Recap: Fourth quarter surge sinks Purdue's hopes of win at Minnesota

Purdue football saw its losing streak continue on Saturday night, falling to Minnesota in a heartbreaker. The Boilermakers held a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, before the Gophers flipped and script and handed Barry Odom and company another defeat. The loss drops Purdue to 2-4 on the season and 0-3 in conference play.

Purdue got off to its best start in over a month, getting out to a 10-0 lead while the defense held Minnesota to just 22 yards across its first four possessions of the game. The Boilermakers limited the Gophers’ ground game to just 13 yards in the first half.

Devin Mockobee and the ground game was the catalyst behind the Boilermakers’ offensive success in the first half. The veteran tailback amassed 74 of Purdue’s 178 yards (on 23 carries) in the opening 30 minutes in Minneapolis. It was Purdue’s quarterbacks that hit pay dirt to make up both touchdowns in the half, however, as Malachi Singleton sprinted 40 yards for a touchdown on fourth down and two on the opening drive of the day. That was followed by a 12-yard scamper and acrobatic dive to the pylon by Ryan Browne near the end of the half.

PDF: Purdue-Minnesota statistics

Browne was just 9-16 for 87 yards and an interception in the first half, but has six rushers for 46 yards and a score on the ground to make his presence felt.

Purdue held just a 17-13 lead going into halftime, despite having 265 yards to Minnesota’s 152. A pair of interceptions, one by Devin Mockobee and the other by Browne, as well as five penalties for 32 yards kept the Boilermakers from extending their first half lead.

Minnesota began cutting into the Purdue lead with a three-play, 75-yard drive in the second quarter, led by quarterback Drake Lindsey, who was 11-21 for 139 yards and a score before the break. That touchdown was followed by a pair of Brady Denaburg field goals, the second of which made it a four-point game heading into halftime.

Spencer Porath connected on a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter to hand the Boilermakers a 20-13 lead.

The Purdue defense came up big in the third quarter, forcing two three-and-outs and notching its first interception of the season to keep the Minnesota offense in check.

Purdue was on the wrong side of the turnover battle once again, but got the aforementioned interception on a tip drill, hauled in by safety Myles Slusher, who is responsible for both turnovers forced by the defense in 2025. It was the first picked off pass since the Northwestern game last season (November 2nd).

The Gophers would respond after Lindsey’s interception, and following the first missed field goal of the year by Porath. Minnesota marched down the field, with the help of two face mask calls on would-be Demeco Kennedy sacks on third down, to reset the score at 20-20 with 7:47 to play. Lindsey found tight end Jameson Geers in the end zone for the tying touchdown. It was the first touchdown Purdue had allowed in the fourth quarter this season.

Just seven seconds after that score, the Minnesota defense made an impact play. Koi Perich intercepted Ryan Browne’s pass and took it 27 yards for a pick six, providing the Boilermakers with a seven-point deficit late in the fourth quarter.

Browne responded by driving the Boilermakers down the field in a 14-play drive. Purdue’s red zone woes reared its ugly head, however, as the offense failed to score for the second time in five attempts. Browne’s fourth down pass to Michael Jackson III in the end zone was broken up and ended Purdue’s hopes of a last second win.

After getting torched in three-straight games, the Purdue defense took a step forward on Saturday night. Mike Scherer’s unit surrendered 27 points and 262 yards of offense, both marks being the fewest in Big Ten play this season. The run game was particularly stout for a second straight week, holding star running back Darius Taylor to XX yards on X carries.

Drake Lindsey was also limited to just 21-45 passing, for 232 yards. Those marks come after allowing CJ Carr and Luke Altmyer to complete north of 85% of their passes the previous two outings.

On the flip side, Ryan Browne was held to 21-40 passing, for 203 yards and had two interceptions. It was the redshirt sophomore’s fourth game with an interception in six starts this season and his second-fewest yardage total this season.

Purdue had its best rushing day of the year, amassing a season-high 253 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while being led by senior tailback Devin Mockobee. Mockobee tallied 98 yards on the day, but was helped by Malachi Singleton and Ryan Browne. That quarterback duo accounted for 134 rushing yards, as well. Purdue is now averaging north of 200 yards across its last two outings.

The Boilermakers will be back on the road next weekend against Northwestern, looking to snap a four-game skid.