Notre Dame football: Most exciting 21 moments from the 2021 season
By Brad Weiss
Notre Dame football: Most exciting 21 moments from the 2021 season
No. 16: Williamsโ run puts away Purdue
During their first two games of the season, the Notre Dame football team struggled to put teams away, as they needed overtime in Week 1 against Florida State, and barely beat Toledo. Those two games were indicative of how much this team struggled early in the year, and it was not really until after the bye week that they got their groove.
The Week 3 matchup on the schedule was against Purdue, a Big Ten school that would give the Irish fits early on. Entering the final frame, the Irish found themselves in another dogfight, as Purdue had closed the gap to a 17-13 Notre Dame lead, setting the stage for another exciting fourth quarter inside Notre Dame Stadium.
A Jonathan Doerer field goal gave the Irish a 20-13 lead early in the fourth before the two teams exchanged three straight punts. Then came the deciding play, as Kyren Williams burst through the Purdue defense for a 51-yard touchdown, putting the Irish up two scores, and the defense would do the rest.
WHAT A RUN.@Kyrenwilliams23 runs 51 yards for a touchdown.@NDFootball | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/fqZYUVxQlF
โ Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) September 18, 2021
Two fourth quarter interceptions, one by Kyle Hamilton and another by D.J. Brown close out the 27-13 victory for Notre Dame, and with the win, Brian Kelly tied Knute Rockne for the most wins as a head coach in program history, a record he would set a few weeks later.