Minnesota @ Purdue preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 10, 2009 ) Purdue 20, Minnesota 35

Surprising Purdue hosts reeling Minnesota for homecoming in Big Ten play Saturday.

Despite a host of key injuries, the Boilermakers (3-2, 1-0) rallied to beat Northwestern 20-17 last week and are looking for their first 2-0 conference start since 2004.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Rob Henry, playing for the injured Robert Marve, ran for 132 yards on 16 carries in his first start. He led the Boilermakers on a game-winning, 14-play drive in the fourth quarter. Henry and running back Dan Dierking key the nation’s 30th-ranked rushing offense (196.8 yard per game).

They’ll face a leaky Gopher defense allowing 196.3 yards on the ground, which ranks 100th nationally.

The Boilermakers are not a scary defensive team, with one exception — defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. The senior leads the Big Ten with 5.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. He has forced 12 fumbles in his illustrious career.

Minnesota (1-5, 0-2) hasn’t won since its season opener against Middle Tennessee State, and coach Tim Brewster’s seat is getting very hot. It doesn’t help that the Gophers still have Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa looming on the schedule.

Brewster notes Minnesota has been competitive in every game. But two of those five losses came to South Dakota and Northern Illinois.

Minnesota has scored a respectable 26.2 points per game with senior quarterback Adam Weber throwing for 12 touchdowns against four interceptions. Wideout Da’Jon McKnight caught two touchdown passes in last week’s 41-23 loss to Wisconsin. The Gophers are averaging more than 33 minutes in time of possession.

Even when rested, Minnesota’s defense has been horrific. The Gophers rank 102nd nationally in scoring defense (32.3 points per game) and 95th in total defense (417.8 yards). Safety Kyle Theret was suspended for the first two games and still ranks second on the team with 35 tackles.

Minnesota has won the last two meetings and leads the all-time series 33-30-3. But the Boilermakers are 18-5 against the Gophers in West Lafayette.