Trailing by seven points and outrushed 239 yards to 16 through three quarters, the Gophers didn’t have the look of a football team that would emerge victorious against Purdue on Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Enter Drake Lindsey and then Koi Perich — seven seconds apart.
Lindsey led a must-have-it, 14-play, 70-yard drive and hit tight end Jameson Geers with a 4-yard touchdown pass that tied the score 20-20 with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter. On the very next play from scrimmage, Perich intercepted a pass from Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne intended for Nitro Tuggle and returned it 27 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, setting off a huge celebration by the homecoming crowd.
And after the Gophers defense turned Purdue aside on fourth down from the Minnesota 7 with 1:56 left, then withstood three passes in the final 15 seconds, the Gophers had a 27-20 victory.
“Our team just locked it in — a total team effort,” Perich said in a postgame radio interview.
Jai’Onte McMillan broke up Browne’s fourth-down pass intended for Michael Jackson III, ending the next-to-last Purdue threat.
Lindsey competed 21 of 45 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Darius Taylor rushed 13 times for 32 yards but caught six passes for 67 yards. Le’Meke Brockington caught four passes for 61 yards and a score.
For Purdue (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten), Browne complete 21 of 40 passes for 203 yards with two interceptions. He also frustrated the Gophers defense by escaping the pocket and rushing eight times for 61 yards, including a 12-yard TD scramble in the second quarter. Devin Mockobee rushed 21 times for 98 yards but threw an interception on a halfback option pass deep in Minnesota territory.