Notre Dame holds off Purdue rally in coach's debut

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Brian Kelly looked around at a packed stadium Saturday and saw - fittingly enough - a sea of kelly green shirts. On a day of firsts for Notre Dame's new head coach, highlighted by a 23-12 win over Purdue, the colorful and enthusiastic crowd stood out. They were actually rooting for his team.

"Maybe this is just my background, but anytime I've gone into a stadium with 81,000, I've always played up to that opponent. Now, it was 81,000, and it was our people," Kelly said. "The crowd was into it and it was a great advantage."

Kelly, who transformed programs at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati into steady winners, has been heralded as a savior for a proud program that went 16-21 in the previous three years.

The Irish showed promise in running his spread offense and played solid defense with four sacks and two interceptions against Purdue's Robert Marve.

Quarterback Dayne Crist was 19-for-26 for 205 yards and a touchdown in his first start, and running back Armando Allen had a 22-yard TD run in the first quarter and set up another with a punt return.

Kelly's victory gives Notre Dame coaches a 26-3 record in their debuts, dating to 1896. The only three to lose in their first games were Frank E. Hering in 1896 (a 4-0 loss to Chicago Physicians and Surgeons), Elmer Layden in 1934 (7-6 to Texas) and Lou Holtz in 1986 (24-23 to Michigan).

Notre Dame led 20-3 after three quarters before Purdue rallied behind Miami transfer Marve. He made a 23-yard TD run on fourth-and-1 with 11:55 left in the game made it 20-12 but was penalized for celebrating.

David Ruffer kicked three field goals for the Irish, including a 37-yarder with 4:30 left to restore the lead to 11.

Marve completed 31 of 42 passes for 220 yards. Purdue wideout Keith Smith made 12 catches for 80 yards.

"The second half, I felt like I was rolling," Marve said. "I thought personnel, we matched up pretty well against them, I felt comfortable in our scheme. I felt that we had a chance to win. Even with that, I felt there were some plays we needed to make, and we didn't come up with it today."

On the first play of the final quarter, with Notre Dame ahead 20-3, Marve's fourth-and-1 pass from the Notre Dame 5 was tipped and intercepted by nose tackle Ian Williams.

But Purdue star defensive end Ryan Kerrigan and Charlton Williams then dropped Allen in the end zone for a safety.

After the free kick, the Boilermakers drove in for the score with Marve using a nice fake to break free on his 23-yard run.