5 key matchups for Minnesota's Homecoming game against Purdue

Latest betting odds have the Gophers around a 7.5 to 8.5-point betting favorite against Purdue in Week 7. The Boilermakers were viewed as the Big Ten's worst team heading into the season, but they've had moments against USC and Illinois. These five matchups will be key for Minnesota in Saturday night's annual Homecoming game.

Devin Mockobee vs. Minnesota's run defense

Mockobee has averaged 14 carries for 132.5 yards with one touchdown in each of his two matchups against Minnesota, which both resulted in wins. Purdue's veteran running back is back for a fifth collegiate season, and he has 445 yards from scrimmage and four total touchdowns so far this season. The Gophers need to make sure Mockobee doesn't have another big performance on Saturday night.

Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers running back Devin Mockobee (45) jumps to avoid a tackle attempt by Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Jalen Stroman (7) during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

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Ryan Browne vs. Minnesota's secondary

Purdue has averaged 284.0 passing yards per game this season, which ranks 23rd in the entire country. The only passing attack that Minnesota has faced that ranks higher is Rutgers at No. 19 with 293.6 yards per game. The Gophers' secondary has shown improvements over the last three weeks, but they need to avoid Browne having a big day through the air.

'Get right' game for Minnesota's rushing attack?

The Gophers have had only three Big Ten games with a 100-yard rusher since the start of 2024. They haven't had a player run for more than 100 yards this season since Week 2 against Northwestern State. Purdue's run defense ranks 76th in the country with 149.2 yards allowed per game. This seems like a great opportunity for a healthy Darius Taylor to re-establish himself as one of the top backs in the country, behind a re-shuffled offensive line.

Minnesota vs. itself

The Gophers have done a great job taking care of the football all season with only four turnovers, which ranks 19th-best in the country. The easiest path for Purdue to pull off an upset in this game would be bucking that trend and forcing Minnesota to turn the ball over. If the Gophers play their game and don't force anything, it's hard to find where the Boilermakers will have advantages. This is a sandwich spot between big games against Ohio State and Nebraska, so Minnesota needs to not overlook a scrappy Purdue team.

P.J. Fleck vs. Barry Odom

This season is Purdue's first led by Odom, who was formerly a head coach at UNLV and Missouri. Fleck hasn't recently had a great history against first-year head coaches in the conference with losses to Luke Fickell at Wisconsin, Ryan Walters at Purdue and David Braun at Northwestern in 2023, but he did have a win over Matt Rhule and Nebraska. Minnesota took down UCLA and DeShaun Foster last season in a close game, so that's a 2-3 record against first-year Big Ten head coaches over the last two seasons.

Purdue had virtually no expectations this season, and virtually no expectations week to week. The hardest games can sometimes be against opponents with nothing to lose, so Minnesota needs to be ready for Odom pulling out a bag of tricks.