RENSSELAER, Ind. -- Notre Dame played its third straight road game on Saturday, an afternoon tilt against the Pumas of St. Joseph's College (Ind.). And on this particular hot and sunny October Saturday, the Falcons looked road-weary and out-manned in a 30-point loss (37-7). (Box)

Notre Dame (2-5) was held to 178 yards by a St. Joseph's (3-3) squad that has now won three straight games, clubbing opponents along the way by a combined score of 138-36.

The Falcons were held scoreless until the fourth quarter and outgained by nearly 200 yards in the contest in Northwest Indiana.

The host Pumas exhibited balance on offense and solid tackling and special teams in the convincing win in front of a homecoming crowd at Alumni Stadium. SJC racked up 137 rushing yards and 228 passing yards in the game. The Pumas' 365 total yards represent the third-most gained against NDC this season. St. Joseph's quarterback Billy VandeMerkt was impressive, amassing 210 yards on a 17-of-26 afternoon. He was complemented by the strong running of Jashon Banks, who added 109 yards and two TDs on the ground.

St. Joseph's scored the first touchdown of the game in the waning moments of the first quarter when Banks powered into the end zone with a 5-yard rush over right tackle. Banks was met at the 2-yard line but managed to carry three Notre Dame defenders across the goal line. The TD came with three seconds remaining in the opening quarter, and it capped off an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive. SJC missed the extra point and led 6-0 at the end of the first, having outgained NDC, 138 yards to 34.

The Pumas ran their lead to 13-0 midway through the second, when Billy VandeMerkt found the corner of the end zone on a 1-yard scamper. That TD came at the end of an abbreviated 23-yard drive, one that was set up by a nifty 42-yard punt return by junior David Wallace.

The digits on the Alumni Stadium scoreboard when the two teams headed for their respective locker rooms at halftime read 16-0, after the home squad added a 40-yard field goal with 20 second remaining in the second quarter.

The Falcon offense was stifled over the first 30 minutes of play, held to 65 total yards and just five first downs.

The Pumas extended their lead to 23-0 on a 5-yard touchdown pass at 6:10 in the third quarter. Less than three minutes later (at 3:52), SJC returned a tipped interception -- complete with a lateral -- 36 yards to paydirt to notch their 29th and 30th points of the afternoon.

Notre Dame's best drive of the day -- and its only score -- came on a 32-yard march that started toward the tail end of the third and carried through to the 11:36-mark of the fourth. The drive was set up by a 44-yard kickoff return by #Tim Donald#. The Pumas were whistled for a personal foul at the end of Donald's big return, and the Falcons started their drive at the SJC 32.

Several strong runs by #Pedro Powell# set up the TD, a 7-yard toss from #Yan Cyr# to #Shawn Riley#. Powell had 74 second-half rushing yards.

Riley's TD brought the Falcons to within three scores, at 30-7. The Pumas closed out the scoring with Jashon Banks' second touchdown of the game, an 18-yard run at 5:53.

St. Joseph's outgained Notre Dame, 365-178, in total yardage and 18-12 in first downs. The Falcons were a minus-two in turnover margin. The Pumas had an excellent afternoon on clutch plays -- they went 9-of-16 on third downs.