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WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- There's no telling how good Notre Dame would be if games lasted 60 minutes and one second. The 21st-ranked Fighting Irish blew two chances to score from the 2-yard line and then watched as the clock ran out on them for the second straight week in a 28-23 loss to No. 16 Purdue. Notre Dame (1-2) moved from the Purdue 41 to the 2 in the final 2:30. On 2nd-and-goal, Tony Driver was stopped for no gain, forcing Bob Davie to call a timeout. The Irish came out in a three-back formation, but a miscommunication between quarterback Jarious Jackson and Tony Fisher led to Jackson being sacked by linebacker Mike Rose and safety Adrian Beasley. Jackson tried to hurry his team to the line of scrimmage, but a moment before the Irish were able to snap the ball, time ran out. In last weekend's 26-22 loss to then-No. 7 Michigan, Jackson completed a 20-yard pass to the Wolverines 11 but Notre Dame was unable to get off a final play. Notre Dame took a 23-22 lead with 1:55 left in the third quarter when Jackson found Bobby Brown for a seven-yard score. Jackson completed 22-of-34 passes for 267 yards, the one TD and was intercepted once. Travis Dorsch put Purdue back on top by booting a 38-yard field goal seven minutes into the final period. On the ensuing possession, Rose picked off Jackson and one play later Drew Brees hit Randall Lane for a 42-yard completion to the Notre Dame 12. Purdue, however, had to settle for Dorsch's 21-yard field goal. After both teams went three-and-out on their next possession, Notre Dame took control with 2 1/2 minutes to play and Jackson quickly moved the Irish to the Purdue 9. On 1st-and-goal he threw an out pass to fullback Joey Goodspeed, who barreled to the 2 before losing control. Notre Dame tight end Jabari Holloway recovered the ball in the end zone, but the referees ruled that Goodspeed's knee hit the ground before he lost the ball. The Irish would move no futher. Brees, a Heisman Trophy candidate, completed 24-of-40 for 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for a nine-yard score late in the first quarter that brought the Boilermakers within 10-7. Jackson's second scoring run of the day in the second quarter was countered by Brees' 30-yard TD toss to Lane, who caught five passes for 121 yards. Chris Daniels totaled 123 yards on 13 receptions. J. Crabtree scored on a one-yard plunge midway through the third quarter and Brees ran for the conversion to put Purdue on top, 22-16. Nelson and Goodspeed each caught five passes for a combined 93 yards for the Irish, who have dropped consecutive regular-season contests for the first time since a setback against Stanford on October 4, 1997 completed a four-game losing streak. Notre Dame still leads the all-time series, 46-23-2. This was just the fourth time in series history that Purdue entered as the higher ranked team.
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