Minnesota Football: 2017 game-by-game predictions
By Shane Lunnen
After the opening conference win against Maryland, Minnesota travels to West Lafayette. This game will feature two first year head coaches from mid-major schools. Jeff Brohm left a successful three year stint at Western Kentucky to take over the Boilermakers.
Returning at quarterback for Purdue is junior David Blough. He threw for over 3,350 yards last year and 25 touchdowns. However he had a knack for poor accuracy, throwing 21 interceptions. The biggest question for the Boilermakers is who will be catching the ball. There is a lot of unproven wide receivers on the team and they’ll have to grow up fast in Brohm’s pass happy offense.
Six starters return on defense for the Boilermakers and the star is linebacker Markus Bailey, who led the team in tackles last year with 97 stops as a true freshman. Defensive tackle Gelen Robinson is solid up front, posting over 60 tackles a year ago. The secondary was not very good last year, but perhaps junior college transfer safety TJ Jallow and graduate transfer cornerback Josh Okonye from Wake Forest will turn around the Boilermakers’ pass defense.
A year ago, Minnesota handed Purdue a 44-31 loss in Minneapolis. While the Gophers should still be favored in this one, it should be closer than last year’s contest. The Purdue defense surprises the Gophers and holds their rushing attack at bay in the first half, leading to a 7-7 tie at the break. The Gophers break through in the second half with two touchdown drives, but Purdue answers back with 10 points of their own.
The Boilermakers will get one last chance to drive for a game winning touchdown, but it will end in an interception thrown by Blough.