Rodney Smith rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries to lead Minnesota to a 44-31 victory over Purdue on Saturday in a Big Ten game in Minneapolis.

The Golden Gophers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) won their fourth consecutive game and Purdue (3-6, 1-5), playing its fourth game under interim coach Gerad Parker, has lost four straight.

Smith's last touchdown, a 14-yard run with 1:30 left in the game, sealed the victory for Minnesota.

It came a possession after Purdue's Jack Wegher fumbled on a fourth-and-1 at the Boilermakers' 34-yard line with 2:40 left. Purdue was looking to take the lead after J.D. Dellinger made a 34-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining to cut Minnesota's lead to 37-31.

Neither team led by more than 10 points until Smith's final touchdown. The game had six lead changes, with Purdue taking its last lead at 28-23 on the last play of the first half when Bryce Hopkins caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from David Blough.

In the four games under Parker, Purdue has outscored its opponents 87-73 in the first half, but in the second half the Boilermakers have been outscored 83-10.

A 7-yard touchdown run by Smith with 11:16 left in the third quarter put Minnesota up for good at 30-28. The Golden Gophers extended their lead to 37-28 with 11:45 left in the game on quarterback Mitch Leidner's 9-yard scoring run.