Opponent View/Scouting Minnesota

Purdue (2-3 overall; 0-2 Big Ten) wades deeper into a key October as it treks to Minnesota (3-2; 1-1).

The Boilermakers have lost three in a row, while the Gophers are coming off a 42-3 loss at No. 1 Ohio State. But Purdue has won the last two vs. Minnesota.

Purdue last played in Huntington Bank Stadium in 2022, when Jeff Brohm’s Boilermakers upset then-No. 21 Minnesota 20-10. In the last meeting, Purdue took a a 49-30 decision in 2023 in West Lafayette.

GoldandBlack.com spoke to the voice of Golden Gopher football Mike Grimm to learn more about Minnesota.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Minnesota offense?

Grimm: I think they’re hoping to expect more than three points, which they scored last week against an Ohio State team that’s given up two touchdowns in five games. I think they have to get QB Drake Lindsey back into a rhythm after he started hot vs. Ohio State. It was good to see them get off to a good start at Ohio State, because it had been a couple of games in a row that they were a little slow starting, including Rutgers, where they were down 14-0. He learned last year from Max Brosmer, who’s the backup quarterback now with the Minnesota Vikings. How healthy is RB Darius Taylor? He was on a pitch count at Ohio State. He’s one of the better running backs in the Big Ten, and maybe even the country, when he’s 100 percent. But he’s not been 100 percent since basically week two. He played sparingly against Ohio State. They’re going to try to get back to the balance. That doesn’t necessarily mean we want to throw 50 percent of the time and pass 50 percent of the time. If the defense takes away the run, then we want to be able to throw, and if the defense takes away the throw, we want to be able to run. And we’ve seen flashes of that, but I think they’d like to get more consistent.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Golden Gopher defense?

Grimm: They have a first year defensive coordinator in Danny Collins, who’s been with P.J. Fleck all the way back to Western Michigan. Collins is the third defensive coordinator in three years, as Fleck has lost one to Miami, Fla., (Corey Heatherman) and one to Michigan State (Joe Rossi) each of the last two years. I think Collins is learning now what it’s like in the Big Ten. And certainly last week had to be a tough one to swallow to see all the explosive plays that his defense gave up against Ohio State. Collins calls his defense the “H.A.V.O.C” defense (How we play, Attack, Violence, One unit, and Competitive). In essence, they want to create some chaos, right? They want to make you not sure of what you’re going to do. They’re aggressive, but also at times they won’t take risks. I think he’s learning.

GoldandBlack.com: How do you see this game unfolding?

Grimm: I think it’ll be closer than that (10-point) spread. My hunch is that the Gophers are probably looking at this, and not to say they’re overlooking Purdue, but they’re looking at this like: We better win this if we want to end up in a bowl game with a nice destination. And I’m sure Purdue is looking at it as a game they can win. I’m looking for a good, hard-fought, typical October Big Ten football game that I don’t think will be a double-digit outcome. I think this will be a good, tough contest. The one good thing they did at Ohio State is they didn’t turn it over and they only committed two penalties. And if they can do that Saturday, I like their chances to win. But they can’t look past Purdue. Barry Odom clearly has done some things already with this program that looks like they’re on a right trajectory. I would think that they feel like they’ve got an opportunity to come in and get a road win.

MORE: The 3-2-1: Now hear this–Purdue needs to fix communication breakdown in secondary | Barry Odom: Purdue ‘not good enough’ as Boilers seek answers before Minnesota | First look: Minnesota | First and 10: Purdue-Minnesota