PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB David Blough became the first quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards against Iowa in 19 games, a streak that dated back to early 2017. He threw for four touchdowns as well, which outweighed the two interceptions he threw. Minnesota’s defense is nowhere near as challenging as the Hawkeyes, but one thing to watch is the turnovers — those second-half picks against Iowa were a Spencer Evans buzzer-beating field goal away from being very costly.
–WR Terry Wright enters as the Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the Big Ten after turning his six catches into 146 yards and three touchdowns against Iowa. His emergence makes it even more difficult for opposing secondaries, who already had to worry about Rondale Moore and Isaac Zico. When David Blough gets time to throw in passing formations, there’s too many weapons for opponents to effectively cover.
–DE Lorenzo Neal has been battling injuries all season, but when he’s on the field, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He had five tackles against the Hawkeyes, one of which was for a loss, and his ability to disrupt play at the line of scrimmage is a key factor in the defense’s success.
–K Spencer Evans got some redemption last week, nailing the game-winning field goals against Iowa after misfiring the previous week against Michigan State. Special teams in general were a disappointment against the Hawkeyes, however, so he and the rest of the unit will be under increased scrutiny in practice heading into the Minnesota.
SERIES HISTORY: Minnesota leads Purdue 37-33-3. However, the Boilermakers won last year’s meeting 31-17.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Well, without question, the uncertainty and the unknown is a little bit of a factor and you have to make sure you understand that. They can do some things they haven’t done before, and they can maybe change a little or they can maybe change a lot. So you have to be prepared for that. The only thing we have going for us a little bit is we go against our guys on defense. They can give us every look known to man.” — Coach Jeff Brohm, on playing a Minnesota team that just fired its defensive coordinator.
