Notre Dame vs Purdue Picks and Prediction for Saturday September 26 2026

By: Kim Smith Published 09/20/2026, 09:26 PM ET

The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish visit the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 PM ET with coverage on Peacock. Notre Dame enters after defeating Michigan State 27-10, while Purdue gets its traditional in-state rival at home. This is the latest meeting in the long-running battle for the Shillelagh Trophy. At the time of this writing the odds were not released. Be sure to check out our free college football picks for more NCAAF predictions throughout the season.

Notre Dame Keeps Winning With Defense

Notre Dame’s 27-10 victory over Michigan State provided another example of why the Irish remain near the top of the national rankings. They did not need an overwhelming offensive performance because the defense kept Michigan State from generating enough scoring opportunities to seriously threaten.

That formula travels particularly well. Notre Dame can play patiently on offense, trust its defense and wait for field position or turnovers to create opportunities. Against an underdog such as Purdue, that reduces the chance that the Irish beat themselves trying to force unnecessary explosive plays.

The concern for bettors is margin. Notre Dame can control a game defensively without necessarily producing enough offensive possessions to cover an enormous spread. Purdue’s home field and rivalry motivation need to be considered before automatically laying multiple touchdowns.

Purdue Gets Its Rival at Ross-Ade Stadium

Purdue faces a major increase in competition against the nation’s No. 3 team, but the Boilermakers get the benefit of playing in West Lafayette. Rivalry games can also create a different level of intensity than an ordinary nonconference matchup.

The Boilermakers’ first priority is preventing Notre Dame from generating easy points. A turnover deep in Purdue territory or a special-teams mistake would make an already difficult matchup considerably harder. Purdue needs to make the Irish sustain long drives.

Offensively, patience will be critical. Notre Dame just held Michigan State to 10 points, so Purdue cannot expect consistent explosive plays. The Boilermakers need to value field position and take points whenever opportunities arise.