Notre Dame vs. Purdue
Notre Dame and Purdue first met in 1896 and have played 90 times; officially, Notre Dame leads 60–26–2; as played, 62–26–2. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Notre Dame 10–0, and Notre Dame has won the last 11. The winner takes home the Shillelagh Trophy, played for since 1957. Notre Dame has held it since the 2008 game. The NCAA vacated Notre Dame’s two wins (2012 and 2013); they don’t count officially. This page counts every game as it was played. Share
2027 at Notre Dame Sept. 4; 2028 at Purdue Sept. 23. As the programs’ Wikipedia articles list them (CC BY-SA).
- Official series
- Notre Dame leads 60–26–2
- Notre Dame wins on file
- 62
- Purdue wins on file
- 26
- Ties
- 2
- First meeting
- 1896
- Longest streak
- 11 Notre Dame
- Current streak
- 11 Notre Dame
- Last 10 meetings
- Notre Dame 10–0
- Most recent
- 2026
The series at a glance
- Both ranked
- 12 meetings: Notre Dame 4, Purdue 8; 4 both in the top 10
- Average margin
- 17.2 points; 25 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Notre Dame
- 31–11 Notre Dame’s record at home
- At Purdue
- 14–30–2 Purdue’s record at home
- Neutral sites
- 1–1 Notre Dame first
- Shutouts
- 16
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Shillelagh Trophy
- Played for since
- 1957
- Held by
- Notre Dame since the 2008 game
- Games for it on file
- 62 Notre Dame 43, Purdue 19
Who holds it comes from the games on file: the winner of the latest regular-season meeting since 1957 (bowl rematches aren’t played for it); a tie leaves it with the holder (the usual rule; the article doesn’t say). The rivalry’s article counts the games for it: Notre Dame leads, 41–19. From Wikipedia’s list of rivalry games and the rivalry’s article (CC BY-SA). More on the Shillelagh Trophy.
Games that tell the story
- Notre Dame’s biggest win2024: Notre Dame 66, Purdue 7by 59 points
- Purdue’s biggest win1904: Purdue 36, Notre Dame 0by 36 points
- Upset1974: Purdue 31, Notre Dame 20Purdue had a 14% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset1950: Purdue 28, Notre Dame 14Purdue had a 16% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset1954: Purdue 27, Notre Dame 14Purdue had a 19% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Ranked showdown1968: Purdue 37, Notre Dame 22No. 1 Purdue at No. 2 Notre Dame
- Ranked showdown1965: Purdue 25, Notre Dame 21No. 1 Notre Dame at No. 6 Purdue
- Ranked showdown1967: Purdue 28, Notre Dame 21No. 1 Notre Dame at No. 10 Purdue
Coach against coach
| Years | Notre Dame | Series | Purdue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918–1920 | Knute Rockne | 3–0 | Butch Scanlon |
| 1947–1953 | Frank Leahy | 6–1 | Stuart Holcomb |
| 1956–1958 | Terry Brennan | 1–2 | Jack Mollenkopf |
| 1959–1962 | Joe Kuharich | 1–3 | Jack Mollenkopf |
| 1964–1969 | Ara Parseghian | 2–4 | Jack Mollenkopf |
| 1970–1972 | Ara Parseghian | 3–0 | Bob DeMoss |
| 1977–1980 | Dan Devine | 3–1 | Jim Young |
| 1982–1985 | Gerry Faust | 2–2 | Leon Burtnett |
| 1987–1990 | Lou Holtz | 4–0 | Fred Akers |
| 1991–1996 | Lou Holtz | 6–0 | Jim Colletto |
| 1997–2001 | Bob Davie | 3–2 | Joe Tiller |
| 2002–2004 | Tyrone Willingham | 1–2 | Joe Tiller |
| 2005–2008 | Charlie Weis | 3–1 | Joe Tiller |
| 2010–2012 | Brian Kelly | 3–0 | Danny Hope |
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Notre Dame’s side (Rockne 3–0 against Scanlon). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Biggest days
| Brady Quinn Notre Dame | 29 of 36, 440 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT | 2005 Passing | |
| Kyle Orton Purdue | 21 of 31, 385 yards, 4 TD | 2004 Passing | |
| Brady Quinn Notre Dame | 26 of 46, 432 yards, 1 TD | 2004 Passing | |
| Selwyn Lymon Purdue | 8 catches, 238 yards, 2 TD | 2006 Receiving | |
| DaVaris Daniels Notre Dame | 8 catches, 167 yards, 2 TD | 2013 Receiving | |
| Jeff Samardzija Notre Dame | 7 catches, 153 yards, 2 TD | 2005 Receiving |
Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).
From the newspapers
1899 · The Indianapolis journal, Indianapolis [Ind.], Nov 19, 1899
1902 · Akron daily Democrat, Akron, Ohio, Nov 28, 1902
1906 · The Minneapolis journal, Minneapolis, Minn., Nov 4, 1906
1918 · South Bend news-times, South Bend, Ind., Nov 24, 1918
1919 · South Bend news-times, South Bend, Ind., Nov 23, 1919
Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.
Every game
Every game is listed as played on the field; a win the NCAA later vacated is marked “vacated”; the official series above counts them the NCAA’s way.