Gophers Get Blown Out by Purdue 49-30

The Minnesota Gophers Football team entered their game against the Purdue Boilermakers still owning a piece of second place in the Big Ten Western Division. They were also looking to avenge the previous weeks disappointing home loss to Ilinois. So, the stakes were high for Minnesota as the two teams squared off at Ross Ade Stadium in West Lafeyette Indiana.

Unfortunately for Gophers fans, the team game out flat as Purdue scored on its first four possessions on their way to a convincing 49-30 rout. The game left Minnesota with a thin chance to win the Big Ten West title and their bowl game aspirations also took a big hit.

Gophers Start Out Strong

However, the game started off in a positive fashion for Minnesota. On first and ten from their own 49-yard line, Gophers’ quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis lofted a deep pass to his favorite target, receiver Daniel Jackson. Jackson was tackled at the Boilermaker 20-yard line putting Minnesota in excellent field position. On the very next play, Kaliakmanis would hit a wide-open Brevyn Spann-Ford in the right flat and he would carry it in for the first score of the game.

But the Purdue offense led by quarterback Hudson Card looked unstoppable all day. In the first half alone, Card threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. He was aided all day by his two running backs, Devin Mockobee and Tyrone Tracy. They rushed for 153 and 122 yards respectively and accounted for three of the Boilermakers’ seven touchdowns.

Gophers Do Their Best to Stay in the Game

The Gophers attempted to keep the game close in the first half. Sandwiched in between those first four Boilermaker touchdowns were two Dragan Kesich field goals as the Gophers tried to keep pace with the Purdue offense. As an aside, on November 9, Kesich was named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2023 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award.

And the Gophers scored the final touchdown of the first half in dramatic fashion. With 22 seconds left on the clock, Kaliakmanis lifted a ball in the left corner of the endzone to Chris Autman-Bell. The veteran receiver made a one-handed grab for a touchdown to send the Gophers to the locker room only trailing by eight points.

Offense Stalls

But has in previous games, the Gophers offense stalled out in their first possessions of the second half. Out of their first three drives of the half, Minnesota only manged one first down and 18 total yards gained.

But Purdue kept up the pressure. Early in the quarter, Card would hit Deion Burks for a 42-yard touchdown to extend the Boilermakers lead to 35-20. Once again, the Gophers were guilty of a breakdown in their secondary assignments on the play. They would add another score in the early stages of the fourth quarter on a six-yard scamper by Mockobee.

Kesich Kicks Another One

The Gophers would not score again until there were almost five minutes gone in the fourth quarter. Kesich hit a 39-yard field goal to make the score 42-23. After that, the two teams exchanged touchdowns. Purdue would score on a Tracy one yard plunge. Minnesota would end the scoring when Kaliakmanis hit Elijah Spenser with a four-yard touchdown toss with 2:36 left in the game.

Key Defensive Injuries

The Gophers were hampered by the loss of two of their defensive players. Starting linebacker Cody Lindenberg missed the game with a leg injury. This is the same injury that forced him to miss the first seven games of the season. Then in the first quarter, linebacker Maverick Baranowski was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. The lack of experience showed as Purdue racked up 353 rushing yards for the game.

The Gophers next go into the belly of the beast as they take on number one ranked Ohio State this Saturday in Columbus. P.J. Fleck’s Gophers will need a maximum effort if they are to have any chance in this game. The Gopher end their regular conference schedule the following week at home against Wisconsin.

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