WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – Complementary football is how Gophers coach P.J. Fleck describes it, and the concept of offense, defense and special teams feeding off each other to make the sum larger than the whole of the parts hasn't always been there for Minnesota in the 2021 season – especially last week in the upset loss to Bowling Green.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium, however, the Gophers meshed in the three phases of the game — particularly in the second half — in a cathartic 20-13 victory over Purdue.
On offense, the Gophers (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) overcame a first-half stretch of three consecutive three-and-outs, took a deep shot that led to the go-ahead touchdown and efficiently played keep-away late in the fourth quarter.
On defense, Minnesota pitched a second-half shutout, limiting the explosive Boilermakers (3-2, 1-1) to no plays longer than 34 yards.
And on special teams, Mark Crawford averaged 53.1 yards per punt and pinned Purdue inside its 20 four times, while Matthew Trickett kicked field goals of 42 and 38 yards with no misses.
"It felt like one of those games where it was going to come down to the very end," Fleck said, "and you wanted to make sure that needle was titled over to your direction."
It nearly did come down to the very end. Safety Tyler Nubin intercepted a pass by Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell at the Gophers 27 with 47 seconds left to seal the victory, the fourth in a row over the Boilermakers.
"Our word this week was just respond," Nubin said. "Just respond and be better than we were last week."
BOXSCORE: Gophers 20, Purdue 13
Trey Potts rushed 15 times for 78 yards and a touchdown for the Gophers, and Mike Brown-Stephens had catches of 54 and 51 yards. Tanner Morgan was 9-for-18 passing for 169 yards and a touchdown.
O'Connell completed 31 of 52 passes for 371 yards and one score for Purdue, while King Doerue rushed for 95 yards. Star receiver David Bell caught six passes for 120 yards but didn't reach the end zone.
The victory was Fleck's first at Minnesota in 18 tries after his team trailed at halftime. "I'll use that to say, 'Nevers aren't forever,' " Fleck said.
Entering the third quarter down 13-10, the Gophers quickly took a 17-13 lead. On their first play, Morgan connected with a wide-open Brown-Stephens for a 54-yard gain to the Purdue 21. Potts followed with a high-stepping outside run for 17 yards and a play later scored from the 4.
"When I saw the ball in the air, all the pressure went away," Brown-Stephens said. "It was just me and the ball."
Later, it was the defense's turn to own the key moments. When Purdue drove to the Gophers 33 in the third quarter, Nyles Pinckney and Coney Durr combined to sack O'Connell for a 12-yard loss on third down, knocking the Boilermakers out of field-goal range. When Purdue marched to the Gophers 20 early in the fourth quarter, freshman cornerback Justin Walley broke up a third-down pass intended for Milton Wright in the end zone, forcing the Boilermakers to try a 37-yard field goal, which Mitchell Fineran missed.
All the while, Crawford punted the Boilermakers into bad field position, including a 45-yarder that left Purdue at its 2 with 8:11 left in the fourth quarter.
"We made him a captain this week, and he performed exactly what he was expected to do," Fleck said. "… That last one when he was able to flip the field position was absolutely critical."
Purdue got out of the shadow of its end zone on a 34-yard pass to Bell but couldn't convert a fourth-and-5 situation from the Minnesota 43.
The Gophers' ball-control ways weren't on display as much as usual until late in the fourth quarter. With 6:23 left, Minnesota drained 4:37 off the clock as quarterback Cole Kramer, operating out of the wildcat formation, gained 14 yards to the Purdue 29 on third-and-3, and Potts followed with a 6-yard run on another third-and-3. Trickett's 38-yard field goal with 1:46 left extended the lead to seven.
"That was huge," Gophers linebacker Jack Gibbens said. "… You love to see that as defense: Our offense, when [Purdue is] sold out to stop the run, still moving them."
After Nubin's interception secured the victory, Fleck reflected on a difficult week and the effort his team produced in getting a needed response.
"It was gusty, just gutsy," he said. "You don't know how hard of a week that is."
