WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – This was a quarterback change Gophers coach Jerry Kill was happy to make.
For the second consecutive week, Kill pulled Mitch Leidner in the fourth quarter Saturday, replacing him with freshman Demry Croft. Only these circumstances were starkly different.
Instead of trailing by 27 points, as the Gophers did last week at Northwestern, Kill's refocused team had built a 32-point lead at Purdue.
Leidner threw two touchdown passes, and Shannon Brooks scored on a multi-tackle shedding 71-yard run, as the Gophers pulled away for a 41-13 rout at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The Gophers (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) were missing seven injured starters and four key reserves, but they got what they needed — a comfortable win. Their three previous victories were all three-point nail biters.
"We just had to get back to being who we are," Kill said, after the Gophers rushed for 326 yards, their most in a Big Ten game since 2005. "We had a makeshift offensive line, started a true freshman [Tyler Moore at center]. But sooner or later, you can't make excuses."
Purdue (1-5, 0-2) tried to build off last week's three-point loss to No. 4 Michigan State but fell to 1-17 in Big Ten play under third-year coach Darrell Hazell.
The first half was a dogfight, as the Gophers had another scoreless first quarter — the fifth time that's happened in six games — before taking a 10-6 lead into halftime. They knew the first drive of the second half would be critical.