Purdue Boilermakers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2016

Rodney Smith rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries to lead Minnesota to a 44-31 victory over Purdue on Saturday in a Big Ten game in Minneapolis.

The Golden Gophers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) won their fourth consecutive game and Purdue (3-6, 1-5), playing its fourth game under interim coach Gerad Parker, has lost four straight.

Smith's last touchdown, a 14-yard run with 1:30 left in the game, sealed the victory for Minnesota.

It came a possession after Purdue's Jack Wegher fumbled on a fourth-and-1 at the Boilermakers' 34-yard line with 2:40 left. Purdue was looking to take the lead after J.D. Dellinger made a 34-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining to cut Minnesota's lead to 37-31.

Neither team led by more than 10 points until Smith's final touchdown. The game had six lead changes, with Purdue taking its last lead at 28-23 on the last play of the first half when Bryce Hopkins caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from David Blough.

In the four games under Parker, Purdue has outscored its opponents 87-73 in the first half, but in the second half the Boilermakers have been outscored 83-10.

A 7-yard touchdown run by Smith with 11:16 left in the third quarter put Minnesota up for good at 30-28. The Golden Gophers extended their lead to 37-28 with 11:45 left in the game on quarterback Mitch Leidner's 9-yard scoring run.