Notre Dame Blows Out Purdue With Its Most Points After a Loss in 116 Years

The last time the Fighting Irish rebounded from a loss this well in-season, it came against a hilariously quaint opponent.

Sep 14, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Let's go back to Oct.,1908. Theodore Roosevelt is president (though not for much longer, as an election looms). Bulgaria is newly independent. The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, is an obscure Catholic college in the Michiana region. It's still years away from its football program becoming one of America's flagship sports brands—College Football Reference's records don't even recognize it as a major team.

And yet, similarities abound to today. On Saturday, the No. 18 Fighting Irish smashed Purdue 66–7 a week after an upset loss to Northern Illinois. Via ESPN, their 66-point output represented their highest point total immediately after a loss with a season since '08, when they won a game 88–0 after losing 12–6 to Michigan.

Their opponent that day? Chicago Physicians & Surgeons.

Those poor Chicago Physicians & Surgeons in 1908 😅 pic.twitter.com/fjkSRJ13h2

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 14, 2024

That's right—Notre Dame played Chicago Physicians & Surgeons nine times between 1895 and 1908, winning seven games and losing two. The school is now the University of Illinois-Chicago's medical school.

The Fighting Irish—who turned around and beat Ohio Northern 58–4 after their long-ago victory—are scheduled to play Miami-Ohio on Sept. 21.

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