The Minnesota Gophers and Purdue Boilermakers clashed in a barnburner that wasn’t decided until the final seconds of the game. After trailing all night, the Gophers took their first lead of the game and hung on for a dramatic 27-20 victory.

For much of the night, Minnesota had no answers for the elusive Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, who escaped the wrath of the Gophers’ pass rush numerous times to keep plays alive. But Minnesota persevered, and in the end, their biggest playmaker brought home the win.

Boilermakers Come Out Smoking

The Gophers would have loved a different start to the game. On Purdue’s first drive, while in a “wildcat” formation, reserve quarterback Malachi Singleton took a direct snap and dashed up the middle on a fourth and two and kept going for a 40-yard touchdown jaunt, and a seven-point lead for the Boilermakers.

The Gophers were fortunate that safety Kerry Brown stopped another Boilermakers touchdown when he intercepted a pass thrown by Browne on the Minnesota one-yard line. But Purdue would add to their lead early in the second quarter when Spencer Porath converted his 33-yard field goal attempt to put the Boilermakers up 10-0.

But the Gophers came right back, fueled by two receptions from Darius Taylor, including a screen pass that saw him ramble 40 yards to the Purdue 35-yard line. He received an excellent block downfield from guard Marcellus Marshall, which sprang him for additional yardage. Minnesota finished off the drive when wide receiver Le’Meke Brockington took a short pass from quarterback Drake Lindsey and motored around the right side all the way to the end zone, cutting the Boilermakers’ lead to 10-7

Gophers Keep Up the Momentum

And on Purdue’s next series, Gophers’ cornerback John Nestor snatched a ball out of the air on a pass intended for Nate Tuggle and returned the interception eight yards to the Boilermakers’ 29-yard line. The drive stalled, and on fourth down, Minnesota’s Brady Denaburg kicked a field goal from 46 yards out to even the score.

But the Gophers’ defense caved in on the next Purdue series as the Boilermakers completed a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 12-yard scramble for a touchdown by Browne. The story of this drive was Minnesota’s missed tackles and its inability to contain the Boilermakers’ quarterback. The Gophers would tack on a 29-yard field goal by Denaburg as time expired to cut the Purdue lead to 17-13 at halftime.

Boilermakers Strike First in Second Half

After a Gophers three-and-out to start the third quarter, Purdue was on the move again. Browne hit Corey Smith for an 11-yard completion and Tuggle for another 17-yarder, and the Boilermakers were in Minnesota territory again. Throw in a pass inference call on Nestor and a naked bootleg for 11 yards by Browne, and Purdue was on the doorstep for another touchdown. But the Gophers held, and the Boilermakers had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Porath to widen their lead to seven.

Minnesota made some noise on their next drive, but on third and 15 from the Boilermakers’ 33-yard line, Lindsey threw a deep errant pass that was picked off by Purdue’s Myles Slusher and returned to their own 29-yard line. After Porath missed a 44-yard attempt at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lindsey would lead his team back on a gritty 14-play, 70-yard drive.

A couple of clutch catches by the Gophers’ Jalen Smith and Javon Tracy, and a couple of costly face mask penalties by the Boilermakers’ Demeco Kennedy, and Minnesota had the ball on the Purdue four-yard line. From there, Lindsey tossed a pass to tight end Jameson Geers in the end zone to knot up the game at 20 all.

Perich Comes Up Big

Then on the first play of the ensuing Purdue drive, Gophers’ safety Koi Perich jumped a route, intercepted a Browne pass, and returned it to the house, and all of a sudden, Minnesota had its first lead of the night. Purdue had one last drive in them as Browne led them on a 68-yard drive that brought the ball down to the Gophers’ seven-yard line. On fourth and 7, Browne attempted to hit Michael Jackson III on a short crossing pattern, but it was broken up at the goal line by Minnesota cornerback Jai’Onte McMillian, and the Gophers took over on downs.

The Gophers ran the clock down to 21 seconds when they punted the ball away. Browne threw three straight incoming incompletions against a Minnesota prevent defense, and the time ran out on Purdue.

Comments From Gophers’ Coach P.J. Fleck

After the game, I asked Gophers’ coach P.J. Fleck about the statistical imbalance in their game against Purdue. Here are excerpts of his response.

New Leaf News: Back to that imbalance of stats, Coach. Your team had 200 fewer yards, eight fewer first downs, 20 fewer plays, and 11 minutes fewer of ball possession. It’s a strange game, right?

P.J. Fleck: “Check the scores today. Gophers won, right? That’s all I care about. Pretty crazy day in college football. We found a way to win. That’s why I told you a long time ago about the stat sheet. I look at the number one thing, as you know, we talk about this all the time, is that we won the turnover battle 4-1. That gives you the best chance to win. All the other stuff, you can have a short field the whole time, and maybe not blow up the stat sheet. We have to get better at a lot of different things.

Purdue has had success against everybody they have played. They scored a lot of points, put up a lot of yards against Notre Dame, USC, and Illinois, and they moved the ball right down the field. We’re playing good football teams. Everybody is a really good football team in the Big Ten. So, it’s a fight every single week, and we found a way to win. And we’ll get better. All the other stuff, I mean, I’ve got to go back and look at all the film, but I’m just proud of the resiliency and the resolve of our football team, period.”

Summary

Lindsey finished the game 21-35 for 232 yards, two touchdown passes, and one interception. Taylor only gained 32 yards on the ground but added another 67 as a receiver. Brockington caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Devon Williams led the defense with 11 tackles and a sack. Fellow linebacker Maverick Barnowski ended the game with 10 tackles.

The Minnesota Gophers (4-2 overall, 2-1 conference), next play the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Friday, October 17at Huntington Bank Stadium. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm CST start.