BREAKS GO GOPHERS’ WAY
After a disputed penalty on Purdue, Minnesota’s beleaguered defense got a big lift from Josh Aune’s interception at the Gophers’ 13-yard line with 44 seconds left, preserving a 34-31 victory over the Boilermakers on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Jack Plummer completed 35 of 42 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns in his first start of the season for Purdue, which took the ball with 2:01 left at its own 39.
The Boilermakers (2-2 Big Ten), boosted by a career-high 15 receptions for 116 yards from Rondale Moore in his long-awaited return, got what they believed was a 19-yard touchdown catch by tight end Payne Durham in the final minute. But Durham was flagged for offensive pass interference despite scant replay evidence of a foul.
“I think you know what I think. I didn’t like it a lot. I can’t really comment on it. It’s part of the game,” Boilermakers coach Jeff Brohm said. “We’ve got to move forward.”
As Durham approached the goal line on his corner route, he extended his arm against the chest of cornerback Phillip Howard, whose pursuit did not appear to be significantly altered by the contact. Aune picked Plummer off on the next play.
Mohamed Ibrahim scored his third touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter to give Minnesota a 34-24 lead before a missed extra point.
A scoring reception by Durham cut the lead to three with 8:31 left. After Purdue got the ball back, kicker Edward Dellinger pulled a 33-yard field-goal attempt wide right to keep Minnesota (2-3) in the lead.
FULMER, DIAZ POSITIVE; 17 GAMES NOW OFF
Tennessee athletic director and former Volunteers football coach Phillip Fulmer, 70, is in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus. Hewas deemed not to have been in close contact with any athletes or “sports-pecific staff members” for Tennessee, which plays at No. 23 Auburn on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Miami’s Manny Diaz became the latest active coach to announce he has contracted the virus. He’ll work virtually with the No. 12 Hurricanes until he can return to the field. Miami is not scheduled to play again until Dec. 5. The Hurricanes were forced to postpone games scheduled for Saturday and Nov. 28 because of coronavirus issues.
As of Friday night, 17 of the 62 games across major college football had been postponed or canceled — the most disrupted games in any week of this season, one more than last week.
The latest addition was Washington State’s game at Stanford, which got canceled before the Cougars left for the Bay Area. The Cougars fell below the Pac-12 minimum of 53 scholarship players available.