MINNEAPOLIS -- After an 0-2 start in the Big Ten, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have fought their way back into the race for the West Division title. Heres where it starts to get interesting.Rodney Smith ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Mitch Leidner ran for 74 yards and two more scores Saturday as Minnesota defeated Purdue 44-31.The Gophers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) opened conference play with an overtime loss at Penn State and a home loss to Iowa. But theyve rattled off four straight wins over admittedly lesser foes -- Maryland, Rutgers, Illinois and Purdue, who have combined for five conference victories this season.Now the schedule gets tougher, with road games at Nebraska and Wisconsin sandwiched around a visit from Northwestern. Minnesota can win the Big Ten West if it wins out, which seemed and unlikely position for them to be in four weeks ago.After our first two conference games nobody gave us a chance ... to be in here, Gophers coach Tracy Claeys said. They kind of said the season was over. We just kept battling one game at a time and we fought our way back into this thing.Smith and Leidner put the points on the board on Saturday, but the Gophers resurgence in the past month and against Purdue was due in large part to its defensive effort. Trailing 28-23 at halftime, Minnesota forced three second-half turnovers, and the offense turned each of them into touchdowns as the Gophers outscored the Boilermakers 21-3 in the second half.We cant keep beating ourselves like that. Its frustrating, said Purdue quarterback David Blough, who threw four touchdown passes in the first half but was held in check after the break. They gave us every single coverage in America in the second half, they kept throwing wrenches in (our offense).Purdue (3-6, 1-5) again was competitive but continued to be plagued by second-half woes in its third game since head coach Darrell Hazell was fired. The Boilermakers have been outscored 83-10 in the second half in their last three games.It puts tears in my eyes not to be able to get them to a point they can finish, Purdue interim coach Gerad Parker said. Thought it was a chance for us, got into the third quarter and had a chance to win the game. We got to do that and relay to them its not okay to finish short and just be close.As Purdue tries to regroup, Minnesota gets ready for the most important stretch of its season, beginning with a game Saturday night at Nebraska. That leaves little time to celebrate its recent success.It feels good, but we have bigger goals, Smith said. This week is a big week coming up for us and we know that.STREAKINGPurdue receivers racked up more than 100 yards after the catch in the first half thanks to two long touchdowns off short passes. In the first quarter, Cameron Posey caught a ball one step ahead of Minnesota safety Damarius Travis and ran the last 60 yards untouched for an 89-yard touchdown. De Yancey later shook off a tackle and ran the last 45 yards of a 60-yard touchdown playYou never know until you get into the games how youre going to match up, Claeys said. Speeds hard to tell on video -- it really is. So after those two big plays we went to more safety help on them.OFF TARGETMinnesota linebacker Nick Rallis was ejected after being called for targeting in the fourth quarter. Hell miss the first half of the Nebraska game as a result. Replays appeared to show that Rallis made a clean hit with his shoulder but the replay official confirmed the ejection.That was the sixth targeting call against the Gophers, and though Claeys admitted to frustration over the inconsistent way the rule has been interpreted and implemented, he knew better than to say anything about it after the game.I would add more but Christmas is coming up and I would much rather use my money on Christmas presents than send it to the Big Ten, he said.THE TAKEAWAYPurdue: Blough ended the day with 391 passing yards, the fifth time hes passed for 300 yards this year. . Yancey and Posey each topped 100 receiving yards with a touchdown for PurdueMinnesota: Smith topped the 100-yard mark for the fourth straight game and sixth time this season. . Gophers running back Shannon Brooks missed the game due to an unspecified injury. . Minnesota rushed for five touchdowns for the second straight game. . Sophomore Emmit Carpenter became the first Gopher in 19 years to kick two 50-yard field goals in a game. Carpenter converted from 52 and 53 yards in the first half. . Sophomore linebacker Blake Cashman, a walk-on filling in for two injured teammates, finished the game with two sacks.LAST WORDI know to you guys it seems like a theme: Purdue cant finish in the second half. But we were just as ready in the second half as we were in the first half. It was not anything about lack of effort. They just made more plays in the second half. -- Boilermakers linebacker Markus BaileyUP NEXTPurdue hosts Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.Minnesota travels to Nebraska for a Saturday night clash with the Cornhuskers. Stefon Diggs Hoodie . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Vikings Hoodies Jerseys Outlet .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.cheapvikingshoodiesjerseys.com/ .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Cheap Vikings Hoodies Store . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Ade Aruna Hoodie . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Monte Kiffin didnt handle retirement very well.No golfing. No fishing. Not even some leisurely shuffleboard.You can only go on so many walks with your wife on the beach, Kiffin said.So the 76-year-old Kiffin got back into coaching after a one-year hiatus and is helping Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley revamp one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Kiffin isnt calling plays or working with a specific position group. Hes merely a defensive assistant, but probably the most well-respected one in the league.Hes entering his 29th NFL season, a career that includes stops in Green Bay, Buffalo, Minnesota, New York, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Jacksonville. He has 21 years of coaching at the collegiate level, a resume that began at his alma mater, Nebraska, in 1966.So this is Kiffins golden anniversary.It might also be his most enjoyable season after spending a year somewhat removed from the game.Im really having a lot of fun, Kiffin said. But having fun, youve got to win, you know? You want to win. Like I told Gus, `I didnt come here to be one-and-done now. Lets go.The Jaguars seemingly have all the pieces in place for a quick turnaround, with defensive end Dante Fowler returning from knee injury, defensive tackle Malik Jackson and safety Tashaun Gipson filling huge needs in free agency, and cornerback Prince Amukamara providing veteran leadership. Throw in the teams top three draft picks -- cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Myles Jack and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue -- and Jacksonville believes it has assembled a formidable unit for years to come.For Kiffin, seeing it come together elicits memories of his early years in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers drafted Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks in 1995, the year before coach Tony Dungy hired Kiffin. The Bucs made the playoffs in four of Dungys six seasons, including advancing to the 1999 NFC championship game.Thats what I see happening here, said Kiffin, who will sort of be reunited with the Bucs this week when his former team travels to Jacksonville for two days of practice. It could be like the Bucs. I dont know that it will be. We have to go out and do it on the field.Kiffins presence should help. Bradley initially brought Kiffin in as a consultant in January while he interviewed candidates to replace fired defensive coordinator Bob Babich. Kiffin stuck around to help during free agency and then got a call from Bradley in March asking him to join Jacksonvilles staff full-time.ddddddddddddiffin didnt hesitate.Although he stayed busy in his year off -- he helped a couple high school coaches in the Tampa Bay area and spent a week visiting the Seattle Seahawks and two weeks helping the Pittsburgh Steelers -- it wasnt the same as being on the field every day. Kiffin longed for football so much that he spent three days a week hunkered down in a back room of Monday Night Football analyst Jon Grudens Tampa office just watching game tape.Basically it was just time for me to study and stay up, Kiffin said. I was hoping I was going to get back in. I was going to get back in somehow. I didnt know what I was going to do.Bradley insists Kiffin isnt on the payroll as a favor even though Kiffin helped Bradley get his first NFL job with Tampa Bay in 2006 and told Pete Carroll to hire Bradley as Seattles defensive coordinator in 2010.Bradley wanted Kiffin around, in part, to be a sounding board for young players and first-time NFL defensive coordinator Todd Wash. So Wash bounces idea off Kiffin, as do Bradley and offensive coordinator Greg Olson.The big thing with him was what was going to be his exact role, Bradley said. Once we came up with an idea of his role, was he going to accept that role? Its gone above and beyond. Its better than I imagined. Hes really doing everything he can to help this defense, this organization, to get better and wants nothing in return. Its really cool for him, and he adds tremendous value.Added veteran linebacker Paul Posluszny: Hes a Hall of Fame guy and his insight is always so specific and so exact.Kiffins retirement plan was much less precise, partly because he doesnt have many hobbies. Football is his life, so much so that his wife is walking the beaches alone near Tampa while he works about 200 miles away in Jacksonville.I just love coaching, Kiffin said. Just to be back coaching. Im not here to run this show or be the coordinator. Really, I came here to help young coaches and young players get better. Ive been there, done it, seen it. Im just here to help everyone else.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store ' ' '