Purdue dismantled the Minnesota Gophers defensively on Saturday, winning 49-30. To secure bowl eligibility, the Gophers desperately needed to beat the 2-7 Boilermakers. They now face an uphill battle with just Ohio State and Wisconsin left to play on their schedule.
During the post-game press conference Saturday night, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said the defensive effort was, simply put, “not good enough.”
“That was completely unacceptable, period,” Fleck said. “Any way you slice it, cut it, there is no silver lining in [allowing] 600 yards of offense.”
Fleck entered Saturday afternoon looking for his 50th win as head coach of the Minnesota Gophers.
Minnesota was without star freshman running back Darius Taylor and veteran linebacker Cody Lindenberg. Guard Tyler Cooper returned to the offensive line after being absent for two straight games.
Jordan Nubin, stepping into the starting running back role once again, got the first two carries and picked up 14 yards and a first down.
Gophers receiver Daniel Jackson beat Purdue cornerback Derrick Rogers Jr. on a slant-and-go route. Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis dropped a pass in between the trailing corner and Purdue’s safety for a 31-yard gain.
One play later, Kaliakmanis hit a wide-open Brevyn Spann-Ford on a shallow cross, who walked into the endzone from 20 yards out, putting Minnesota ahead 7-0. The tight end entered the game with 989 career receiving yards and surpassed 1,000 on the touchdown reception.
Gophers defensive end Danny Striggow got around Purdue’s left tackle, sacking Purdue quarterback Hudson Card for a loss of five yards. The Boilermakers picked up 21 yards on the next two plays to pick up a first down and keep the drive alive.
On the second play, Maverick Baranowski, while making a tackle on Card, injured his right arm and had to leave the game, further shrinking Minnesota’s linebacker room. In turn, Gophers true freshman linebacker Matt Kingsbury received his first snaps as a Gopher.
Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. got outside and scampered for 22 yards into the Gophers red zone at the 20-yard line. On the following play, Card hit his target Garrett Miller, who broke open through the seam for a touchdown, tying the game 7-7.
After picking up a 14-yard personal foul for blocking below the waist, Spann-Ford beat his man outside for 22 yards, making it third-and-two. After Nubin picked up the first down, the Gophers picked up another on a Kaliakmanis pass to Jackson for 13 yards.
Minnesota’s drive stalled, resulting in a 38-yard field goal from Dragan Kesich, putting the Gophers ahead 10-7.
During the post-game press conference, Purdue defensive back Sanoussi Kane said the Boilermakers take pride in holding teams to field goals.
“We pride ourselves on red zone defense,” Kane said. “If they’re gonna get down there, they are not going to score.”
The Boilermakers walked all over Minnesota’s defense on a seven play, 75-yard drive ending in a 24-yard touchdown from Card to T.J. Sheffield. Purdue took their first lead of the game with a score of 14-10.
The two touchdowns marked the first time all season Purdue scored a touchdown on their first two drives.
Minnesota methodically moved the ball down the field using running back Zach Evans, Kaliakmanis and Nubin on the ground to the Purdue 25-yard line. The drive stalled just outside the red zone, resulting in a Kesich 42-yard field goal cutting the lead to 14-13 in favor of Purdue.
Tracy Jr. got three straight touches, starting with a 17-yard rush, then a 52-yard completion and finishing with a six-yard touchdown rush. The Boilermakers took nearly a minute and a half to score again, extending their lead to 21-13.
Kaliakmanis started the drive with a 20-yard completion to receiver Corey Crooms Jr. On the next play, Kaliakmanis dropped it in the bucket to long-time Gopher Chris Autman-Bell for 39 yards into Purdue territory.
Autman-Bell dropped a touchdown and forced Minnesota to kick a 39-yard field goal. Kesich pulled the kick wide right, keeping the Gophers deficit at eight.
“Dropped passes kill drives and we had a dropped touchdown that changed the whole complexion of the first half,” Fleck said. “We’re an inconsistent football team right now.”
Purdue back Devin Mockobee popped a 65-yard run down to the Minnesota one-yard line before defensive back Tre’Von Jones brought him down. The Gophers defense stopped Purdue three times before Card ran it in on fourth-and-goal for a touchdown, pushing the score 28-13.
During the post-game press conference, Fleck said depth was an issue through the injuries sustained during the game.
“Depth: some teams have it, some teams don’t,” Fleck said. “Right now, we’re not the deepest team. The depth is young … It was a bad night.”
After a punt from both teams, the Gophers started on Purdue’s 47-yard line with 36 seconds left in the first half. Kaliakmanis hit Jackson on a dig route over the middle for 20 yards.
After a timeout, Kaliakmanis threw a go route to Autman-Bell, who made a contested catch in the endzone for his first touchdown since week three of last season. The Gophers cut the lead to 28-20 just before halftime with the score.
At the half, Jackson led Minnesota in receiving with five catches for 74 yards, Autman-Bell had 66 yards and a touchdown and Spann-Ford had 42 yards and a touchdown. Kaliakmanis threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns while completing 50% of his passes in the first half.
However, Purdue totaled 318 yards of offense in the first half, scoring on their first four offensive drives.
After both teams punted on their second-half opening drives, Purdue started their second drive with a 32-yard run by Mockobee into Minnesota territory to the 42.
Purdue receiver Deion Burks ran right through Darius Green and walked into the end zone on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Card. The Boilermakers stretched their lead to 35-20.
After three straight punts from both teams, Purdue picked up 14 yards and a first down with Mockobee on the ground. Two plays later, Card hit Burks for 15 yards and another first down.
On fourth-and-four, Card maneuvered the pocket and found wideout Jayden Dixon-Veal for eight yards and a first down. In the following play, Card escaped Jah Joyner’s grasp and found Miller over the middle for a 12-yard gain. Mockobee would score two plays later, putting Purdue up 42-20 with 12:53 left in the game.
The Gophers failed to get movement on their next possession. Purdue sent all-out pressure on third down and brought home a sack for a loss of 14 yards. Kesich drilled the 39 field goal, making it 42-23 Purdue.
Purdue’s third running back, Dylan Downing, got into the open field and picked up 24 yards. The Boilermakers ran it four consecutive times, finishing the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown from Tracy Jr. and led 49-23.
Every Purdue player who ran the ball averaged over five yards per carry against the Gophers, totaling 353 rushing yards.
During the post-game press conference, Purdue head coach Ryan Walters said Purdue is still confident in what they are doing after their third win of the season.
“This team is still confident they are still hanging together, they still believe in what we are doing as a staff and what we are doing in this building,” Walters said. “They are not paying attention to outside noise.”
Minnesota put together a long, sustained drive with big plays from Crooms Jr. and Nubin. Jackson made a contested catch on fourth-and-10 for 10 yards and a first down to the Purdue four-yard line.
Elijah Spencer, after not catching a touchdown pass all season before last week, caught a touchdown from Kaliakmanis in his second straight game.
The Gophers would force a punt before the clock ran out in a 49-30 loss to the Boilermakers. Minnesota now sits at 5-5 on the season and is 3-4 in conference play, trailing Iowa, who now are in position to win the Big Ten West.
