Oct. 3, 2004

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Frustration has ended for Purdue's football team in South Bend.

After 30 years of coming up short in Notre Dame Stadium, the Boilermakers took the fight out of the Irish early to remain unbeaten (4-0), winning 41-16.

An integral piece in the victory was the play of defensive ends Anthony Spencer, Ray Edwards and Rob Ninkovich.

Thanks to a swarming defensive line, the Boilermakers limited the Irish to 76 yards on 36 attempts with no gain longer than 14 yards.

Spencer, Edwards and Ninkovich posted a combined 6.5 quarterback sacks that resulted in 30 yards in losses for quarterback Brady Quinn.

"Our defense came to play today because we played real bad last week against Illinois," Spencer said. "We had some non-believers, but we showed what we can do.

"We're going to try and win all the games, regardless of being in the national spotlight. I guess beating them by such a large margin will make it more significant."

One of the day's biggest plays came with 6:45 left in the first half as the Irish edged close to the Purdue goal line.

On a second-and-goal from the Boilermaker 2, Spencer stuffed ND tailback Darius Walker a yard behind the line of scrimmage, causing him to fumble. Purdue's Brent Grover recovered on the 3.

Kyle Orton then directed an 11-play, 97-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Orton's 2-yard scoring pass to Ninkovich, who is inserted as an offensive end in goal line situations.

"When you take the ball down field and don't finish, those are back-breakers," Purdue head coach Joe Tiller said. "When you can't get in the end zone, it's a killer."

Spencer, who has two forced fumbles on the season, also finished with three solo stops and one pass broken up.

An ankle injury on the last play of the first half kept Spencer on the sidelines for the second half.

"Anthony Spencer was having the game of his life," said defensive coordinator Brock Spack. "I'd like to seen what happened if he played the second half.

Tiller, too, has been impressed with Spencer's play.

"He's really a handful," Tiller said of the sophomore from Fort Wayne. "He's playing with a lot of confidence.

"Spencer is a guy who has a combination of strength and speed. He's just not a speed-rush guy. Right now, he can overpower an offensive tackle and you have to beat him with speed."

Edwards finished with five tackles and a forced fumble, while Ninkovich, Spencer's backup, added two solo stops.

Overall, Spack was pleased with the defensive effort after giving up 30 points against a run-oriented Illinois offense.

"We played better here and tackled a lot better," he said. "We kept the ball in front of us. It was critical for us to do that."

With the ball in front, the frustration is now behind the Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium.

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