Minnesota @ Purdue preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 18, 2014 ) Purdue 38, Minnesota 39

Minnesota and Purdue opened their Big Ten schedules with losses to ranked opponents, albeit in much different ways. The Golden Gophers hope to avoid starting 0-2 in the conference for the fifth time in six years on Saturday as they attempt to defeat the Boilermakers in West Lafayette for the first time since 2008.

After opening the season with a hard-fought 23-17 setback versus No. 2 TCU, Minnesota reeled off three straight wins by a field goal before producing a season-low 173 yards at No. 14 Northwestern en route to its first shutout loss since 2011. “I don’t make excuses, but we’re playing a lot of freshmen. All I can do is keep working, but we’ve got a group that has lost some confidence and that’s our job to get going,” Gophers coach Jerry Kill said after the 27-0 setback. Despite starting 1-4 for the second time in three seasons, Purdue is coming off its most encouraging performance of the season after giving third-ranked Michigan State all it could handle in a 24-21 road loss. The Boilermakers have won nine of the last 10 against Minnesota at home, but are only 3-12 overall at Ross-Ade Stadium since the Gophers last visited in 2011.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Minnesota -3

ABOUT MINNESOTA (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten): Kill declined to name a starting quarterback on Tuesday, but indicated after last week’s loss that the decision to pull a potential redshirt from Demry Croft was merely a move to develop his freshman signal-caller. “We talked to (starter) Mitch (Leidner) in the third quarter and he wasn’t getting any help … we’ve got a lot more problems than just the quarterback. We’ve got a lot of other issues that we need to solve on the offensive side of the ball,” Kill said. Jalen Myrick is the only one of five injured defensive backs likely to play this week, but the offensive line could get a boost from the return of guard Jon Christenson.
ABOUT PURDUE (1-4, 0-1): With D.J. Knox limited to two carries due to a back bruise last week, Markell Jones erupted for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries – all season highs - in his first career start against a Michigan State defense that held three of its first four opponents to an average of 65.3 yards rushing. Among FBS freshmen, Jones’ 405 rushing yards ranks third while his five touchdowns are tied for first. The Boilermakers suspended linebacker Wyatt Cook and defensive end Chazmyn Turner for two games for possession of marijuana over the weekend after suspending two other freshmen – defensive backs David Rose and Evyn Cooper – in mid-September for stealing bicycles.

EXTRA POINTS
1. Minnesota is 17-4 in its last 21 contests against non-ranked foes, including 8-2 in its prior 10 conference games against such opponents.
2. Purdue, which stopped Michigan State’s school-record streak of scoring at least 30 points in 12 straight games, has yet to win a Big Ten home game in eight tries under third-year coach Darrell Hazell.
3. The Gophers, who have won the last two meetings, will not play another road game until Nov. 7 when they visit top-ranked Ohio State.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 23, Purdue 17