WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – The Gophers remain winless in the Big Ten, and they haven't even reached the hard part of their schedule yet.
That thought came to mind after watching the Gophers invent a new way to lose Saturday on windy-turned-stormy Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Their defense forced turnovers on four consecutive possessions, and they still managed to lose to Purdue by double digits, 31-17.
"Everything that happened falls on me," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said.
Ultimately, yes, but blame should be shared. The Gophers blew a winnable game for myriad reasons.
Quarterback Conor Rhoda continued to commit turnovers in the red zone, costing his team valuable points. The defense crumbled like soggy tissue paper with the game on the line. And injuries and suspensions have decimated the depth chart, forcing Fleck to rely on players who aren't ready and/or good enough to compete at the Big Ten level.
The Gophers look like a flawed team even if everything goes perfectly. They're not good enough to overcome costly mistakes, sloppy play and fourth-stringers being pressed into emergency action.
"I wouldn't say anybody is discouraged," defensive end Carter Coughlin said. "I'd say a lot of people are upset that we didn't take it home."
They won't win many games if they don't get more from their passing game. Rhoda completed only 11 of 25 passes for 101 yards — 32 of those yards coming on a shoestring grab by Rashad Still that looked lucky more than anything.