Septemeber 13, 1997

No. 12 Notre Dame 17, Purdue 28

Trailing 14-10, Notre Dame had the ball in its own territory midway through the final period when Powlus went back to pass. He opted to run up the middle, but fumbled as he was being tackled. The ball bounced right to Beasley, who rumbled 43 yards for the touchdown with 8:37 remaining. It was Purdue's first fumble return for a score since 1994.

Joe Tiller earned his first victory as Purdue (1-1) coach as the Boilermakers snapped an 11-game losing streak against Notre Dame. Fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts after the victory, which came against Jim Colletto, who resigned as Purdue coach last season and took over as the Irish offensive coordinator.

"There is no question that we are embarrassed," Davie said. "Purdue deserved to win the game. I give them a lot of credit. In the second half, they shut us down."

Watson scored on a pair of one-yard plunges in the first half to help Purdue to a 14-10 halftime lead. He had been quoted earlier in the week as saying that Colletto "was used to losing here (Purdue), so it would be nothing new for him."

Notre Dame (1-1) scored on Powlus' one-yard pass to Autry Denson with 1:47 to go. However, Denson spiked the ball, resulting in an automatic 15-yard penalty. Rather than go for the two-point conversion from 17 yards away, which would have pulled the Irish within a field goal, Davie opted to kick the extra point for a 21-17 deficit.

Notre Dame tried an onsides kick, but Purdue easily recovered. Billy Dicken, who completed 26-of-39 passes for a career-high 352 yards, tossed a short screen to Vinny Sutherland, who romped 36 yards to the 3. Kendall Matthews ran it into the end zone on the next play for a 28-17 lead.

Sutherland had eight receptions for 100 yards. Matthews gained 56 yards on 12 carries and Watson added up 34 yards on nine rushes.

Powlus completed 31-of-43 passes for 293 yards and hooked up with Denson seven times for 54 yards. Denson also rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

"Purdue moved and changed things up defensively and played very well," Powlus said. "They took away our deep routes and the safeties played deep to prevent the long ball."

Notre Dame drove 41 yards on 10 plays on its opening possession of the game, but the drive stalled at the Purdue 35. The Irish pinned the Boilermakers at the 1, but Dicken made four completions to help move them to midfield. Watson had a 23-yard run and later made a 28-yard reception to move Purdue to the 1. On the next play, Watson plunged in for the touchdown.

Jim Swanson's 34-yard field goal pulled the Irish within 7-3 with 8:49 left in the second quarter, but Purdue's next drive resulted in another one-yard score by Watson with 6:28 to go.

Notre Dame finally reached the end zone with 2:39 left in the second quarter as Denson rumbled 16 yards for the score.

"(Purdue) came out very determined, played hard and it really showed," Denson said. "They move the ball extremely well. We have a veteran team, but we also have a new system."

"We thought we moved the ball well and just couldn't score," Powlus added. "We need to pinpoint this problem and work on it at practice. When we get down we need to turn around and get some points on the board."

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