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Purdue improves to 5-0, keeps Notre Dame winless

Sep 30, 2007 - 12:02 AM WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Kory Sheets and Purdue added another chapter to Notre Dame's nightmare season.

Sheets rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown Saturday as Purdue rolled to a 33-19 triumph over winless Notre Dame.

Curtis Painter passed for 252 yards and a score for the Boilermakers (5-0), who are off to their best start in three years. It marks just the second time that Purdue has started a season 5-0 since 1945.

"We can't really think about the record right now," Boilermakers tight end Dustin Keller said. "I remember the last time we were 5-0 when Wisconsin came here, and we lost a heartbreaker."

Sheets, who carried the ball 27 times and also hauled in an eight-yard reception, took some time to savor the victory. The senior also admitted he is looking forward to next week's contest here against eighth-ranked Ohio State.

"We'll celebrate tonight and come in Sunday morning and look at the film and fix mistakes," Sheets said. "We'll enjoy this win right now, but on Tuesday we're going to start preparing for Ohio State."

Conversely, the Fighting Irish (0-5) are off to the worst start in their program's storied history. Notre Dame entered the contest ranked last in the nation in total offense and second-to-last in scoring offense.

The Irish actually showed some signs of offensive improvement in this one, scoring a trio of second-half touchdowns to make the final score look respectable.

"For the first time this year, we played a half of football where you could win," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "That's closer to winning football."

But Notre Dame already had dug itself too big of a hole against Purdue, which recorded its 250th all-time win at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Traditionally known for its high-powered offense and boasting the nation's eighth-best unit entering the game, Purdue built a 23-0 halftime lead thanks largely to its defense, which forced a pair of turnovers before the break.

Although they squandered a trio of opportunities in the red zone, the Boilermakers' offense converted five third downs, including a 3rd-and-29, prior to the break.

After Chris Summers opened the scoring with a 27-yard field goal, Sheets made it 10-0 on a 1-yard TD run with 5:49 left in the first quarter.

Painter's 11-yard scoring strike to Dorien Bryant sandwiched between two more field goals by Summers gave Purdue its 23-point halftime lead.

Painter completed 22-of-37 attempts but was intercepted twice. His favorite target was Bryant, who hauled in eight receptions for 82 yards.

"As an offense we have a word that we use a lot, and that word is 'today,'" Painter said. "It means to focus on today only, and not on the past or the future. That will be our approach each day this week going in the Ohio State game."

Notre Dame finally got on the scoreboard midway through the third quarter when freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen found tight end John Carlson for a 5-yard TD.

However, Brandon Walker missed the extra point, keeping the score at 23-6.

Summers connected on a 30-yarder to make it 26-6, but backup quarterback Evan Sharpley passed for a pair of fourth-quarter scores to draw Notre Dame within 26-19 with eight minute remaining.

Sharpley was surpassed by Clausen on the depth chart only one game into the season. But the junior looked sharp in the second half and gave the Irish some life with his 25-yard scoring strike to Golden Tate with 7:58 to play.

Purdue responded just 2 1/2 minutes later when Painter found tight end Dustin Keller for a 14-yard TD, pushing the score to 33-19 and giving the Boilermakers some breathing room.

"We always talk about matching (the other team) score-to-score," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "I thought we started poorly at the start of the second half because we didn't make good decisions."

Sharpley drove the Irish to the Purdue 18-yard line on the following drive. But cornerback Terrell Vinson made a leaping interception in the end zone, essentially sealing the victory.

Sharpley completed 16-of-26 passes for 208 yards while Clausen went 18-for-26 for 169 yards. Tate finished with 104 yards on just three catches for Notre Dame, which fell to 51-26-2 all-time against Purdue.