Advertisement

No. 10 Notre Dame beats Purdue, 27-13, behind QB Jack Coan's performance

Jack Coan threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns as Notre Dame beat in-state rival Purdue for the sixth straight time, 27-13, on Saturday and extended its home winning streak to 26.

The pregame hype between the schools who were playing for the first time since 2014 was consumed by Purdue’s All-American Band being unable to bring the World's Largest Drum into Notre Dame Stadium as Irish officials refused to let them use the home team’s tunnel. The visitor's tunnel was too small to accommodate the drum.

The Irish - ranked No. 10 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and trying to get to a second straight College Football Playoff – haven't looked all that impressive in the season's first month. Their first two victories, against Florida State and Toledo, were by a combined six points.

Purdue (2-1) got the scoring going with a 34-yard field goal by Mitchell Fineran and the Irish countered with Coan 39-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Williams.

Jack Coan throws for a touchdown in the second quarter against Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium.
Jack Coan throws for a touchdown in the second quarter against Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium.

Coan threw a 62-yard bomb to Avery Davis in the third quarter to increase the lead to 17-6. Davis finished with five catches for 120 yards.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jack Plummer, who went 25-for-36 for 187 yards, got Purdue back into striking range on its next possession with a 2-yard touchdown on a fade route to Milton Wright.

The Irish were unable to mount much of a running game, until Williams broke free for a 51-yard touchdown with 6 minutes left, thanks to some nice moves and even sloppier Purdue tackling.

Notre Dame's next five opponents have the off week before playing the Irish. The gauntlet starts next Saturday against Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago. Then undefeated Cincinnati visits South Bend in a game with major College Football Playoff implications.

Follow Scooby Axson on Twitter @ScoobAxson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football: Notre Dame QB Jack Coan slices Purdue in 27-13 win