Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apartments
Classifieds
Shopping
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Rich Rodriguez just wanted to tell Danny Hope, “Good luck in the next game.”
Apparently, Purdue’s first-year coach had other plans.
Despite Purdue’s first victory at Michigan Stadium since 1966, Hope took the opportunity during the postgame handshake to “thank” Rodriguez for getting Purdue lineman Zach Reckman suspended for one game this season, Rodriguez said.
Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton was suspended by the Big Ten for throwing a punch against Notre Dame this season. The next week, Reckman had a late hit in the final seconds of Purdue’s loss to Northern Illinois.
At that time, Rodriguez said his conversation with the commissioner was “that we will watch every Big Ten game very closely and any non-football act … we’re going to ask that person get the same type of punishment.”
Reckman was suspended for one game.
In Rodriguez’s postgame news conference, he brought up the handshake without being asked about it.
Hope wasn’t asked about the incident in his news conference, but he issued a statement after the game saying: “As far as I’m concerned, our conversation will remain between coach Rodriguez and me. We’ll leave it at that.”
Rodriguez said Hope brought Reckman over to him after the game and Reckman said, “Thanks, coach. I really appreciate what you did.”
“I don’t know where that came from,” Rodriguez said. “I talked to him on the phone and told him that wasn’t the reason. This was way back when. I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
Michigan had a chance to tie the game at 38 with 2:10 remaining, but quarterback Tate Forcier was sacked by Ryan Kerrigan on a two-point conversion attempt.
Kerrigan said he expected Michigan to run an option play. Instead, the tight end released, and Kerrigan was left with only the tackle to beat.
He did.
“I have absolutely no clue how he got back there,” defensive tackle Mike Neal said.
“All I know is I’m lined up against my man, and I see Superman flying past me, so I already knew it was going down. Once I see him come past me, I just stopped rushing.
“I just watched him. I like to watch what he does. It’s pretty amazing.”
One week after managing only 141 yards of offense and no points against Wisconsin, quarterback Joey Elliott and the offense responded.
Elliott completed 28 of 39 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns to help the Boilermakers post their second-highest point total of the season.
Ralph Bolden rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and he also caught a 35-yard touchdown pass.
