COLLEGE FOOTBALL / WEEK 3 : Notre Dame Botches Finish : Nonconference: Purdue pulls out 28-23 victory as Irish breakdown leads to second straight loss.

Call it a communication breakdown.

Notre Dame’s backfield botched a third-and-goal call from the one-yard line as time ran out and the 16th-ranked Irish lost to No. 20 Purdue, 28-23, on Saturday, only the second time in 14 tries that the Boilermakers have beaten Notre Dame.

“Once again, we may have squandered away some opportunities,” said Notre Dame Coach Bob Davie, whose team lost, 26-22, last week to Michigan when a last-minute drive came up short.

After Travis Dorsch kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to give Purdue (2-0) its first lead of the game, Jarious Jackson drove the Irish (1-2) to the two with time running out.

Joey Goodspeed was stopped on second-and-goal on the one, and Notre Dame called a timeout to regroup. The Irish then lined up in a modified wishbone formation, with Jackson lined up in front of fullback Goodspeed and running backs Tony Driver and Tony Fisher.

Davie said an isolation running play was called, and Jackson stepped to the line with a planned false check to throw off the defense. Instead, it confused the Notre Dame backs.

Jackson went left, and Purdue’s penetration forced him backward, where he was dropped by Mike Rose for a nine-yard loss. Time expired before Jackson could get another play off, and Purdue players and fans spilled onto the field.

Davie said the confusion was a breakdown in coaching.

“We had the backs going the wrong way. Some thought it was a check and some thought it wasn’t a check,” Davie said. “I think we’ve all learned that we shouldn’t be in a situation like that where we have to check at all.”

Purdue’s last stand was one of the few stellar defensive showings as the teams combined for 826 yards, and the quarterbacks controlled the tempo.

Jackson was 22 for 34 for 267 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. But he was ineffective running the ball, usually one of his strengths. He had only one net rushing yard in 13 carries. Passing, he was most impressive on third down, going nine for 12 with 118 yards and eight first downs.

Drew Brees continued his assault on the Purdue record book, throwing for 317 yards and completing 24 of 40 with a touchdown and an interception.

He moved into third place in career touchdown passes at Purdue with 44 and fourth on the school’s completions list with 430. He has 5,047 yards total offense, and is sixth on the school list for passing attempts with 695.

He also made up for the two fourth-quarter interceptions he threw last year against Notre Dame to hand the Irish a 31-30 victory.