Scoggins: Comeback shows resolve of these Gophers

They found a way. That's the only way to describe a performance that threatened to derail a promising season and cause fans to throw up their hands and walk away.

The Gophers found a way to win on a day when their defense took a hiatus for an entire half. They found a way when they were far from their best, when their mistakes piled up and the game looked like a lost cause.

Despite everything that went wrong — and there was plenty of it — the Gophers did something very un-Gophers-like.

They stayed calm. They showed resolve. They made critical plays when they absolutely needed them. They didn't allow one bad half to snowball into an avalanche of ineptitude and frustration.

Instead, a 39-38 victory against Purdue left the Gophers in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West and provided another tangible sign that this team is different from ones we've seen in the past.

These Gophers don't crumble like a house of cards when tested with adversity.

"I remember my first year," senior safety Cedric Thompson said, "once we were down, we were like, 'It's over.' But going into the half, us being down, we had no worries at all."

A loss would have been deflating beyond the obvious disappointment of losing at home as 13½-point favorites. Gophers fans believe in this team. They believe in this season's potential, and long-suffering fans of this program know too well that optimism usually is followed by heartbreak.

A loss would have sounded like a needle puncturing a balloon and made many of their fans feel like Charlie Brown kicking a football, foolish for believing in a different outcome. And all that talk about creating momentum and dreaming big would have been nothing more than wasted energy.

Instead, they were treated to a different outcome.

"You've got to find a way to win sometimes," Kill said.

That's exactly what his team did. In simplest terms, the Gophers beat a team with a losing record and a bad defense. The details paint a different picture.

Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys established a goal of 17 points allowed for his unit every game. Purdue reached 31 points by the second quarter.

The Gophers moved like they wore concrete cleats in trying to contain Purdue's speedy running backs. Their defense had allowed only six plays of 30-plus yards coming into the game. Purdue tallied four of those big plays.

Their mistakes multiplied. The Gophers had a pick-six negated by an offsides penalty. A communication breakdown left a Purdue receiver uncovered on touchdown catch. An illegal block wiped out a 20-yard run by David Cobb. A foolish personal foul penalty gave Purdue good field position.

The totality of that likely would have sabotaged previous Gophers teams and prevented them from winning. This team just kept chipping away until it did enough to win the game.

The defense woke up and held Purdue to seven points and 0-for-5 on third down in the second half. Safety Damarius Travis stuffed quarterback Austin Appleby for no gain on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter.

Cobb displayed his usual determination and heart in amassing 194 yards rushing in 35 carries.

Freshman kicker Ryan Santoso didn't show an ounce of nervousness in his 6-6, 245-pound body in booting a go-ahead 52-yard field goal that easily cleared the crossbar with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left.

And, finally, Thompson made a dazzling, diving interception on Purdue's final drive that allowed the Gophers to run out the clock.

The totality of those moments allowed the Gophers to remain undefeated in conference play.

"Everybody came together," Cobb said. "It was a team win."

They made mistakes. Their defense faltered for a half. They walked to the edge of a steep drop-off.

But they responded as good teams do. They made clutch plays and found a way to win. Ultimately, that's all that matters.

Chip Scoggins • chip.scoggins@startribune.com