This week I will review Purdue’s 27 – 20 loss at Minnesota and preview the upcoming Purdue at Northwestern game.
About last week …
Overall, this was a frustrating loss for Purdue. The three previous games were against much better teams and resulted in three losses. I would say that Minnesota is better than Purdue, but not much better. If Purdue played a very good mistake-free game, they would have a chance.
Turns out Purdue controlled this game through 3 quarters, but they were making mistakes. Purdue did
just enough on offense and defense to retain control. However, Minnesota was great at taking advantage of what Purdue handed them. Unfortunately, this game lasted 4 quarters. The Gophers hung around and when given an opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, they absolutely made the plays they needed to make. As a result, Minnesota got the win even though Purdue dominated them in terms of total yards, rushing yards, number of plays, and time of possession.
What I liked:
- Purdue had the lead for a significant portion of the game. The Boilers led 7 – 0 after the 1st quarter, 17 – 13 at halftime, and 20 – 13 after the 3rd quarter. Last year, I only recall Purdue having a brief lead, late in the game against Illinois. Other than that, I don’t think Purdue had the lead against a FBS opponent. I’ll call this progress!
- Once again, the offense moved the ball, putting together some nice drives. This is also good.
- Minnesota kicked off to start the game with a touchback. But then, Purdue put together a nice 7-play drive for a TD. Very nice!
- Purdue’s defense stuffed Minnesota in the first quarter. While the first Gopher drive went 5-plays before they punted, the following two drives were 3 and out. The defense forced three Minnesota punts in a quarter. In earlier games this season, USC and Notre Dame never punted the ball to Purdue. For the game, Minnesota punted 7 times. This is progress!
- Ryan Browne’s excellent body control and awareness on his 12-yard TD run with just under 2 minutes to play in the first half. He touched the pylon with the ball before touching out of bounds.

- Devin Mockobee had 98 yards on 21 carries.
- For the game, Purdue ran the ball 40 times for 253 yards (net) while holding Minnesota to 30 yards (net) on 18 carries. You know PJ Fleck likes to run the football, but in the second half Minnesota abandoned the run.
- Purdue continues to play hard, which is a huge upgrade over last season.
What I didn’t like:
- Purdue turned the ball over 4 times – 3 interceptions and 1 fumble, which was on the final play of the game. The first interception really hurt as Purdue was in the redzone. On a designed RB pass play, Minnesota’s Kerry Brown picked off Devin Mockobee’s pass. Instead of having an opportunity to extend their lead to 14 – 0, Purdue had another redzone turnover. The second interception came on Purdue’s first play after Minnesota’s first TD, giving the Gophers the ball at the Purdue 29. Fortunately, the defense limited Minnesota to a FG, which tied the game at 10. The third interception, a pick-6 by Koi Perich, occurred on Purdue’s first play after Minnesota’s second TD that tied the game at 20, about midway through the 4th quarter. Interceptions denied Purdue a scoring opportunity and directly led to 10 Minnesota points in a 7-point loss. Ugly!
- Minnesota had only one turnover – Purdue’s first interception of the season.
- Purdue committed nine penalties, highest number thus far. The number of penalties has increased with each successive game, creating a disturbing trend. On the third play of the game tying 4th quarter TD drive, Purdue had Minnesota in a 3rd and 11, sacked Drake Lindsey for a loss of 7 yards, BUT Demeco Kennedy had committed a face mask penalty giving the Gophers 15 yards and a first down. Later in the same drive Demeco Kennedy sacked Drake Lindsey for a loss of 11 yards BUT again committed a face mask penalty giving the Gophers a 1st and goal. Minnesota scored a TD on the next play to tie the game. Later, Purdue needed a TD to tie the game, had 2nd and goal at the Minnesota 5 yard-line, BUT was called for holding.
- Minnesota had three penalties in the game.
- Purdue receivers and a tight end dropped several passes. I lost count, but some Purdue fans put the number around 7. On two other occasions, an open receiver caught a pass along the sideline for a first down only to realize they had stepped out-of-bounds a moment earlier. Basically, a lot of un-forced errors from the receivers.
Basically, Purdue let this one slip away.
On to Evanston to face the Wildcats who have won their last three games, most recently on the road, as a 3 TD underdog, over Penn State that cost James Franklin his job. Purdue leads the overall series 55 – 29 – 1 and the teams have split the last 6 games. Purdue lost to Northwestern in the final game at Ryan Field (November 18, 2023) so we’ll see if Purdue can flip that outcome in the final game on Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The game is at 2 pm GTZ, on BTN and Northwestern is a 3.5 point favorite. My thoughts on the upcoming game:
- Mistakes will likely determine the outcome of this game. Northwestern has recently not been shooting themselves in the foot while Purdue continues to do so.
- Turnovers: Purdue turned the ball over 4 times in their most recent game at Minnesota and 12 times, 9 interceptions and 3 fumbles lost, so far this season. While Northwestern has 9 turnovers on the season so far, 5 in the season opening loss at Tulane. Over their last 3 games, Northwestern has only turned the ball over once, a fumble at Penn State. Purdue will need to limit their turnovers to have a chance because Northwestern has not turned the ball over in recent games.
- Penalties: Purdue has been called for 34 penalties to date and committing more penalties as the season has progressed, with a season high 9 penalties at Minnesota. On the other hand, Northwestern has committed 22 penalties thus far and only 2 (for 10 yards) in their win at Penn State. Purdue will need to match or exceed Northwestern’s disciplined play to have a chance at winning this game.
- Northwestern likes to run the football. In their win at Penn State, the Wildcats ran the ball 42 times for 119 yards, 2.8 yards per carry. The Purdue defense will need an effort similar to their performance at Minnesota to slow down the Wildcats.
- On offense, Purdue needs the receivers to catch the ball and otherwise keep doing what they’ve been doing.
Can Purdue win this game? Absolutely, but they will need to play much more mistake-free than they have been of late. Otherwise, Northwestern will continue their win streak.