UPDATE (5:05 pm Saturday): Mistakes lead to fifth-straight Purdue loss
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 10/09/2009
Brandon Reese
Purdue Quarterback Joey Elliott takes a hit from Minnesota's Jewhan Edwards as he releases the ball. Elliot was sacked twice for a total of 12 yards as the Boilermakers lost to the Golden Gophers 35-20.
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MINNEAPOLIS – At this point, Keith Smith thinks the Purdue football team is just waiting for mistakes to happen and things to go wrong.
Smith, speaking after the Boilers' 35-20 loss at Minnesota Saturday, said if Purdue is ever going to snap what is now a five game losing streak, the attitude has to change. The Boilers (1-5) had four turnovers and a blocked field goal Saturday.
"One turnover happens – a pick is going to get thrown, somebody will fumble the ball – but when we get to the sideline we can't put our heads down and think 'Oh, this is like last week.' We can't let that happen," he said. "That's the issue we're having. Everybody gets into that mindset that we had one turnover so something else is going to happen. We have to turn our mindset to 'Oh, that happened? OK, we're going to go out and turn it around.'
"Until everyone gets that mindset, I'm going to say the same thing every Saturday."
Purdue jumped out to an early 10-0 while playing nearly perfect football in the first quarter. Minnesota then used a 47 yard reception on second-and-five from the Purdue 48 to make the score 10-7.
Then, with 5:20 left in the second quarter, senior quarterback Joey Elliott had a pass intended for running back Ralph Bolden intercepted by Minnesota's Lee Campbell. The interception was returned to the two yard line, leading to a UM score two plays later and take the lead.
Unlike Purdue's six turnover performance against Northwestern Oct. 6, the Boilers appeared to respond well to the turnover this week, using the next drive to cut Minnesota's lead to 14-13 with a 40 yard field goal by Carson Wiggs.
"We always feel like we're still in the game, like we can score at any moment of the game," Smith said. "We just make too many mistakes and put ourselves in too many holes to dig ourselves out of each week. That's us. We make too many mistakes and now we have to live with it.""
Purdue's problems returned in the second half, however. The Boilers started the half with the ball, but after three plays had to punt from their own 23-yard-line. Senior Chris Summers, who is averaging more than 40 yards per attempt this season, shanked the punt out of bounds for a 7-yard net on the play.
"It was into the wind, but it just caught my foot wrong," Summers said. "I hit my other one into the wind too, but that was a 45-yard fair catch. The wind isn't an excuse. It was just a bad drop and a bad kick altogether."
Minnesota's Kevin Whaley ran for 28 yards on the next play before quarterback Adam Weber recorded a two yard rushing touchdown to make the score 21-13.
On the ensuing kickoff, Purdue's Keith Carlos fumbled after a making it to the 31-yard-line. The ball was recovered by the Gophers (4-2), who scored four plays later.
"The thing is, we can't let one turnover turn into a landslide like we've been doing," Smith said. "Everyone is going to have turnovers, but we have to be able to come out the next series and be able to move on. Until we figure out how to do that, I'm going to keep on coming in after every game and say the exact same thing. We make too many mistakes so we can't win a game."
Purdue's next drive went nine plays before stalling on the Minnesota 21. Wiggs came on the field for his third field goal of the day – having already hit from 43 and 40 yards. The kick was blocked and returned 47 yards by Minnesota's Traye Simmons to make the score 35-13.
"The snap and hold were good, just like the other kicks," Wiggs said. "I struck the ball well, we just unfortunately had some penetration up front. It was definitely just as good as the other ones."
Purdue cut the lead to 35-20 early in the fourth quarter, when Elliot connected with Smith for a 61-yard touchdown reception to give the Boilers some hope of a rally. Elliott finished with 299 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, while Smith had seven catches for 126 yards.
After forcing a punt on Minnesota's next drive, the Boilers mustered an 11-play drive that ended when they came up short on fourth and 16, effectively ending all hope for a comeback.
"We have a great team," Smith said after the game. "That's the thing. If we had a bad team I could come in and say, 'Ok, we made mistakes. I expected mistakes. It happened.' But we have a great team and I believe in everyone on this team. That's why it's so frustrating that we do the same things every week."
"We're a few plays from being undefeated or having one loss. It's just a few plays. We just haven't made them, and that's the issue."