Exorcising the old demons -- Purdue Edition

[Hatsofftothee]

Since we are Gopher fans, we can do this every week. For Purdue, I vaguely remember a last second field goal by Purdue to tie when the officials didn't start the clock soon enough, but the details are fuzzy.

They beat us in OT, and there was some other refereeing screw-up (again, the details are hazy) on what would have been a tying TD for the Gophers. Was that the one where the refs didn't understand how the edge of the end zone was painted and thought the Gopher receiver was out of bounds when he was actually in bounds?

There were probably some heartbreaks during the Chris Darkins/Mike Alstott era, but those games were so wildly entertaining that they somehow don't hurt as much, plus we actually won two out of three. (For those too young to remember, in the 1993, 94, 95 Gopher v. Purdue games, 37 points was the lowest score posted in any one game . . . by the LOSING team.)

 

[MNSpaniel]

The game I remember .... I was on a job site putting in a 12 hour day and was listening to the game on the radio. Gophers had the lead. I think there was 21 seconds left and Purdue some how went the length of the field with no timeouts and was still able to get the field goal team on the field and kick the winning field goal. Couldn't believe it.

I watched the highlights last week of Purdue and then yesterday's against Mich St. This could be a trap game. Everyone is telling the Gophers they are going to go 7-1. I just hope they can focus on their task week to week.

 

[Sparlimb]

There was a Mason game where we went to OT with Purdue and we scored a touchdown in OT. The refs ruled it out of bounds because the gopher paint in the endzone didn't go all the way to the out of bounds line and so it confused the ref on a bang bang play and, of course, there was no replay then. We went on to lose that game.

 

[Nomellini]

1960- A mediocre Purdue team comes to Minneapolis a week after the #2 Gophers whip up on #1 Iowa. Led by future Twins 2nd baseman, Bernie Allen, the Boilers jolt the Gophers, 23-14.
1963- Down 13-11 in the closing minutes at Ross Ade, Gopher qb Bob Sadek hits Aaron Brown with a pass in the open field for what seemed like a sure touchdown. Brown was a marvelous athlete, big and fast. Instead of scoring a game-winning td, Brown pulls up lame with a hammie pull and is caught at the Purdue 10-yard line. Fullback/linebacker Mike Reid misses an easy field goal and the Gophers lose.

 

[TacMan]

That game was brutal. It was in 2001, a couple weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks. Preston Gruenning made a beautiful punt with less than a minute left to pin Purdue at their own three yard line with less than a minute left, and a Gopher three point lead. Purdue threw two Hail Marys and completed them both to get into Gopher territory for a long field goal attempt. Trouble is that there was only one second on the clock...somehow Purdue managed to get their offense off the field, their FG team on the field, and snap the ball right as the refs restarted the clock. FG was good. Refs originally signaled good before huddling for a minute or two of deliberation before again signaling good. Purdue got ball first in OT and scored easily. Gophers then got ball and Travis Cole hit Antoine Henderson for the matching TD. Trouble is that the ref signaled out of bounds. Replay showed he clearly had one foot inbounds. Ref realized the made a mistake and didn't call a very obvious intentional grounding penalty two plays later, but didn't matter as game ended on an INT on next play. I still don't know if I was more upset after that game or the 2003 Michigan game. By 2005 Wisconsin, I had gotten used of getting my heart ripped out and that one didn't seem as bad. I half expected Texas Tech to come back and win in 2006 while watching the game with several friends who went to Tech.

Let's hope the Gophers put this one away early and don't allow any room for the unbelievable this Saturday.

 

[gopherfannnn]

I think we should quit exercising our damn old demons. I think they are tired. Give them a rest.

 

[Tater]

It's not all bad losing to Purdue--Don't forget they did get Brewster fired!

 

[BarnBoy]

That game was brutal. It was in 2001, a couple weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks. Preston Gruenning made a beautiful punt with less than a minute left to pin Purdue at their own three yard line with less than a minute left, and a Gopher three point lead. Purdue threw two Hail Marys and completed them both to get into Gopher territory for a long field goal attempt. Trouble is that there was only one second on the clock...somehow Purdue managed to get their offense off the field, their FG team on the field, and snap the ball right as the refs restarted the clock. FG was good. Refs originally signaled good before huddling for a minute or two of deliberation before again signaling good. Purdue got ball first in OT and scored easily. Gophers then got ball and Travis Cole hit Antoine Henderson for the matching TD. Trouble is that the ref signaled out of bounds. Replay showed he clearly had one foot inbounds. Ref realized the made a mistake and didn't call a very obvious intentional grounding penalty two plays later, but didn't matter as game ended on an INT on next play. I still don't know if I was more upset after that game or the 2003 Michigan game. By 2005 Wisconsin, I had gotten used of getting my heart ripped out and that one didn't seem as bad. I half expected Texas Tech to come back and win in 2006 while watching the game with several friends who went to Tech.

Let's hope the Gophers put this one away early and don't allow any room for the unbelievable this Saturday.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Purdue has always been tough for us - and, maybe not so strangely, the largest crowd to attend a Gopher game was a game with Purdue in 1948 - nearly 67,000. The next year a mediocre Purdue team upset the Gophers at Homecoming and knocked the '49ers out of the conference championship and Rose Bowl.

 

[year of the gopher]

That was an officiating travesty in that game. On the field goal drive, the refs consistently seemed to wait for the Purdue players to get to the LOS before placing the ball and starting the clock. Then the Henderson TD that wasn't.

 

[BleedM&G]

1960- A mediocre Purdue team comes to Minneapolis a week after the #2 Gophers whip up on #1 Iowa. Led by future Twins 2nd baseman, Bernie Allen, the Boilers jolt the Gophers, 23-14.
Not meaning to hijack this thread but does anyone remember this game? It was the first Gopher game I attended. Memorial Stadium was packed, at least to a kid (at the time) like me. A cold, grey day. The thing I remember most, and I admit to be getting a little senile, is all of the players being carried off the field, from both teams. I don't know if this is correct but other than extreme disappointment it is my lasting impression of the game. I've tried researching the game but couldn't find much about it. So, anyone else remember this game?

 

[dpodoll68]

Purdue has always been tough for us - and, maybe not so strangely, the largest crowd to attend a Gopher game was a game with Purdue in 1948 - nearly 67,000. The next year a mediocre Purdue team upset the Gophers at Homecoming and knocked the '49ers out of the conference championship and Rose Bowl.

The U says that the record for attendance at Memorial Stadium was 66,284 against Purdue on 11/18/61:

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/051106aab.html

 

[Sparlimb]

The U says that the record for attendance at Memorial Stadium was 66,284 against Purdue on 11/18/61:

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/051106aab.html

Paul Moore: It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room.

 

[gopher7]

The Glen Mason era, summed up in 19 seconds. There is no way that can happen, but it did.

 

[Maximus]

Kind of obscure but always bugged me. Down 49-7 in the 3rd in 98, Minnesota runs an end around pass with Ryan Keller who's a wide receiver/3rd string QB. 52 yard touchdown pass....why not save that for Penn State the next week when you're actually in that game?

Side note: Brees was 31-36 for 522 and 6 tds in that game. Yikes.

 

[cncmin]

1960- A mediocre Purdue team comes to Minneapolis a week after the #2 Gophers whip up on #1 Iowa. Led by future Twins 2nd baseman, Bernie Allen, the Boilers jolt the Gophers, 23-14.
Not meaning to hijack this thread but does anyone remember this game? It was the first Gopher game I attended. Memorial Stadium was packed, at least to a kid (at the time) like me. A cold, grey day. The thing I remember most, and I admit to be getting a little senile, is all of the players being carried off the field, from both teams. I don't know if this is correct but other than extreme disappointment it is my lasting impression of the game. I've tried researching the game but couldn't find much about it. So, anyone else remember this game?

I think what you're looking for is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgWsYKCzVEU
There is another "highlight" video of this on Youtube, which shows the crowd - looked packed.

 

[cncmin]

That was an officiating travesty in that game. On the field goal drive, the refs consistently seemed to wait for the Purdue players to get to the LOS before placing the ball and starting the clock. Then the Henderson TD that wasn't.

The only video of the 2001 travesty that I can find on Youtube - which has already been linked here by other(s) - does what happened there no justice. This was back near the beginning of the Mason's-teams-self-destruct-with-a-lead era, which arguably began vs. NU and/or NCSt in 2000, or perhaps in 1999 with any of the 3 close losses (prior to Oregon). Anyway, in this 2001 game, Purdue started from their own 3 yard line with only 17 seconds left and, I believe, 0 timeouts left. The Gophers gave up the plays to the middle of the field, but they foolishly gave up two long pass plays to stop the clock for chain moving, and more stupidly, tackled the second receiver quickly even though they could have messed with him another couple seconds to run out the clock; and the officials made no attempt to hustle to mark the chains, and worse, WAITED for Purdue to get set before setting the ball and starting the clock. It was as if the officials were intentionally going in slow motion. After the final play, with 1 second left on the official clock, the officials gave Purdue enough time to get their entire FG team onto the field, set, hike, and hit a 52 yard tying FG. The announcers had no idea if it would stand (obviously it should not have), but never do the officials do the Gophers fairness. To top it off, they called off the tying TD pass in OT, which was very clearly in bounds to any but the stupidest (or intentionally unfair?) of observers. A "travesty", for sure.

After that game, certainly, never again did a Glen Mason-coached Gopher team feel good with a close lead in the 4th quarter, and at least another handful of sure wins were lost. Probably was a direct precursor of the 2003 Michigan debacle, and Mason's finale vs. TT.