Notre Dame Rally Falls Short

Irish Lose To Purdue, 33-19

By John Mooney

Notre Dame continued its worst start in school history, as Purdue QB Curtis Painter led the Boilermakers to a 33-19 win over the Fighting Irish, who dropped to 0-5 this season.

The Irish again fell behind early and trailed 23-0 at halftime. During the break, head coach Charlie Weis read the riot act, letting his team know that their play, particularly early in games, has been unacceptable.

"I'd had about enough," Weis said.

Notre Dame scored 19 second half points, but could not overcome the deficit, as Purdue tacked on 10 more points.

"For the first time this year, we played a half of football where you could win," Weis said.

Notre Dame's freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen, threw his first career touchdown pass, but left the game with a hip injury.

He was replaced by backup Evan Sharpley, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 208 yards.

Overall, the Irish gained 426 yards, their best performance this year, but it wasn't enough.

Unbeaten Purdue (5-0) is off to its best start since 2004. Kory Sheets led rushers with 141 yards.

Curtis Painter was 22 of 37 for 252 yards and two TDs, while Dorien Bryant caught eight passes for 82 yards.

The Irish made a fourth-quarter charge. They converted on fourth-and-5 from their own 37 and completed the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Shipley to Duval Kamara early in the quarter.

On their next possession, Notre Dame cut the deficit to 26-19 with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Sharpley to Golden Tate midway through the quarter.

However, Purdue bounced back with a drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown reception by tight end Dustin Keller.

An interception of Sharpley by Terrell Vinson on the Purdue 18 ended Notre Dame's comeback threat.

The Irish converted on four of six fourth-down opportunities, including two in their territory in the final quarter, which is an encouraging sign to Coach Weis.

"If we can do 60 minutes of that, maybe we can come away with a victory," Sharpley said.

Next week, the Irish draw a tough opponent in UCLA, followed by No. 12 Boston College and top-ranked Southern California after that.

It appears that Notre Dame's tough season is likely to continue for the next three weeks.