GOPHERS REPLAY
Gophers 39, Purdue 38
The recap: Purdue hit some big plays to build a 31-20 lead by halftime, but the Gophers defense rebounded in the second half. Mitch Leidner passed for 143 yards in the third quarter, and Ryan Santoso kicked the game-winning 52-yard field goal with 4:59 to play.
What was learned: The Gophers are 22-0 when they've led or been tied at halftime under Jerry Kill. But they were 0-22 in games they'd trailed at the half before coming back to win before a crowd of 51,241 at TCF Bank Stadium.
YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
• With 35 carries for 194 yards, David Cobb has rushed for 1,013 yards this season. He ranks fourth in the nation with 144.7 rushing yards per game behind three other Big Ten backs — Melvin Gordon (174.3), Tevin Coleman (170.3) and Ameer Abdullah (146.3).
• Cobb's cousin, middle linebacker Damien Wilson, made 10 tackles and leads the Big Ten with 10.9 tackles per game.
• Gophers safety Cedric Thompson intercepted Austin Appleby's first and last passes of the game. He returned the first one to the Purdue 2-yard line, and the second one sealed the win.
UP NEXT: At Illinois
11 a.m. Saturday, Memorial Stadium
TV: ESPNU. Radio: 100.3-FM
Records: Gophers 6-1, 3-0 Big Ten; Illinois 3-4, 0-3
The skinny: Illinois is 1-18 in Big Ten games under third-year coach Tim Beckman, and he's definitely on the hot seat. Wes Lunt had been a good solution at quarterback, but he's out four to six weeks because of a broken leg. Senior Reilly O'Toole started at quarterback against Wisconsin on Oct. 11, but in the fourth quarter Beckman turned to sophomore Aaron Bailey. Beckman has said both O'Toole and Bailey could play against the Gophers. Illinois, which had a bye Saturday, ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring defense, giving up 35.9 points per game.
JOE CHRISTENSEN
