If you're an N.D. supporter, of course, your fuse is already worn down. Your birthright -- a B.C.S. bowl, weekly national genuflection and constant re-waking of the echoes -- has been doused for this season.

A 1-3 start, including a 38-0 implosion at Michigan, have insured Fighting Irish followers everywhere will be in damage control mode for 2003.

But out of more competitive losses to Michigan State (22-16) and Purdue came a few truisms.

* True freshman Brady Quinn, who replaced Irish fan-embalmed Carlyle Holiday at quarterback, can play. Built like a competitive bodybuilder -- literally, Quinn has a rocket arm, on-field smarts and, you should pardon the expression, muscle to back it up.

"(I learned) a lot of things," Quinn told the South Bend Tribune's Jason Kelly. "Probably too many to even pinpoint right now."

He learned he can stand gracefully under pressure. Even though his passing statistics included 30 incompletions in 59 attempts (297 yards), he also learned how to bounce back from numerous dropped balls. The 59 attempts is second only to Terry Hanratty's 63 in 1967 in Notre Dame history.

Quinn also earned some serious praise from Purdue coach Joe Tiller. "Which one is Purdue and which is Notre Dame?" asked Tiller, who is well known for his pass-crazed West Coast offense.

He is 49-29 at Purdue and picked up his second victory over the Irish in seven tries, and marveled at Quinn's ability to improvise.

"Fifty-nine passes. That's a credit to our run defense, because they did such a great job. But that kid (Quinn) is good."

* Maurice Stovall, whose exceptional footspeed and athleticism made him one of the nation's three most sought-after receivers two seasons ago, flashed some of that brilliance in scoring N.D.'s lone touchdown, an 85-yard dart from Quinn on which he turned on a herculean burst of speed to outrun Purdue's Stuart Schweigert to the end zone.

From the Purdue side, there was yet another display of exceptional defense, bottling up the Irish's running game.

And there was the emerging field leadership of Kyle Orton, who finally is emerging from the long shadow of Drew Brees, whom some call the greatest quarterback in Purdue history.

The defense, led by Schweigert's two interceptions and hard hits on receivers Omar Jenkins and Stovall, simply did what it had to in getting and holding the lead, forcing four Irish turnovers.

Shaun Phillips, usually a defensive end, scored a critical Purdue touchdown on a two-yard pass from Orton that pulled the Boilers away from a 16-10 fourth-quarter margin and brought a rare smile to coach Joe Tiller's face.

"I wish I could play all the plays on 'O' and all the plays on 'D,' " he said, envisioning a role like Ohio State sometimes-wideout/defensive back Chris Gamble plays. "Unfortunately, that's not going to happen."

He spent a large chunk of the delightful afternoon harassing Quinn, who was sacked only once (that 6-feet, 4-inch, 220-pound body strength played a major role), but hurried repeatedly.

And linebacker Nick Koutouvides, the Connecticut kid who spurned the Big East for Purdue, got in a friendly little dig with his teammate. "We'll have dinner tonight, so I'm sure he'll mention it, how open he was, the sweet move..." he said.

What is going to move is the Boilers' prestige. They have a legitimate chance to begin to rack up some serious respect during this four-game homestand which includes embattled Illinois (1-4) this weekend and ends with Penn State next and could easily take a 5-1 record and Top 15 ranking to Wisconsin Oct. 18.

Before the game, Notre Dame coach Ty Willingham had tried to keep the Boilers guessing who his starting QB would be. But the Boilers seemed prepared either way.

"It didn't matter if Quinn was in there, coach Willingham was in there or Holiday was in there," Phillips told the South Bend Tribune's Curt Rallo. "We just wanted to play. We really didn't care who was in there."

From the top, Purdue (3-1) took advantage of a charged-up home crowd of 64,614 at remodeled Ross-Ade Stadium.

With it came an ability to pretty much dictate the game's storyline to the Irish.

And around the country, Irish fans and old grads, about as patient as New York Yankees fans when slugger Jason Giambi strikes out during a crucial loss, may not be circling Willingham's wagon quite yet, but there are grumblings.

Particularly with the Irish running game, which produced only 49 yards in 25 tries.

"That is a major disappointment for us," Willingham said. "We knew this was a good defensive team we were playing and they've done very well this year and last year (against the run)."

But the Irish have not been able to move the ball on the ground for three weeks now and this upcoming regroup time out couldn't have come at a better time. Next is a visit to Pitt (3-1), which is coming off a very impressive 37-26 win at Texas A & M.