Painful early season losses create pathway to success for Purdue football
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MINNEAPOLIS – Jeff Brohm hadn’t seen any of the other Big Ten scores by the time he reached Saturday’s postgame press conference inside Huntington Bank Stadium.
The only score that mattered to Brohm was this result – Purdue's 20-10 win over previously unbeaten and No. 21 Minnesota on its home field before a sold-out crowd on Homecoming.
This victory, as a double-digit underdog, pushes Brohm’s team right in the middle of the Big Ten West race. Along with nearly everyone else.
“I don’t even know any other scores. I hope you’re right,” Brohm said.
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An 0-2 start to the Big Ten season would’ve spelled doom for the Boilermakers, who already lost to Penn State in the opener. Another road game next week at Maryland, which can score a lot of points in a short period of time, and a trip to Wisconsin at the end of the month made Saturday nearly make or break.
And Purdue didn’t break.
The heartbreaking close games the Boilermakers endured against the Nittany Lions and the epic meltdown at Syracuse almost buried them too deep. You questioned whether they could bounce back and see the down-to-the-wire finishes end in their favor.
It did Saturday.
“One of the prouder moments I’ve had being the coach here at Purdue,” Brohm said.
But it started with last week’s game against Florida Atlantic, a two-point victory that was less than impressive given the quality of competition, but the Boilermakers took a step in closing out a game.
And Saturday, Purdue finished off one of the hottest teams in the country, one that has rolled through a suspect schedule but still had all the pieces to take over the Big Ten West.
However, one of Minnesota’s key pieces – running back Mohamad Ibrahim – didn’t play and the Boilermakers’ defense appeared ready to shut down the vaunted ground attack with or without the Big Ten’s second-leading rusher.
The Gophers managed 47 rushing yards after averaging nearly 300 in the first four games. Purdue’s defense, led by a deep line and an aggressive secondary, made Minnesota one-dimensional. That’s hard to do. Other than a handful of big plays, the Gophers didn’t handle their first true test of adversity on either side of the ball.
The credit goes to the Boilermakers, who know all too well what being in a close game means.
“Wasn’t nowhere to run,” defensive tackle Branson Deen said. “You’ve got no choice. There isn’t a gap – you can’t run through there.”
That’s what Deen and his teammates did. From the opening snap when end Jack Sullivan tossed Trey Potts for a 5-yard loss until Cam Allen’s fourth-quarter interception – his second of the day and one of three takeaways by the unit – Purdue enjoyed one of its best defensive days under Brohm.
“I thought it was a great game by our defense,” Brohm said.
The sixth-year coach acknowledged it was a "long week" preparing for the Gophers, who run an assortment of RPOs and lean on a strong running game. That combination has caused Purdue problems nearly every season and the record reflects the struggles.
Brohm was 1-4 against coach P.J. Fleck and the Boilermakers were 0-6 at Huntington Bank Stadium, which opened in 2009, before Saturday.
“That was, by far, the best defensive game against Minnesota we’ve ever played,” Brohm said. “We’re hoping we can build on that.”
The defense carried Purdue since the offense couldn’t gain any traction after an impressive opening drive, which ended with a Dylan Downing 2-yard run. From there, Aidan O’Connell – who practiced for the first time Thursday after missing last week’s game with an injury - settled for underneath routes most of the day.
He wasn’t sharp. He had two interceptions. He overthrew a handful of receivers but still completed 68% of his passes. But O’Connell delivered a game-changing play when he found Charlie Jones for a 28-yard gain to set up Mitchell Fineran’s go-ahead 25-yard field goal with 4:57 to play.
“It put us in a position to go up and that’s when a play comes your way, you make it,” said Jones, who made six catches for 55 yards. “That was one of our best plays. The line was blocking. Aidan threw a great ball right to where I could get it.”
It was the longest pass play for the offense all day.
“A lot of two-deep shells and there wasn’t a whole lot of one-on-one opportunities on the outside,” said O’Connell, who was 27 of 40 for 199 yards. “Charlie did a good job. He went inside and I thought it was too far but Charlie made a great play.”
But the play everyone will talk about is walk-on running back Devin Mockobee’s electrifying 68-yard run after the defense forced a three-and-out. Mockobee broke through the line, bounced off defenders who tried to arm tackle the Boonville native and reached the open field. He was tackled at the 2-yard line and scored a touchdown one play later as Minnesota fans headed for the exit.
“They called my number on the run,” said Mockobee, who lost a fumble in the second quarter. “Backside collapsed down, and I saw my hole. I’m always feeling around me. A lot of time I’m making cuts to put them out of position, so they don’t have a chance to touch me.”
Saturday’s results across the division create a massive logjam in the Big Ten West. Minnesota was the flavor of the week before Purdue came to town. The Boilermakers will move into that status, along with Illinois, heading into the next set of games. There will be others.
It will be back-and-forth the rest of the season, teams changing positions in the standings and re-emphasizing that what you see one week doesn’t mean you’ll see the same thing next week.
“We’ve been battled tested, and I think today showed we’re ready for the test and came out and we proved it,” Deen said. “That’s what the Big Ten is about – finishing games."
For Purdue, the close early season losses have now the Boilermakers in a position that didn't seem possible.
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
Purdue (3-2, 1-1) at Maryland (3-1, 0-1)
Saturday
Time: Noon
TV: BTN
Radio: WAZY (96.5)
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football at Minnesota: Painful early season losses create pathway to success
