For a football team playing at the FBS level, its schedule serves somewhat like a frequent buyer punch card. Win a game, and the team gets to punch out one spot on the card. Win six, and the team’s reward is a bowl game. Keep on winning and punching out spots, and the bowl destination improves.
Such is the case with the Gophers, who on Saturday punched out the sixth win on their schedule, beating No. 24 Illinois 25-17 in Champaign, Ill. In the process, the Gophers (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) won their fourth consecutive game and gained bowl eligibility for the sixth time in coach P.J. Fleck’s eight years in Minneapolis.
They can add a seventh punch to the card with a victory on Saturday at Rutgers (4-4, 1-4), a team riding a four-game losing streak and coming off a bye. The Gophers and Scarlet Knights have several common bonds. Fleck coached for three years under Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. The Scarlet Knights’ offensive and defensive coordinators, Kirk Ciarrocca and Joe Harasymiak, were Gophers’ O.C. and defensive backs coach, respectively. Gophers D.C. Corey Hetherman was Rutgers linebackers coach.
And, of course, Scarlet Knights’ starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis held the same job for the Gophers last year before transferring to Rutgers.
Fleck, though, didn’t have time to talk old home week during his Monday news conference. His focus was inward, and he had little to say about the Scarlet Knights.
“The best way I can say it is they’ve got an extra week on us, and our team is looking to be 1-0, period,” Fleck said. “And we’ve got a lot of preparation to catch up on.”
Schiano, who was Fleck’s boss for two years at Rutgers and for one year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a lot to praise about the Gophers.
“Now we get ready for what might be one of the hottest teams in America right now, winning four straight and really playing very complementary football,” Schiano said. “When you watch the way their offense, defense and special teams have been performing, it will be a great challenge.”
