{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 44, Purdue 31
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 5, 2016
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature: 71°
Head Official: Don Willard
Attendance: 42832

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.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Purdue   Minnesota
Markell Jones Player Rodney Smith
13 Attempts 24
50 Yards 153
3.8 Avg Yards 6.4
0 Touchdowns 3
0 Long 0
Receiving
Purdue   Minnesota
Cameron Posey Player Rashad Still
7 Receptions 4
128 Yards 87
18.3 Avg Yards 21.8
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Purdue 414 23 391 4 1 1 1.0 0
Minnesota 466 235 231 5 3 1 6.0 2