Purdue-Notre Dame series history: 4 things to know

Purdue-Notre Dame week is always special. For me, it is a great time to look back at some of the great games and moments between the schools. And there have been many.

Yet, looking at it from the 128-year perspective of the football relationship between the schools, four items come to the forefront.

1. Purdue-Notre Dame reversed fortunes in the early days

The Boilermakers got off to a good start in its series with Notre Dame. It won (or, better said, didn’t lose) five of the first six games played between the teams from 1896-1905. Notre Dame was reeling from being snubbed by the fledgling Western Conference (Big Ten), repeatedly seeking admission. It was a sore spot with the Notre Dame brass who were trying to make a name for itself as a growing University through its athletics programs.

The Big Ten’s unwillingness to admit Notre Dame still resonates with the Irish brass to this day. It has a long memory apparently.

But then came Knute Rockne. And the legend of George Gipp. The Boilermakers only faced the Irish six times during Rockne’s 13-year career (1918-30) in South Bend and never came close to beating him. Rockne’s death in a plane crash and Gipp’s due to illness a decade or so earlier put the Irish program into mythical status and produced a story that Hollywood embraced with Pat O’Brien and Ronald Reagan playing lead roles. Rockne’s overall record of 105-12-5 didn’t hurt either.

2. 1950 changed it all for Purdue

Notre Dame football, the Yankees and Joe Louis dominated the sports scene in the first half of the 21st century. And Rockne beget other legendary Irish coaches including Frank Leahy. In 1950, and with the Irish on a 39-game unbeaten streak, Purdue marched into Notre Dame Stadium with a sophomore quarterback named Dale Samuels, and beat the Irish handily, 28-14.

It was a Newsreel world in those days, and Purdue benefitted from the win by bursting the ND bubble. The victory was so consequential that it got the attention of a young Neil Armstrong who was making his college decision then. And the rest, they say, is history.

It is important to note that Notre Dame athletics director Edward “Moose” Krause and Purdue AD Red Mackey forged a relationship that saw the teams play every year from 1946 through 2014. Circumstances ended the annual relationship in ’14, but the fact that the two schools prioritized playing one another was huge for the growth of Boilermaker football on a regional and national level.

3. Purdue Hall of Fame coach Jack Mollenkopf owned the Irish

The Boilermakers built on its ever growing legend of being “Spoilermakers” by ending the Irish’s 20-game winning streak in 1954 with another sophomore quarterback named Len Dawson. The Alliance, Ohio native tossed four TD passes that day and later became known nationally as the “Golden Boy.” A year or so later, the Boilermaker administrators thought it might be a good idea to have a Golden Girl to complement Dawson’s fame, and another Purdue tradition was born.

But it was Mollenkopf, who was hired as the head man in Dawson’s senior season, who made a career of beating the Irish. In his 84 Purdue wins in 14 years as the head man, his 10-4 record against the Irish did more to earn him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame than just about anything else.

Mollenkopf beat No. 1 ranked Irish teams in 1965, 1967 and ’68, but the ’68 victory might have been the pinnacle. In a battle of No. 1 ranked teams (Purdue was ranked No. 1 in the UPI–the coaches poll at the time), two-time All-American back Leroy Keyes and his teammates boat-raced the Irish 37-22. You will enjoy watching this if you have a couple of hours to kill. And the lead announcer on ABC’s broadcast that day? Purdue Hall of Famer Chris Schenkel.

4. Purdue’s national reputation as a Cradle of Quarterbacks came from beating Notre Dame

Purdue’s 25 all-time wins over Notre Dame rank it third all-time only behind Michigan State (28) and USC (38). So the Boilermakers’ success against the Irish is nothing to take for granted.

But from a national perspective, beating the Irish has done more for Purdue’s quarterback reputation than just about anything else.

The aforementioned Samuels and Dawson beat Notre Dame. Bob Griese’s 19-of-22 for a school-record 283 yards helped the Boilermakers dethrone the No. 1 Irish in 1965. Mike Phipps became the first quarterback in college football history to beat Notre Dame three straight years (1967-69) and even became the first Purdue athlete to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated after the ’67 win. (Yes, I know Rick Mount was on the cover of SI, but Mount was in high school.). Mark Herrmann had his moment against the Irish in a come-from-behind win in 1979. Jim Everett beat the Irish twice in 1984 and ’85. Billy Dicken did it in 1997 en route to an All-Big Ten senior year, Drew Brees got it done in 1999 with the famous cartwheel into paydirt.

Kyle Orton helped Purdue break a 30-year losing streak under the Golden Dome in 2004 with a blowout win, and Curtis Painter led Purdue to a rout over the Irish in 2007–the Boilermakers most recent win in the series.

What Purdue fan gets tired of this?

More: Opponent View: Notre Dame