The Gophers pulled off a 27-20 win against Purdue University in their Saturday homecoming game, despite the Boilermakers having 203 more yards of total offense.
After the Gophers loss to No. 1 Ohio State University, head coach P.J. Fleck stressed the Gophers needed to pressure the quarterback and get turnovers to win games.
When Fleck started the post-game press conference, he gave credit to Purdue and then immediately noted how important the turnovers were to their success.
“At the end of the day, it came down to the ball,” Fleck said. “And they had four turnovers, we had one.”
Redshirt sophomore Kerry Brown picked off his second interception of the season at the 1-yard line, when the Boilermakers were already up seven.
Purdue sophomore QB Ryan Browne threw two interceptions. The final turned into the Gophers’ go-ahead pick-six by sophomore DB Koi Perich.
The interception was Perich’s first one of the season after collecting five in his freshman season.
Browne has struggled with interceptions all season, throwing just as many interceptions as touchdowns.
Purdue Exponent sports co-editor Will Dowton wrote that Browne has helped Purdue become a high-powered offense, but his turnovers are costly.
“Browne’s Achilles’ heel is turnovers,” wrote Dowton. “A shootout victory is what Purdue will need to snap its three-game losing streak.”
The Boilermakers were averaging 25 points per game going into the matchup, and the Gophers’ defense could not contain their offense early on. Minnesota never gained a lead until Perich’s pick-six with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Gophers allowed 147 yards of offense in the first quarter alone. The Purdue defense was able to limit Minnesota to just 20.
Once again, defensive coordinator Danny Collins made crucial halftime adjustments that organized the Gophers’ defense. They held the Boilermakers to just three points in the second half.
Junior RB Darius Taylor played his second game back after his hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for two games. Taylor’s return was hoped to make the offense more explosive, but against Purdue, he ran for 32 yards on 14 carries.
Considering the Boilermakers allowed the most yards in the Big Ten going into the game, the lack of offensive production was troubling.
In addition, Fleck and offensive line coach Brian Callahan are still moving around the offensive line players. Six games into the season, an O-line is typically set unless there have been injuries, and the Gophers have not sustained any injuries to their O-line starters.
“When you look at just the stat sheet and you took the turnovers away from that stat sheet, you probably look at the stat sheet and go ok, Purdue won,” Fleck said.
Nine penalties for 71 yards and three interceptions allowed Minnesota to hang on and win.
The Gophers will have a short week and try to add to their five-game win streak against the No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers at home Friday.
