Gameday Preview: Minnesota vs. Purdue

GAMEDAY PREVIEW MINNESOTA VS. PURDUE NOVEMBER 5 @ 2:30PM

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Quick Hitters from last week’s game

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Daily Breakdown: Minnesota likely to get fourth straight win FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Minnesota: 40, Illinois: 17 Oct. 29, 2016 Memorial Stadium

BY JACK WHITE jwhite@mndaily.com

Recap: Minnesota started the game strong by capitalizing off an Illinois turnover.

The Gophers’ leading r usher of the day was redshir t sophomore Rodney Smith. Smith had 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Shannon Brooks’s first-quar ter touchdown and 59 yards on the ground.

The Gophers needed their run game to be strong because redshir t senior Mitch Leidner had his lowest passing totals of the year. Leidner only threw for 112 yards. He did not turn the ball over once, though, and that proved to be a big factor.

Illinois had two turnovers in the first half, but at the end of the second quarter Minnesota only led 14-7. Illinois had five fumbles and lost three of them. The Gophers went turnover free throughout the game.

The Gophers blew the game open in the four th with a safety, field goal, and two touchdowns to outscore the Fighting Illini 19-3 in the final q u a r t e r. T h e G o p h e r s ear ned the 40-17 victor y to move to 6-2 overall.

It was over when: Redshir t sophomore Emmit Carpenter added a field goal to give the Gophers a 19-point lead with 7:43 left to go in the game. Illinois’ of fense got the ball back after having three consecutive drives without a score.

The Fighting Illini added a field goal but the game was already out of reach.

Key play: Illinois redshirt freshman Jeff George Jr. dropped back to pass in the four th quar ter before being strip sacked by senior Hank Ekpe. Redshir t senior Scott Ekpe, Hank’s older brother, recovered the ball and Minnesota took over the Fighting Illini 36-yard line.

Five obser vations: 1. The defense came up with big plays Illinois’s of fense wasn’t able to get much going against the Gophers and turnovers played a big factor in its struggles.

The Fighting Illini had five fumbles, including one on a muf fed punt, to help Minnesota ear n the 40-17 victor y.

2. Targeting remained a concern.

Redshirt junior Duke McGhee received Minnesota’s fifth targeting ejection of the season last Saturday.

The Gophers now lead the Big Ten in penalties this season.

3. Gophers just keep on running.

Minnesota had yet another rusher put up at least 100 yards last Saturday.

Smith rushed for at least 100 for the fifth time this year. He also contributed two of the Gophers’ five rushing touchdowns.

Brooks opened the scoring with his touchdown and Leidner ran in a touchdown on a read option.

4. Quiet day through the air.

Leidner had small numbers when it came to passing the ball.

The redshir t senior only had 112 yards through the air with 10 completions on 19 attempts. Leidner’s 112 yards in the passing game were u See QUICK HITTERS Page 8

VS

MINNESOTA 6-2, 3-2 Big Ten WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

PURDUE 3-5, 1-4 Big Ten WHERE: TCF Bank Stadium SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

BY MIKE HENDRICKSON mhendrickson@mndaily.com

Minnesota (6-2, 3-2) goes for its fourthstraight against Purdue (3-5, 1-4) Saturday. A full breakdown and prediction can be found below.

When Minnesota runs the ball: The Gophers had five rushing touchdowns in a 40-17 win against Illinois last Saturday.

They could very well match that number again against Purdue.

Running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks are both in the top ten for rushing yards a game in the Big Ten and excelled again against Illinois. Minnesota’s rushing offense hasn’t had a weak game this year and there’s no reason that should stop against Purdue.

The Boilermakers’ rushing defense is bad.

They’ve allowed an averaged of 250 yards a game and 21 touchdowns on the ground. Minnesota rushed for 326 yards against them last year. Topping that mark will be hard, but it is possible.

Matchup to watch: RB Shannon Brooks vs. DL Evan Panfil Advantage: Minnesota

When Purdue runs the ball: Purdue’s rushing offense may be the worst part of their game. They only average 111 yards per matchup — last in the Big Ten — and will likely pass the ball far more frequently

then they run it.

Starting running back Markell Jones averages 14.1 attempts a game and hasn’t rushed for over 46 yards in a Big Ten game this season. He only had seven yards on six carries against Minnesota last year, as Purdue had its second-lowest rushing total of the season against Minnesota in 2015.

The Gophers have faced a lot of weak rushing teams this year and have stopped them all.

It’s hard to see how Purdue could break out in this game.

Matchup to watch: RB Markell Jones vs.

LB Jonathan Celestin Advantage: Minnesota

When Minnesota passes the ball: Quarterback Mitch Leidner hasn’t had to throw the ball much recently, as his two running backs have been doing the heavy lifting. He hasn’t throw for over 20 pass attempts since Oct. 8 against Iowa.

In Leidner’s four Big Ten games this season, he has one touchdown and four interceptions. The numbers are by no means encouraging, but a lot of it comes from Minnesota r unning the ball more than they did at the start of the season.

Purdue’s passing defense is in the middle of the Big Ten and has an awful touchdown to interception ratio of 16-5. The Boilermakers’ secondar y isn’t horrible, but shouldn’t create any significant problems against Minnesota. u See BREAKDOWN Page 8

Thursday, November 3, 2016

GAME RECAP

FINAL SCORE

memorial stadium, champaign, il october 28, 2016

total yards 171

RUSHING PASSING

top performers MINNESOTA RB RODNEY SMITH

20 carries 100 rushing yards 2 rushing touchdowns 2 receptions 19 receiving yards

MINNESOTA RB SHANNON BROOKS

156

89

112

MINNESOTA

283 245

RUSHING PASSING

ILLINOIS

ILLINOIS

MINNESOTA

ATTENDANCE

40,090

3

12 carries 62 rushing yards 1 rushing touchdown

40 17

tackles MINNESOTA 41 tackle for loss LB JONATHAN 2 quarterback hits CELESTIN

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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Minnesota’s Depth Chart

MINNESOTA COACHES

OFFENSE

Tracy Claeys Brian Anderson Jay Johnson

QB

Bart Miller Dan O’Brien

Jeff Phelps Pat Poore Rob Reeves Jay Sawvel Mike Sherels Keith Jordan Eric Klein

Head Coach Wide Receivers Coach Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks Offensive Line Coach Asst. Defensive Backs Co-Special Teams Cord.

Asst. to the Head Coach Defensive Line Coach Running Backs Co-Special Teams Coordinator H-Backs Tight Ends Coach Defensive Coordinator Linebackers Coach Special Teams Quality Control Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

RB

TE X-WR H-WR Z-WR LT LG C RG

7 15 1 23 22 80 44 88 9 82 24 26 6 73 74 62 61 77 60 76 55

RT Mitch Leidner (6-4, 230, R-Sr.) Conor Rhoda (6-3, 215, R-Jr.) Rodney Smith (5-11, 205, R-So.) Shannon Brooks (6-0, 210, So.) Kobe McCrary (6-1, 235, Jr.) Nate Wozniak (6-10, 275, R-Jr.) Colton Beebe (6-3, 270, R-Fr.) Rashad Still (6-5, 205, So.) Eric Carter (5-11, 195, R-Jr.) Drew Wolitarsky (6-3, 220, Sr.) Adam Mayer (6-1, 215, R-Fr.) Eric Carter (5-11, 195, R-Jr.) -ORTyler Johnson (6-2, 185, Fr.) Donnell Greene (6-7, 345, R-So.) Nick Connelly (6-7, 300, R-Fr.) Jared Weyler (6-4, 305, R-So.) Bronson Dovich (6-5, 300, R-Fr.) Tyler Moore (6-4, 305, So.) Matt Leidner (6-2, 290, R-Jr.) Vincent Calhoun (6-4, 330, Jr.) -ORConnor Mayes (6-5, 330, Jr.)

78 70 58

Garrison Wright (6-4, 320, R-Jr.) Chad Fahning (6-6, 290, R-Jr.) -ORQuinn Oseland (6-6, 320, R-Fr.)

DEFENSE DE DT DT DE LB LB

LB

CB

95 94 97 52 96 99 46 87 13 49 56 12 41 50 20 45 3 34

Hendrick Ekpe (6-5, 240, Sr.) Jerry Gibson (6-3, 245, R-So.) Scott Ekpe (6-4, 285, R-Sr.) Yoshoub Timms (6-2, 295, R-Sr.) Steven Richardson (6-0, 300, Jr.) Andrew Stelter (6-4, 290, Jr.)

CB S S

Jalen Myrick (5-10, 205, Sr.) Eric Amoako (5-11, 195, R-Sr.) Damarius Travis (6-2, 215, R-Sr.) Jacob Huff (5-11, 205, So.) -ORAntoine Winfield Jr. (5-10, 195, Fr.) Duke McGhee (6-1, 205, R-Jr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS K P

Winston DeLattiboudere (6-3, 240, R-Fr.)

Gaelin Elmore (6-6, 275, Jr.) Jonathan Celestin (6-1, 220, Jr.) Kamal Martin (6-3 225 Fr.) Nick Rallis (5-11, 240, R-Sr.) Cody Poock (6-2, 230, R-Jr.) Thomas Barber (6-1, 240, Fr.) Jack Lynn (6-3, 240, R-Sr.) Julian Huff (6-0, 225, So.) -ORCarter Coughlin (6-4, 220, Fr.) KiAnte Hardin (5-10, 175, So.) Antonio Shenault (5-11, 180, So.)

5 30 7 17 11 8

LS KR PR H

38 37 18 47 34 25 39 3 1 5 82 47 18

Emmit Carpenter (6-0, 199, R-So.) John Mack (6-0, 185, Fr.) Ryan Santoso (6-6, 250, R-Jr.) Jacob Herbers (6-2, 215, R-Fr.) -ORLogan McElFresh (6-1, 205, R-So.) Payton Jordahl (6-2, 225, R-So.) Trey Hansen (6-2, 205, R-Fr.) KiAnte Hardin (5-10, 175, So.) Rodney Smith (5-11, 205, R-So.) Jalen Myrick (5-10, 205, Sr.) Drew Wolitarsky (6-3, 220, Sr.) Jacob Herbers (6-2, 215, R-Fr.) Ryan Santoso (6-6, 250, R-Jr.)

Thursday, November 3, 2016

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Purdue’s Depth Chart

PURDUE COACHES

OFFENSE

Gerad Parker Ross Els

QB

Terry Malone Marcus Freeman Darrell Funk Taver Johnson Tim Lester Randy Melvin John Nussman DeAndre Smith

Interim Head Coach Defensive Coordinator Safeties Offensive Coordinator Tight Ends Co-Defensive Coordinator Linebackers Offensive Line Defensive Backs Quarterback Defensive Line Wide Receivers Running Backs

RB

WR WR WR TE LT

LG C

11 2 8 37 36 7 21 18 10 3 13 88 89 66 55 75 72 55 53 68

David Blough (6-1, 200, So.) Elijah Sindelar (6-4, 236, R-Fr.) Markell Jones (5-11, 210, So.) Brian Lankford-Johnson (6-0, 195, Fr.) -ORRichie Worship (6-1, 245, R-Fr.) DeAngelo Yancey (6-2, 205, Sr.) Anthony Mahoungou (6-3, 210, Jr.) Cameron Posey (6-1, 192, 5th) Gregory Phillips (6-0, 201, Jr.) Bilal Marshall (6-2, 201, 5th) Terrance Landers (6-4, 200, Fr.) Cole Herdman (6-4, 251, So.) Brycen Hopkins (6-5, 239, R-Fr.) Cameron Cermin (6-5, 323, 5th) Michael Mendez (6-4, 305, R-Fr.) -ORJalen Neal (6-8, 315, Jr.) Jason King (6-4, 310, 5th) Michael Mendez (6-4, 305, R-Fr.) Kirk Barron (6-2, 300, So.) Peyton Truitt (6-5, 296, R-Fr.)

RG RT

70 55 79 75

Jordan Roos (6-4, 301, 5th) Michael Mendez (6-4, 305, R-Fr.) Matt McCann (6-6, 314, R-Fr.) Jalen Neal (6-8, 315, Jr.)

DEFENSE DE DT DT DE LB LB LB LCB FS

95 45 54 9 18 9 13 45 21 42 4 16 36 29 2 23 27

Evan Panfil (6-5, 270, Sr.) Austin Larkin (6-3, 259, Jr.) Jake Replogle (6-5, 275, Jr.) Lorenzo Neal (6-2, 345, Fr.) Eddy Wilson (6-4, 300, So.) Lorenzo Neal (6-2, 345, Fr.) Gelen Robinson (6-1, 275, Jr.) Austin Larkin (6-3, 259, Jr.) Markus Bailey (6-1, 235, R-Fr.) Andy James Garcia (6-0, 223, 5th) Ja’Whaun Bentley (6-2, 250, Jr.) Garrett Hudson (6-2, 245, Jr.) Danny Ezechukwu (6-2, 240, Jr.) Jimmy Herman (6-4, 240, 5th) Da’Wan Hunte (5-9, 188, Jr.) Josh Hayes (6-0, 181, Fr.) Navon Mosley (6-0, 181, Fr.)

SS RCB

26 3 26 24 6

C.J. Parker (6-2, 205, Jr.) Leroy Clark (5-10, 197, Sr.) C.J. Parker (6-2, 205, Jr.) Tim Cason (5-11, 195, R-So.) Myles Norwood (6-0, 174, Jr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS K P LS KR PR H PK

98 97 31 96 65 48 22 37 3 9 31 11 85 43

David Bonagura (6-0, 229, Jr.) Jared Smolar (5-10, 220, Fr.) Joe Schopper (6-0, 196, So.) Jake Herr (6-5, 220, R-Fr.) Ben Makowski (6-2, 252, So.) Ryan Sadkowski (5-11, 260, So.) Jack Wegher (5-9, 205, Fr.) Brian Lankford-Johnson (6-0, 195, Fr.) Bilal Marshall (6-2, 201, 5th) Malik Kimbrough (6-0, 172, Jr.) Joe Schopper (6-0, 196, So.) David Blough (6-1, 200, So.) J.D. Dellinger (6-2, 190, Fr.) Myles Homan (6-1, 220, R-Fr.) *Depth charts accurate as of Nov. 2

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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Questions from the Other Side: Purdue Exponent staff reporter Atreya Verma

BY JACK WHITE jwhite@mndaily.com

For this weekly column, the Minnesota Daily will interview someone knowledgeable about Minnesota’s next opponent. Atreya Verma, a staff reporter for Purdue’s student newspaper, the Exponent, was interviewed this week.

Verma is a sophomore at Purdue University.

[It’s been a] pretty up and down year for Purdue. What has the team done well and what do they need to improve on?

Up and down is one way to put it. I think they established a quarterback that they can go for ward with, whoever the

coach ends up being next year ... I think [sophomore quar terback David Blough] has done a good job he has shown that he has an arm that can compete in the Big Ten. [They can] improve on a lot of things. First of f, r un defense … I’m pretty sure they’re near the bottom of the league in run defense … Pretty much ever y r unning back has a career day against Purdue … Some of that has to do with injuries and lack of depth but a lot of that is just missed tackles and coaching, so that’s probably something they need to focus on.

What do you see from Blough in terms of a skill set?

He’s got a really good arm. Depend-

ing on the play call, we’ve seen some dif ferent things from [interim head coach Gerad Parker] since he took over two games ago. We’ve seen a couple more trick plays. We know [Blough] can throw the deep ball pretty accurately … When he gets in a rhythm, he can string together a drive down the field.

That’s usually what you get from Blough.

In the r unning game, Markell Jones, their r unning back has been dinged up this year [and] in and out of the lineup with a shoulder injur y and a couple knickknack things, so the pressure has sor t of been on Blough and he’s done all right. He can make the passes when he needs to in tight spaces.

What do you make of the decision to fire Darrell Hazell after the sixth game of the season?

I think you could see it coming. There were rumblings after the Mar yland game when they lost 50-7, it was really embarrassing. It’s not like it was a huge shock.

He had a ter rible conference record … it’s not all Hazell — a lot of it has to do with talent issues [and] recr uiting.

There’s no depth on defense so when they lose a cornerback or a linebacker … they just don’t have the talent to compete at this level. Even when Hazell was coaching he probably knew it was coming to an end as well. u See Q&A Page 7

SPEED ROUND WITH ATREYA VERMA, PURDUE EXPONENT

BY JACK WHITE PURDUE FINISHES WITH HOW MANY WINS? PURDUE'S BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER?

4

DEANGELO YANCEY

DOES DAVID BLOUGH PASS FOR OVER 300 YARDS? BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR?

DAVID BLOUGH ON A SCALE OF 1-10?

NO

JABRILL PEPPERS

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER?

ALABAMA

PURDUE'S BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER? BIG TEN CHAMPION?

6.5

JA’WHAUN BENTLEY MICHIGAN

HEISMAN WINNER?

LAMAR JACKSON

SCORE PREDICTION?

45-24 GOPHERS

Thursday, November 3, 2016

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Gophers still have small chance to win Big Ten West The Gophers are tied for second in the Big Ten West, one game behind Nebraska.

BY MIKE HENDRICKSON mhendrickson@mndaily.com

The first thing Gophers linebacker Jonathan Celestin said he did when he got back home from Minnesota’s game at Illinois was watch more football.

Celestin watched the game between No. 9 Nebraska and No. 8 Wisconsin Saturday night, and saw two of Minnesota’s future opponents this season battle it out in a game that had big implications for the Big Ten West.

He said he found himself rooting for Wisconsin, as a Badgers’ win would give Minnesota a higher chance of competing for the division.

Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 23-17.

“It’s not what I [wanted] to do, but I know we needed [Wisconsin] to get a win to help out in the Big Ten West and make everything be in our position,” Celestin said.

Quarterback Mitch Leidner also watched the Nebraska-Wisconsin game, but said he wasn’t rooting for any team in particular and doesn’t pay too much attention to the standings.

He said head coach Tracy Claeys addressed the team about the game on Sunday. “[Claeys] had just mentioned Wisconsin beat Nebraska, how it puts us closer, and how people are starting to count us back in this thing,” Leidner said. “We’re right where there we want to be going into November and that’s

what we really wanted as a team.”

The Gophers’ chances to win the Big Ten West looked slim in the middle of October.

Minnesota fell to 0-2 in the Big Ten after back-to-back losses against Penn State and Iowa.

But the Gophers won their next three and put themselves back into the conversation for the Big Ten West. The team now sits in second place, tied with four other teams and one game behind Nebraska.

“There are a lot of teams that play in November and games don’t mean anything,” Claeys said. “It’s nice to be in this position and now hopefully we’ve got to do things well enough to take advantage of it.”

The Boilermakers — Minnesota’s next opponent — only has one Big Ten win this season.

But after that is when the schedule gets tough for Minnesota.

The Gophers will play Nebraska and Wisconsin in two of their final three games. In between those two matchups is Northwestern, a team that is also tied for second in the Big Ten West.

Minnesota went 0-3 against those same teams last season.

“Something we’ve really tried to distribute throughout the rest of the team is one game at a time, really one play at a time, just kind of live in the moment, rather than getting caught up in the results,” Leidner said.

Even though the Gophers are only one game back of first in the Big Ten, the schedule will make things hard.

CARTER JONES, DAILY

Gophers cornerback Coney Durr attempts to intercept Illinois’s throw on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

ESPN’s projection system puts Minnesota’s percentage of winning out at .2 percent.

“We know where we’re at, that we’ve got to win out in order to have a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game, but that’s kind of in the back of our minds,” said linebacker Nick Rallis. “We set that goal at the beginning of the season.”

Notebook: The restraining orders against the five Gophers football players were lifted Wednesday.

KiAnte Hardin, Ray Buford, Carlton Djam,

Dior Johnson, and Tamarion Johnson will be eligible to play at home games again.

Minnesota and Mississippi State have agreed to play two games, one in Minnesota in 2026, and one in Mississippi in 2027. It will be the first-ever matchup between the two teams.

Wide receiver Brian Smith has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules, Claeys said Tuesday. Smith was the team’s second-leading receiver and had one touchdown.

Right tackle Jonah Pirsig is still listed as out for the game against Purdue.

Questions from the Other Side: Purdue Exponent staff reporter Atreya Verma Q&A u from Page 6

Was it a surprise at all to see Parker hired with him only being a wide receivers coach before?

Yeah, a little bit. I think there [were] a couple people on the staff that have been here a bit longer. I think Parker has also been a recruiting coordinator here so he knows a lot of the players and they like him a lot. From what we can tell, there’s a connection there. I doubt it was to give anyone

who replaced Hazell an audition for the job.

More of, how do we get the players to stay motivated to finish the season and Parker is the right person to do that ... You can tell when he speaks to just the media that he really cares about the kids. I think he was right for the job … I think he’s doing the best he can.

What would a new head coach have to bring to the table for Purdue to find success in the future?

I think it has to star t with recr uiting and talent. The lack of depth on the

football team makes Purdue almost impossible to compete with a lot of the middle or top Big Ten schools after they get past the first-string players ... They need someone who can play defense. Hazell could never win two games in a row, I believe, in his tenure here so there has to be a change in mentality and a change in talent level and an upgrade in talent level — those would be the two things a coach would have to bring.

What would Purdue have to do to beat Minnesota?

I would say stop the r un. They have

to be able to get up and get of f the field on third downs and not make stupid penalties ... There were many times that penalties just extended drives — stupid pays, of fside calls on third and four that are just kind of unacceptable on a disciplined team ... The of fense has shown it can pretty much keep up when it’s in a rhythm. I think they’ll have to play really, really good defense to have a chance to beat the Gophers.

Score prediction?

45-24 Minnesota.

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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Quick Hitters from last week’s game: Illinois Quick Hitters

Quote of the game:

Daily Breakdown: Gophers likely to gain fourth straight victory Breakdown u from Page 2

u from Page 2

his lowest all season, but he also had no fumbles or interceptions on the day.

5. Both sides of the ball struggling to finish.

The Gophers yet again got out to an early lead and let their opponent back into the game.

Minnesota won by 23 points but the Gophers only led by 7 at the end of the first half.

The game is still an improvement from Minnesota’s last game against Rutgers, where it won on a late field goal after leading by 18 points.

“There’s two things we emphasize, when you get a tur nover, get points of f it, and if you score a touchdown, you tr y to get a three-and-out.

There’s nothing worse on of fense than your defense just gives up a touchdown and you go three-and-out. We were able to do that I think twice in second half.” – Head coach T racy Claeys.

Up next: Minnesota will head home to play Pur due (3-5, 1-4). Pur due only has one win in the Big Ten and Minnesota is on a three-game winning streak.

Matchup to watch: WR Tyler Johnson vs. S Leroy Clark Advantage: Minnesota

When Purdue passes the ball: Purdue’s strongest part of its game is it’s passing, and that’s all thanks to their quarterback, David Blough. The sophomore leads the Big Ten in passing yards a game and is second in touchdowns. Still, a lot of that can be attributed to his high number of attempts.

Purdue passes the ball an average of 47.6 times a game and only runs it 30.6 times a game. Blough has the most interceptions in

the Big Ten and is still showing some growing pains in his second year as a starter.

Minnesota’s passing defense has i m p r o v e d r e ce n t l y b u t t he y h av e faced weak quarterbacks. Blough won’t be the best one they see all season, but it’s hard to see the Gophers’ secondary completely stopping Purdue’s aerial attack.

Matchup to watch: WR DeAngelo Yancey vs.

CB Jalen Myrick.

Advantage: Purdue

Prediction: Minnesota 38, Purdue 20.

The Gophers’ running backs will overwhelm the Boilermakers. Blough may throw for a touchdown or two, but Minnesota should