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Notre Dame beats Purdue

Sep 14, 2014 - 5:34 AM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Everett Golson had two touchdown passes and ran in another as No. 11 Notre Dame grabbed a 30-14 win over Purdue on Saturday.

Golson went 25-for-40 with 259 yards and added 56 yards on 14 carries for the Irish (3-0), who got a touchdown reception from Corey Robinson and William Fuller.

"Offensively missed opportunities for the most part," said Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. "We needed to play better. Everett is going to get a lot of the blame. Obviously, he's the quarterback. He'll tell you he needs to play better. But we got to block better. We got to catch the ball better. We got to run better."

Danny Etling was 27-for-40 for 234 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Boilermakers (1-2), who have dropped their past two after opening the season with a win over Western Michigan.

Notre Dame started the game with the ball and had excellent field position as Amir Carlisle returned the opening kickoff to the Purdue 45. Six plays later, Golson and Fuller got together for a 6-yard score and a 7-0 lead 2 1/2 minutes in.

Kyle Brindza missed a 50-yard field goal on the Irish's next possession, and the Boilermakers took advantage of the short field to tie the game. On 3rd- and-6 at the ND 7, Etling hit Brandon Cottom out in the right flat with a short pass, and Cottom lowered his head to bull through two defenders at the goal line for a score with 1:50 left in the first quarter.

Brindza was true from 19 yards out on Notre Dame's ensuing touch for a 10-7 lead, and the Notre Dame defense came up with a big stop later in the second quarter, as Purdue went for it on 4th-and-1 at the ND 28 but Raheem Mostert was stopped.

A fumble by Ben Koyack gave Purdue the ball back at the Notre Dame 16, though. Three plays later, DeAngelo Yancey made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone, just dragging his feet in bounds, for a 19-yard score and a 14-10 Purdue advantage with three minutes left in the half.

Notre Dame, though, came right back down the field, as Robinson caught a 32- yard pass to help set up a 15-yard TD run by Golson to give the Irish a 17-14 lead at the break.

The Irish built on their lead on their second touch of the third quarter, as a 7-play, 62-yard drive was capped by a 15-yard scoring pass from Golson to Robinson for a 24-14 lead with just over four minutes to play in the third.

Field goals of 48 and 39 yards by Brindza in the fourth quarter capped the scoring, with Etling picked off twice in the final frame.

Game Notes

Notre Dame has off next week before playing in Syracuse on Sept. 27 ... Notre Dame leads this series by a 58-26-2 margin ... Notre Dame outgained Purdue, 398-290, and controlled the ball for 33 minutes.