PJ Fleck Learns Nothing; Gophers Bring Embarrassment Home

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P.J. Fleck, Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

If you missed the Minnesota Gophers 41-3 rout last weekend in Iowa City, consider yourself fortunate. Despite being in his ninth season with the Gophers, head coach P.J. Fleck showed up to battle for Floyd and forgot to do any level of preparation.

A bad Michigan State 3-5 (0-5) team should represent a perfect get-right opportunity for the Gophers. Unfortunately, Fleck missed that memo too and his team looked like a joke once again despite 23-20 win over the Spartans.

Gophers flatline against a bad Spartans team

Minnesota was just a 3.5 point favorite on Saturday at home against the Spartans. The line grew to 4.5 by kickoff, but the books were clear, this team doesn’t know how to put away bad competition. Michigan State had lost five in a row with head coach Jonathan Smith on the hot seat.

Minutes before kickoff, the Spartans announced starting quarterback Aidan Chiles was going to be benched. Freshman Alessio Milivojevic made his first career start everything seemed to turn Gophers.

Then P.J. Fleck stepped in.

Without Darius Taylor, because the star running back continues to struggle staying healthy, there was no ingenuity from the offense whatsoever. Drake Lindsey threw dinks and dunks for short yardages. Save for Fame Ijeboi ripping off a 49 yard run, and Javon Tracy hauling in a 35-yard pass, there would have been no offense to speak of.

Don’t worry though, Fleck consistently turned to punter Tom Weston for short doinks in plus-territory. He pulled the plug on multiple drives in Spartans territory opting to play for 30 yards of field position instead. After going up 10-0, the Gophers packed it in and tried to salt it away.

This is a head coach connected to multiple big-school openings. He is nine years into leading the Gophers program, and he’s legitimately excited about a lackluster performance that fans point to when trying to denigrate his work.

It’s a good thing Lindsey has shown flashes of stardom. He’s something to build around, but if this path continues for the head coach, Lindsey’s probably better suited playing for a school with a plan. 39 passes resulting in 197 yards is just a masterclass of mediocre play calling.

Two pass interference flags with different outcomes saved Fleck from further embarrassment at home, but anyone that watched the game had already seen him accomplish enough.

Minnesota’s success deserves scrutiny with Fleck rowing

Listen, I came into this season thinking the Gophers could run the table and pull off their second double-digit winning season under P.J. Fleck. I was quickly reminded in a loss to Cal why that was never going to happen.

Fleck has turned around the culture for the Minnesota Gophers, and the program is in the best spot it has seen in years. However, there’s absolutely a ceiling to what he has done, and the floor is ugly.

The win against a ranked Nebraska team was a fun one, but Fleck has shucked the Huskers plenty. He continues to get pummeled by Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes, and the latest iteration was the worst we have ever seen.

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

There are times you expect a response to distance what otherwise is an unfortunate memory. With an opportunity to do that on Saturday, Fleck came out and put up another stinker.

It doesn’t matter that the Gophers won. It doesn’t even really matter that it was so ugly. By this time though, it matters that the coach is oblivious to the results that constantly have followed him, and glossing over them while failing to be better remains hollow.

At least Fleck can go crowd surfing while being 1-0 in the Michigan State season. They’ll go 1-0 on their second bye week of the season too.

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