First Look: Minnesota

The last meeting: Minnesota 20, Purdue 13 (Oct. 2, 2021 in West Lafayette)

Here's an early look at Purdue's fifth opponent in 2022, the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Time: Saturday, Oct. 1, 12:00 PM EDT

Location: Huntington Bank Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 50,805 (tickets available)

2022 schedules/records: Minnesota 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten); Purdue 2-2 (0-1 Big Ten)

Series notes: Purdue trails the all-time series 33-41-3 against the Golden Gophers. Under Jeff Brohm, the Boilermakers sit at just 1-4 against Minnesota, with the lone win coming In 2017, when a Ja'Whaun Bentley pick-six following a weather delay sealed the victory. A season ago, Purdue led at the half, but lost the lead in a rain-soaked Ross-Ade Stadium, losing 20-13. Both Brohm and Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck took their respective jobs following the 2016 season, adding another level of intrigue to the series between divisional opponents.

TV: ESPN 2

Early line: Minnesota -8

After missing Saturday's 28-26 win over Florida Atlantic with a rib injury, the biggest question ahead of the trip to Minneapolis lies in the health of Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell. In his postgame press conference, Brohm did not offer up any certainty regarding his quarterback's status for the Minnesota game.

With O'Connell out, fellow sixth-year senior Austin Burton filled in, completing 21 of 29 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns. The offense operates much differently without O'Connell, however, as the downfield passing element doesn't pose as much of a threat without No. 16.

No doubt, O'Connell's status will stand out as the hottest story in town this week. Whether he can give it a go or not will go a long way in determining the outlook for Saturday's noon kickoff in Minneapolis.

It's hard to imagine a better start to the season for Minnesota, who enters after a 4-0 September capped by a dominant 34-7 win at Michigan State. No, the Gophers didn't face a daunting non-conference schedule, but they took care of business against lesser competition, defeating New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Colorado all by 38 or more points.

Minnesota's senior-laden roster brings experience and physicality to the table, and that's been effective for them to this point. We're still early on in the season, but the Gophers appear to be a contender, if not the favorite, to win the Big Ten West.

Since the 2017 win over Minnesota, Purdue's struggles against the Gophers have been well-documented. In 2018, the Boilers were blown out on a frigid November day in Minneapolis. A year later, Elijah Sindelar and Rondale Moore infamously suffered injuries on the same play early in a Boilermaker loss.

The odd season that was 2020 got even stranger when a questionable offensive pass interference penalty against Purdue tight end Payne Durham led to a Gopher victory. The losing streak reached four games when Minnesota spoiled Purdue's return of gold jerseys in the pouring rain last October.

Can Purdue break their drought against Minnesota on Saturday?

Updates will be provided following Jeff Brohm's Monday press conference.

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