Big Ten West race? Gophers coach P.J. Fleck not dwelling on it for now

The standings show that the Gophers are in a four-team tie atop the Big Ten West entering the final four weeks of regular-season play. It's a status they worked to attain after edging Iowa 12-10 and fighting through early miscues to outlast Michigan State 27-12 on Saturday.

It's also something that at the moment doesn't have coach P.J. Fleck's attention.

"It doesn't matter. It really doesn't," Fleck said during his weekly news conference Monday.

Fleck was not being dismissive of the West race and the fact the Gophers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) are in the group that's battling for a trip to Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten championship game. Rather, in his view, the time for consulting the conference standings comes at the end of November, not the beginning.

"The people that don't win in November don't have a chance,'' Fleck said. "We're all at a point where every game matters. As we told our team yesterday, we've made it to November, where it matters. And what we do with that is up to us.''

Minnesota's first chance at November success comes Saturday afternoon at Huntington Bank Stadium against Illinois (3-5, 1-4), a team that has struggled through a disappointing season but still has beaten the Gophers two years running. In fact, third-year Illini coach Bret Bielema has yet to lose to Minnesota, going 2-0 with Illinois over the past two seasons and 7-0 with Wisconsin from 2006 to 2012.

"The only thing on our mind is Illinois, period,'' Fleck said. "This team's done a really good job of being able to do that. And they need to continue to do that because this team we're going to play is really, really good.''

While Illinois' sub-.500 record this year might not reflect what Fleck is saying, the talent the Illini have — especially on defense with future NFL linemen Jer'Zhan Newton and Keith Randolph Jr. — has given the Gophers fits the past two years. Illinois beat the Gophers 14-6 in 2021, holding Minnesota to 89 rushing yards and a 4-for-16 showing on third- and fourth-down conversions. Last year, the Illini won 26-14 by outgaining the Gophers 472-180.

The Gophers will catch a break when Newton sits out the first half because of a targeting suspension from the Oct. 21 Wisconsin game. Still, this is the team that had the Badgers on the ropes, leading 21-7 entering the fourth quarter before Wisconsin scored the final 18 points for a 25-21 win.

Fleck expects an Illinois approach that mirrors the philosophy of Bielema, the former Iowa defensive lineman who cut his coaching teeth as an assistant under Hayden Fry with the Hawkeyes, Bill Snyder at Kansas State and Barry Alvarez with Wisconsin.

"When you look at Illinois and their team, they're really tough as they take over his personality,'' Fleck said of Bielema. "They're hard-nosed. They're going to run the football. They're going to stop the run on defense. It seems simplistic, but it's very, very complicated.''

Fleck likes what he saw from both his offensive and defensive lines last weekend. The Gophers limited the Spartans' top rusher, Nate Carter, to 44 yards on 11 carries. Meanwhile, Gophers running back Jordan Nubin, a converted safety, rushed for 125 of his 204 yards and both of his touchdowns in the second half.

"We did a really good job of wearing down their front seven,'' Fleck said. "And at that point, those 3- to 4-yard carries were becoming 6-, 7- or 8-yard carries. And once that starts happening, you know me: We're going to keep it on the ground and make the game shorter.''

Sounds like a heavy forecast of November football in the Big Ten West.