame defeated unranked Michigan State on the road, 40-37, moving their record to 814-267-42 for a winning percentage of .7435. This week, #12 Notre Dame hosts unranked Purdue.

Michigan's lead stands at 15/10,000ths of a point.

The Irish look to build on their amazing comeback in last week's game at Michigan State. The game is at 2:30 EDT on NBC.

Go Irish! Beat Boilers!
Big Mike

copyright Michael D. McAllister 2006