Notre Dame vs. Purdue

In trying times such as the 2007 season for the Fighting Irish, it is sometimes educational to look back at how far the program has come since its humble beginnings in the fall of 1887. A look back at the 1896 season, for example, shows a schedule with opponents' names that are simply comical to the modern eye. Among that season’s adversaries were such luminaries as Chicago Physicians & Surgeons (a surprisingly worthy foe that actually defeated Notre Dame that year, 4-0), the University of Chicago (in those days a burgeoning power under Amos Alonzo Stagg), South Bend Athletic Club, Albion, Highland Views, and Beloit College. Aside from the game against Chicago, itself a newcomer to college football since that school's founding in 1892, the only other foe that is recognizable to modern-day Notre Dame fans is Purdue.

Then as now, Purdue was a regular on Notre Dame schedules. Among current members of the NCAA's Division I-A, the only schools to have older histories with Notre Dame are Michigan and Northwestern. Unlike those schools, however, Purdue has remained a staple for Notre Dame football through the decades. It is interesting to note that among all of Notre Dame's traditional opponents, Purdue is the only one the Irish have played at least once in each decade since the 1890s. While other members of the Big Ten Conference boycotted Notre Dame from their schedules throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Purdue continued to schedule Notre Dame. Since the end of World War II, Notre Dame and Purdue have played one another every year. This year, they will renew the series for the 62nd consecutive season.

Overall, the Irish hold a 51-25-2 record against Purdue. Saturday's game will be the 79th between Notre Dame and Purdue. Aside from Navy, the Irish have played and beaten no opponent more frequently than the Boilermakers. Aside from Southern Cal and Michigan State, no school has beaten the Irish more frequently than Purdue.

The series probably enjoyed its greatest glory during the late 1960s when Notre Dame and Purdue had teams perennially ranked in the top ten. In 1968 #1 Purdue handed #2 Notre Dame its only home loss ever in a #1 vs. #2 game, winning, 37-22. In more recent times the Irish came to dominate the series, winning, for example, 18 out of 22 games between 1975 and 1996. With the advent of Bob Davie's tenure at Notre Dame, however, parity came to the series once again. Since 1997, Notre Dame holds only a 6-4 record against their regular in-state foes. Notre Dame has won the last two series games.

In the last series game played in West Lafayette, the Irish throttled the Boilermakers in a night game, winning 49-28; the game wasn’t even that close. Last season, the Irish endured the rain that so often seems to accompany the Purdue game, winning at home, 35-21.

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-This will be the second game in this series in the past 20 seasons in which neither team is ranked. The other came in 2001.

-Notre Dame holds a 25-13-2 (.600) record in games played between the schools at Purdue.

-Notre Dame is 8-3 (.727) in road games under Charlie Weis.

-The Irish have never started a season 0-5. Their last seven game losing streak came in 1960.

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

-These teams are scheduled to continue meeting yearly, as they have since 1946.

-In the ongoing competition between Michigan and Notre Dame for the all-time best winning percentage in college football, here is where things stand after last weekend

Unranked Michigan defeated #10 Penn State at home, 14-9, moving their winning percentage to .7445. This week, unranked Michigan take to the road for the first time this season to play at unranked Northwestern.

Unranked Notre Dame lost its sixth consecutive game, falling for the sixth straight time at home to unranked Michigan State, 31-14. This drops Notre Dame's winning percentage to .7412, its lowest level since November 1910. This week, unranked Notre Dame travels to unranked Purdue.

Michigan's lead expands to 33/10,000ths of a point.

Texas defeated Rice, 58-14, to move within six wins of Notre Dame on the all-time wins list.

This week's game kicks off on ESPN at noon EDT.

Go Irish! Beat Boilers!

Big Mike

copyright Michael D. McAllister 2007