As Ryan Walters began speaking at his postgame press conference Saturday night, the Purdue head coach was overcome by a sense of bewilderment. Wondering what had just occurred in front of his eyes.

The stunned Walters went through just about every emotion following the 66-7 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame. All but positive.

"Disappointed, embarrassed, angry, frustrated, shocked right now," Walters said.

Saturday was an opportunity for himself and the Boilermakers to make a statement that times were changing in West Lafayette, that a program many people consider to be on the rise was exactly that. No rush reality materialized in Ross-Ade Stadium. Instead, a chance at changing the narrative turned into one of the worst losses in school history in what was previously a highly anticipated matchup for the program.

What made the loss so deflating was that Walters hadn't seen this side of his team since they came together in January, when work began to improve upon a 4-8 campaign in 2023. Competitive, tough and disciplined, what he wants his program to be built on, is what he'd seen over the last several months. It did not materialized on the gridiron, however.

"Did I see this coming? No. What I've seen from January till yesterday has been all positive. It's been tough, it's been physical, it's been competitive, it's been disciplined, and that was not the case, from the opening kickoff till the end of the game. That's my fault. It falls on me. I deserve every ounce of criticism. It's my job to get them ready to go and to take advantage of opportunities like this," Walters said.

Purdue got dominated in the trenches, on both sides of the ball, with Notre Dame scoring the most points by a Boilermaker opponent in program history, as well as Graham Harrell's offense being non-existent for much of the game.

Hudson Card and the offense struggled mightily, managing just 162 yards of total offense and seven points. It was the lowest such yardage total in a game since the Boilermakers picked up just 104 yards in a 35-7 loss to Penn State in 2019. Card also had his first two turnovers of the year, one of which was a pick-six on a play where he was trying to shuffle the ball, which encapsulated the day for the unit.

The offensive line and run game were of little help to Card, as well. After being kept clean for most of the Indiana State game, Card was sacked four times by a young Notre Dame defensive front. The run game was stifled in addition to the protection woes, particularly in the first half. Reggie Love III produced some encouraging carries late in the second half, but that was too little too late.

"I think the lack of physicality was disappointing. We pride ourselves in being tough and being physical and practicing hard and physical. We did not do that. We got beat up today," Walters said.

Kevin Kane's defense was sliced and diced, particularly in the first half, as Riley Leonard and Jeremiyah Love combined for 209 of Notre Dame's 362 rushing yards on the day, including four touchdowns to lead the run-centric attack. Their six touchdowns via the ground game were the most in a single game against the Boilermakers since Wisconsin did so back in 2011. The catalyst behind an explosive day by the Fighting Irish offense was the tandem of Leonard and Love, who produced big plays at will.

That onslaught by the Notre Dame running backs and mobile quarterbacks began from the first possession, when Jeremiyah Love took one to the house from 48 yards out. From that point forward, Purdue was forced to endure blow after blow for the remainder of the afternoon.

The initial power punch by the Fighting Irish was something Purdue never recovered from.

"The bottom line is, we got punched in the mouth early, and we didn't recover from it. We didn't handle that type of adversity well," Walters said.

Walters pointed to the play of his defense as one aspect of the game that he vows to clean up moving forward, after what is likely the worst defensive showing he's ever had during his coaching career.

"The lack of physicality, undisciplined eyes, undisciplined technique, missed tackles, you name it. You know, every mistake we made, they capitalized on it. You gotta give them credit. But that type of play here, that style of play, I haven't seen. So I'm frustrated, I'm angry, embarrassed, and I gotta get it fixed. And I will," Walters said.

There were no positives to speak of on Saturday night by Walters, but he changed his tone when transitioning to his outlook regarding the rest of the 2024 slate.

"Am I frustrated right now? Absolutely. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. Am I angry? Absolutely. But do I love this team? Absolutely. And so you've got to give them tough love when stuff like this happens, but also they need to know that I'm still confident in them. I still believe in them," Walters said.

Despite the self-admitted embarrassing loss, this isn't a time a sound the alarm, according to Walters. The Purdue head coach still believes in his team and not even a near 60 point defeat will make him think differently at this point in time.

Walters stressed the importance of maintaining his vision for the program and this team, without overreacting to Saturday's result.

"As a head coach, you also need to not be impulsive and overreact. You can't ignore it, obviously. And you need to learn and correct and apply pressure where pressure needs to be applied, but at the same time, I can't let four quarters sort of derail what I believe and what I've seen. I still have a lot of belief in this team. I believe that we can win football games. I believe we can compete with the best of the best," Walters said.

A short-term memory will be necessary for the Boilermakers heading into a new week as a cross country trip to Corvallis, Oregon, awaits in less than a week's time.

"This is a long season. You can't let one game define you, especially a non-conference game. Got a tough road game in a week, a short week in terms of travel. So we got to get in and really look at and take accountability from the tape tomorrow, learn from it and move on," Walters said.

The defeat has left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, not only Walters, but the players, coaches and fans. It's the type of loss that can demoralize a team, or send a serious wake up call to a program.

That is what the Boilermakers are tasked with having to figure out next. Which response will Saturday illicit out of this team? The answer to that question will become more and more clear in the days and weeks to follow.