2 min read • September 27, 2022
Posted in
The Purdue Boilermakers have started the college football season with a 2-2 record. They beat Florida Atlantic University by two points in their most recent game. The game was so close because their quarterback Aidan O’Connell was out with an undisclosed injury. He was injured in the team’s game against Syracuse. Even though he was injured, he finished the game, completing 69 percent of his passes for 424 yards and three touchdowns. At the team’s Monday press conference, his head coach Jeff Brohm said, “Aidan, we’ll see later on in the week where that’s at.”
In his absence, the Boilermakers started sixth-year senior quarterback Austin Burton. His performance against FAU was abysmal, throwing for the lowest number of yards by a Purdue quarterback since 2019.
But, Burtons’ performance wasn’t surprising as he was missing the team’s number two wide receiver, Broc Thompson, who was out with a knee injury. Thompson is considered doubtful to play against Minnesota, according to Tom Dienhart of GoldandBlack.com. The injury occurred in the season opener against Penn State, and Thompson being ruled out of week five so early shows that the knee injury is serious. In Thompsons’ possible long absence, look for Charlie Jones, Tyrone Tracy, and TJ Sheffield as the team’s top targeted players.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the 21st-ranked team in the nation after beating Michigan State last Saturday. They had previously been unranked going into the season. But, the play of starting running back Mohamed Ibrahim has helped the team stay undefeated(4-0). The senior from Baltimore, MD, has run for over 100 yards in every game this season, with his lowest total being 103 yards and highest being 202 yards. His willingness to carry a heavy load just a year after a devastating Achilles injury is admirable. Ibrahim will look to continue his dominance for the fifth straight game against Purdue this Saturday.
Wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell suffered a lower leg injury that will require him to miss the rest of the season. His head coach had a lot of positive words to say, “He’s a huge member of this football team, he’ll continue to be a huge member of this football team,” said PJ Fleck. Without Autman-Bell, the Minnesota passing attack has yet to total a 300-yard game passing. By not having a deep threat, the Golden Gophers have become a more efficient passing team that has led quarterback Tanner Morgan to have the fifth-best QBR in the nation. Look for Purdue to force Minnesota to throw the ball deep consistently.
Minnesota is favored by 11.5 points at home and the over/under is 52.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
If O'Connell was expected to play the line would be around -5 Minnesota.
For injury-based picks this week and throughout the CFB and NFL seasons, sign up for SIC Picks here.
Written by
