Quotes That Matter From Barry Odom Following Purdue's Thrashing of Minnesota

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — On a Saturday night under the lights of Ross-Ade Stadium, Barry Odom picked up his most impressive win as Purdue's head coach. The Boilermakers steamrolled the Golden Gophers 41-13, improving to 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play.

Purdue was led by its rushing attack, piling up 305 yards and averaging 6.5 yards per carry against a strong Minnesota defensive front. Former Gopher-turned-Boilermaker Fame Ijeboi led the charge, racking up 195 yards and scoring three touchdowns against his former team.

The defense also held up its end of the bargain, holding Minnesota to just 275 yards on the ground and only 27 rushing yards for the contest. It was a complete victory for Odom's squad.

Here are a few key talking points from the head coach following the impressive victory.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Barry Odom. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Controlling the line of scrimmage

Purdue controlled the line of scrimmage on both the offensive and defensive lines Saturday night. Most impressive was the job the Boilermakers did offensively, paving the way for Ijeboi and quarterback Ryan Browne to rack up the yardage.

Minnesota's defense entered Saturday's contest with 14 sacks and 40 tackles for loss, some of the best figures in the Big Ten. The Gophers had just three tackles for loss for a total of five yards.

"When you look at our run game on offense, and that's not just the offensive line, that's tight ends, receivers blocking, running backs running the way they are," Odom said. "As Coach [Josh] Henson said a million times this week, 'Stay on schedule.' They embraced that, they understood what we're trying to get accomplished. Then you've gotta go execute, and they did."

Another great defensive effort

After a rough three-week stretch, Purdue's defense finally delivered last Saturday in Champaign, holding Illinois to just 17 points. The success carried over into this week's game against Minnesota, holding the Gophers to just 13 points.

Minnesota converted on just 4-of-13 third-down attempts and was 0-of-2 in fourth-down tries. As a team, the Gophers had just 10 first downs for the game.

"We're making progress. I said it after the Notre Dame game, we got a little bit better. Nobody wanted to hear it. It was hard to see that game," Odom said. "We just keep making jumps, keep making progress. I think Coach Kane has done a tremendous job, as well as the defensive staff on identifying areas that we need to get fixed and then fixing them."

Linebacker Jojo Hayden also came up with a fourth-down interception to close the first half and special teams recovered a fumble. The Boilers have done the little things right over the last two weeks.

Ryan Browne's prolific run game

Browne has been excellent through the air in the first five games, and he had another solid night against the Gophers. He completed 14-of-24 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. But the veteran quarterback actually crushed Minnesota with his legs.

Browne rushed for 81 yards on just seven carries. That included one 33-yard scamper and an 11-yard touchdown run late in the game to seal the victory. Were quarterback runs part of Purdue's plans offensively?

"How they were playing us structurally, it provided that," Odom said. "I know through the conversation on the headset, that there were a number of things throughout the game that we were making adjustments. Ryan had a great night executing and also pre-snap reads and being comfortable with that."

The pass rush on Drake Lindsey

Purdue's defense didn't record a sack on Saturday night, but the pass rush definitely flustered Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey. He was flushed out of the pocket, forced to make quick decisions and was off target throughout the night.

Lindsey was 22-of-39 for 248 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

"You don't have to look down at the stat sheet and see six sacks, but you have to get him off rhythm, off his spot," Odom said. "I think we're continuing to find ways to harrass [him] tonight."

Odom has mentioned previously that Purdue doesn't have to get sacks to be productive in the pass rush. Saturday night's victory over Minnesota was a perfect example of that.

Fame Ijeboi goes off against the Gophers

Ijeboi is likely going to be the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after that dominant performance against his former team. He had more rushing yards than any other Boiler ball carrier sicen Markell Jones piled up 217 yards against Indiana in the 2017 Old Oaken Bucket Game.

"Tremendous," Odom said of the back. "He's got the heart of a champion, an outstanding young man, I think he's got a 4.0 GPA, he works every day as hard as he can work. He's a leader on our team. His personality is infectious. It means something to him. He cares about his teammates.

"Finishing runs moving forward, how important that is with the pad level. He continued to show up tonight and I'm happy for him."

Minnesota had no answer for Ijeboi, and he made them pay nearly every time he touched the football.

Winning on Hammer Down Cancer night

Before ending his press conference, Odom wanted to thank the crowd and the support around the program for Purdue's Hammer Down Cancer night. He talked about the significance of the night, and how meaningful it was to get a win.

"Very thankful for the crowd tonight and the initiative with Hammer Down Cancer," he said. "It's near and dear to this program for a number reasons on a lot of different levels. You look around the world, and almost everywhere you go, there are pride points brought up about Purdue. They see the forward-leaning 'P.' It's always innovation, it's always astronauts, usually you get to the conversation of Drew Brees, and you always get to the conversation of Tyler Trent, and how important he is to the people of Purdue.

"For us to do our small part in helping that initiative. Very excited for Purdue Nation to have that victory tonight, a night that's so special to so many."

Get top Boilermakers stories, expert analysis, and can't-miss moments straight to your inbox for free by signing up for the Purdue Boilermakers on SI newsletter!

Add us as a preferred source on Google