ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Saturday’s postgame exchange between Purdue coach Danny Hope and Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez was anything but normal.

Following the Boilermakers’ 38-36 victory at Michigan Stadium, Hope brought offensive lineman Zach Reckman with him to meet with the Wolverines’ second-year coach.

The Big Ten suspended Reckman for one game following the Sept. 19 loss to Northern Illinois after the fifth-year senior delivered a late hit on the Huskies’ Sean Proger on the final play.

The league had suspended Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton the week before Reckman’s incident, leading Rodriguez to say he would be watching the Big Ten closely to find similar acts. Rodriguez said at the time he had seen an example but didn’t specify.

During Saturday’s news conference, Rodriguez began talking about the exchange without being prompted.

“I was a little disappointed after the game,” Rodriguez said. "Their coach brought their lineman over like I was the reason he was suspended for that one game. He brought him over to say, ‘Thanks for this’ or whatever. I don’t know where that came from.

“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. What are you going to do?”

Hope issued a brief statement about Rodriguez’s remarks through an e-mail sent by Tom Schott , Purdue’s assistant athletic director for communications.

“As far as I’m concerned, our conversation will remain between coach Rodriquez and me. We’ll leave it at that.”

Crazy calls

Saturday’s game had plenty of wild moments, including a handful of officiating calls. One came when the Wolverines faced fourth-and-10 from the Purdue 20-yard line.

Quarterback Tate Forcier was forced from the pocket, but pitched the ball to Carlos Brown . Brown was tackled by Purdue’s Torri Williams out of bounds, but the running back was lying on Williams and never touched the ground. Brown pitched the ball to offensive lineman Mark Huyge , who was tackled at the Purdue 6.

Hope didn’t have a challenge remaining after using one in the first quarter. Referee Todd Geerlings said afterward that the replay official called for a review.

The review showed that Forcier had committed a penalty for an illegal forward pass, nullifying the exciting play.

Catching up

Last week at Wisconsin, the Boilermakers had nine dropped passes. That didn’t help quarterback Joey Elliott , who completed just 5-of-23 passes for 59 yards.

Saturday was a much different story for Elliott and his receivers. The fifth-year senior completed 28-of-39 for a career-best 367 yards and two touchdowns.

“We didn’t help him as a receiving corps,” said junior Keith Smith , who caught 11 passes for 84 yards.

Smith was determined to bounce back following last week’s one-catch performance.

“This week, I had to buckle down and start doing the little things again,” Smith said. “I came out with a big performance.”