This past Saturday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish continued their winning streak with a 27-13 victory against the Purdue Boilermakers. The Irish are starting their season at 3-0. Notre Dame's offense was finally able to open up the scoring, and while their passing and running game looked sharp, a big part of the offense's success was thanks to the defense's ability to stop drives and limit Purdue to only one visit to the end zone. To no ones surprise, safety Kyle Hamilton once again came up big in a number of important plays for Notre Dame.
In their victory over the Boilermakers, Hamilton's dominating presence in the secondary was underscored by 10 total tackles, a number that ties his career high. Hamilton also recorded 2 pass breakups, and an interception.
Hamilton’s biggest tackle came in the first quarter on a fourth-and-one. Going for it at about midfield, the Purdue offense attempted to run the ball, though Hamilton, rushing down from the secondary, wrapped up the Purdue running back behind the line of scrimmage after it appeared that he had beat the Irish defense. Notre Dame would go onto score on this drive, giving them the lead in the game.
Hamilton’s interception would come in the fourth quarter as the Purdue offense was in desperation mode. Down by a number of scores, Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell threw a deep ball downfield looking to hit his receiver, but, after an initial bobble, Hamilton would come down with the ball and put a stop to the Boilermakers' drive. This and another interception by DJ Brown would ultimately put the finish on another Irish victory.
Notre Dame now looks towards their upcoming game against the Wisconsin Badgers this Saturday, the 25th. The Irish will take the field in Wisconsin at 12:00 PM ET.
ICYMI
Following his impressive performance against Perdue on Saturday, Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week, the Bednarik Award Player of the Week, the PFF Defensive Player of the Week, and the Athlon Defensive Player of the Week.
