5 stats you won’t believe from Minnesota’s win over Purdue

The Gophers' win over Purdue was not one to right home about. Let's take a look at five hard-to-believe stats from Minnesota's second Big Ten win of the season.

"The Gophers won, right? That's all I care about... We were 1-0, we found a way to win," P.J. Fleck said after the Gophers' victory against Purdue.

“It was a pretty crazy day in college football.”

P.J. Fleck on the importance of winning ugly. pic.twitter.com/Yw0PyZFHLr
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) October 12, 2025

Total yards: Purdue 456, Minnesota 262

The first stat that stands out like a sore thumb in the box score is that Purdue out-gained Minnesota 456 total yards to 262. The Gophers' defense had zero answer for the Boilermakers' offense, which averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Three pivotal turnovers, plus another one on the last play of the game, are what saved Minnesota from a disastrous result on the scoreboard.

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Rushing yards: Purdue 253, Minnesota 30

With the help of legendary running back Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota became a program known for running the football at a high level and stopping the run at a high level. That has not been the case this season, and it was not the case on Saturday night with a staggering 223-yard difference on the ground. Purdue dominated the Gophers in the trenches with 6.3 yards per carry compared to only 1.7 for Minnesota.

Oct 11, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne (15) dives for a touchdown against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Time of possesion: Purdue 34:30, Minnesota 25:30

The Gophers' 7:47 scoring drive to tie things up late in the fourth quarter made this one much closer than it seemed. Purdue was dictating the pace of the entire game, in large part, because it had the ball. Time of possession is often a stat to take with a grain of salt, but it's just another place where Minnesota was dominated.

First downs: Purdue 25, Minnesota 16

Purdue's offense was consistently driving down the field all night. With 12 rushing first downs compared to only three for Minnesota, the Boilermakers' only offensive miscues were turnovers and penalties.

Minnesota 27, Purdue 20

Sometimes sports need to be viewed by the eye test, and Minnesota did not look like the better football team on Saturday night against Purdue. The Boilermakers came into Huntington Bank Stadium and punched the Gophers in the face. Minnesota has a substantially better roster on paper and a more experienced coaching staff, but Purdue looked like the team that was more prepared.

Good teams and good programs figure out a way to win games they're not supposed to, and Minnesota did just that on Saturday night.