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By the Numbers: How Minnesota’s defense silenced Purdue’s offense
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The change at defensive coordinator definitely made a difference.
Last weekend, P.J. Fleck made the decision to fire defensive coordinator Robb Smith, hoping to get Minnesota a spark of life on that side of the football. The move worked, as the Gophers had one of their best outings of the season defensively.
Minnesota dominated a high-powered Purdue offense from start to finish, holding the Boilermakers to season low totals is multiple categories. It’s precisely the kind of response Fleck was hoping to see from his team.
Just how dominant were the Gophers on Saturday? Here are a few really impressive numbers to break it down:
233: Total yardage gained by Purdue. That’s the least amount of production from the Boilermakers this season. The second-lowest is 339 yards.
88: Minnesota held Purdue to just 88 rushing yards, the lowest total a B1G opponent has racked up against the Gophers’ defense this season. It was just the fourth time Jeff Brohm’s offense has been held under the century mark this season.
10: Purdue scored just 10 points Saturday, the lowest point total since Oct. 14, 2017.
9: Number of drives that ended with five plays or fewer for the Boilermakers. There were only a handful of drives that resulted in more snaps.
3.76: Yards per play Minnesota’s defense allowed. That’s the fewest Purdue has averaged this season and the third-best mark for the Gophers this season. It’s the lowest average Minnesota’s defense has allowed against a B1G offense.
3: Sacks recorded by the Gophers. It’s not a spectacular number, but it definitely put David Blough on alert.
2.9: Average yards per carry for Purdue. Not a bad stat from a defense that was trampled by Illinois a week ago.
0: Number of third downs the Boilermakers successfully converted. They finished the day 0-for-12 on third downs. An incredible stat for the Golden Gophers.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB