Purdue Boilermakers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Match Player Stats On Sep 08, 2012

Notre Dame 20, Purdue 17: Tommy Rees came off the bench to spearhead a rally and Kyle Brindza's 27-yard field goal with seven seconds left helped the Irish to a hard-fought win over the Boilermakers.

After sitting out the opening game against Navy due to a suspension, Rees, last year’s starter, entered the game for Everett Golson and calmly led the 12-play, 55-yard drive that was capped by Brindza's field goal.

Notre Dame played with the lead almost the entire second half, before Golson’s fumble set Purdue up first-and-10 at the Irish 15-yard line with 3:24 remaining and the Boilermakers trailing 17-10.

The Irish defense held the Boilermakers on the first three downs, but Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush hit Antavian Edison with a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to tie the game and set up the late heroics from Rees.

Golson was 21-of-31 passing for 289 yards with one touchdown pass and another rushing touchdown.

All-American tight end Tyler Eifert led the Irish with a career-high 98 yards on four catches before sitting out the fourth quarter with an apparent, but unconfirmed injury.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The win for Notre Dame was the fifth straight against Purdue in the series. … This was the 13th time in program history the Irish have played Purdue in their home opener. … The Irish are 2-0 to start a season for the first time since 2008.