PJ Fleck Addresses Gopher Football Fans Storming Field After Nebraska Win

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Minnesota Gophers
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Gophers went into their Friday night matchup against the #25 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers as touchdown home underdogs against a team that they had beaten five-straight times and six of their last seven, since PJ Fleck took over as head coach before the 2017 season.

But instead of a high-flying offensive shootout between two of the more talented quarterbacks in the Big Ten, the Gophers went old-school PJ Fleck and grinded out a run-first, clock controlling game plan that relied heavily on a run game that’s struggled all season and a defense that had taken a step back in 2025, going in.

Minnesota Gophers beat Nebraska AGAIN

And it worked. Minnesota took a 7-6 lead into halftime, then put the pedal down in the second half, eventually stretching the lead to 24-6 by the time the clock hit 00:00 in the 4th quarter.

They ran the ball down Nebby’s throat, even when it wasn’t working, and the defense collected a school record 9 sacks on Dylan Raiola. Friday’s win was the Gophers’ first ranked victory of the season and PJ Fleck’s seventh as U of M football coach, also a program record.

It was an absolutely dominating performance by the Golden Gophers, especially on paper where Minnesota outgained the Cornhuskers 339 yards to 213 yards, and completely dominated the ground attack, 186 yards for the Gophers to just 36 from Nebraska.

For a team that had struggled to find its identity through six games of the 2025 season, the Minnesota Gophers looked like a completely different team Friday night, both from a fundamentals + discipline standpoint and from the way they attack on both sides of the football.

In a nutshell, they looked like the hungrier, more aggressive team for the first time this year, an attitude that could pay dividends over the next couple weeks, if they can can hold onto it.

MN Gophers football fans storm field at Huntington Bank Stadium

During such a convincing home victory that you had no business winning, according to oddsmakers and experts across the country, there isn’t a lot of controversy sweeping through campus this morning, as fans wake up to a 5-2 (3-1) Gophers football team.

Except for what happened after the win, when the student section immediately jumped down from the stands and rushed onto the field to celebrate a top 25 victory over a conference rival.

The scene down on the grass was chaotic, as Nebraska players tried to get to the visitor locker room and the FOX Sports crew tried to interview Drake Lindsey and PJ Fleck with Golden Gopher fans and students bearing down on them.

On social media, football fans are arguing over whether or not rushing the field is worth it when your opponent was barely ranked, or if fans at Huntington Bank Stadium should have “acted like they’d been there before” and saved over-the-top celebrations for only the most insane upsets/victories.

PJ Fleck a HUGE field storming advocate

Well, PJ Fleck weighed in on the “controversy” after the game, where he made his stance incredibly clear. He loves it because it creates memories that both the students and the players will never forget. Wins like Friday night, and the celebrations that follow, are what college sports are all about.

“Crowd storming is awesome. It’s so fun to watch your student population — I’m glad we don’t have a rule [against it] — because I’m just an advocate. I love it. I love watching our student body, which cheers the entire game, makes a difference in the game, go down and create a moment and memory that will last in their brain and their hearts forever. I love that. There’s nothing better than that.”

PJ Fleck on Gopher football fans storming field after Nebraska win

Winning makes current players less likely to leave and opens the eyes of outside talent that may be watching. Younger kids or future transfer portal entrants that may not have considered the University of Minnesota as a viable option beforehand.

Because as Fleck pointed out during his press conference. Winning is hard in the Big Ten, especially in spotlight games against highly-ranked opponents. Never take wins for granted in college football, which is why PJ crowd surfs in the locker room after EVERY victory, no matter the opponent. In other words, smoke em when you got em.

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