In the wake of the news Drew Brees is heading to NBC Sports and having a role on Notre Dame telecasts once he retires from the NFL, I was curious how Brees fared against Notre Dame in his memorable time at Purdue.
Brees led Purdue to only their second appearance in a Rose Bowl back in 2000, a year he should have been awarded the Heisman Trophy over Chris Weinke if we’re being honest. There was one thing Brees never did in his time with the Boilermakers, though, and that’s win at Notre Dame Stadium. Here’s the Drew Brees career stat-lines versus the Fighting Irish:
Three starts (1998, 1999, 2000)
1-2 win/loss record
60/98 passing, 799 yards, five touchdown passes, four interceptions, one rushing touchdown
The games:
1998 – Notre Dame 31, Purdue 30
Notre Dame fell behind 14-0 and trailed 30-21 with under eight minutes to play before a Jim Sanson field goal with under a minute left eventually won it for the Irish.
Brees: 24 of 26 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions
1999 – Purdue 28, Notre Dame 23
Notre Dame jumped out to a 10-0 lead in West Lafayette before Brees guided the Boilermakers to victory. He finished the afternoon with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and ran in a two point conversion in the Purdue victory.
Brees: 24 of 40 passing for 317 yards, one touchdown pass, one interception and a two point conversion run
2000 – No. 21 Notre Dame 23, No. 13 Purdue 21
In Godsey We Tust…as long as the defense plays ridiculously well. That’s what happened on this afternoon in 2000 when a Shane Walton pick-six of Brees put the Irish up 14-0 in the first quarter. The Irish wouldn’t find the end-zone again that afternoon but three Nick Setta field goals, one of which came as time expired, did the eventual Big Ten Champions in.
Brees: 13 of 22 passing for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception