Up next: No. 21 Gophers vs. Purdue (homecoming)
Up next for Gophers: Homecoming vs. Purdue
The Boilermakers are 2-2 and the health status of their starting QB is in question.
September 25, 2022 at 10:17PM
11 a.m. Saturday, Huntington Bank Stadium, ESPN2, 100.3-FM
The skinny: The Boilermakers (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) held off Florida Atlantic 28-26 on Saturday night while playing without starting quarterback Aidan O'Connell, who missed the game because of an undisclosed injury. Backup Austin Burton completed 21 of 29 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Purdue might have the best receiver in the Big Ten in Charlie Jones, a transfer from Iowa. Jones caught nine passes for 59 yards and two TDs Saturday and leads the Big Ten with 41 receptions for 533 yards and seven TDs.
It's been an up-and-down season for the Boilermakers, who opened with a 35-31 home loss to Penn State, beat Indiana State 56-0 and lost 32-29 at Syracuse. Saturday, they were outgained 419-354 by the Owls, who missed on a two-point conversion attempt to tie the score in the fourth quarter and lost a fumble at midfield with 46 seconds left.
As for O'Connell, who's averaging 333 passing yards per game, coach Jeff Brohm didn't offer specifics on his availability for Saturday's game. "It could be next week; it could be a couple weeks.''
Gopher basketball coach Ben Johnson signed three recruits who have similarities with the program’s last two impact freshmen, Isaac Asuma and Cam Christie.
