It wasn't supposed to be a heavyweight bout, but Purdue (1-1) brought the fight to No. 21 Notre Dame (1-1) early, taking a 10-3 lead into the half.
The Boilermakers won the coin toss and chose to receive, then promptly marched on the Irish defense. On the 12th play of the drive, redshirt senior quarterback Rob Henry found junior running back Akeem Hunt in the flat. The speedy Hunt found the edge, burst through the closing Irish defense, and scampered 15 yards for the game's opening score.
Notre Dame's first half was marked by miscues from their first snap, which went straight through senior quarterback Tommy Rees' hands. Rees was just 8-for-17 in the half and the running game was not much better, amassing just 29 yards on 15 carries.
An early second quarter field goal by sophomore Paul Griggs gave the Boilermakers a 10-0 lead, and they could have been up 13 if Griggs hadn't missed from 27 yards a few minutes earlier.
Notre Dame was able to put together an 80-yard drive late in the half, the bulk of which came when Rees found sophomore receiver Chris Brown down the sidelines for a 40-yard gain. The drive stalled in the red zone however, as junior receiver DaVaris Daniels slipped on his third down fade route and junior kicker Kyle Brindza came on to make a 20-yard field goal.
