P.J. Fleck's motivational slogans are sprinkled throughout the Gophers football complex. The messaging should be easy this week as Fleck takes his team south across the state line into what has become a house of horrors.
Gophers have always found ways to lose to Iowa. Now they badly need a win.
The Gophers have not won at Iowa since the year P.J. Fleck, 42, graduated — from high school. And the drought feels even longer considering the excruciating nature of defeats in recent years.
October 20, 2023 at 4:33PM
If not now, then when?
Seriously, if the Gophers don't win at Iowa on Saturday, will their losing streak to the Hawkeyes ever end?
To be clear, Iowa is favored to win by oddsmakers, based on recent history and where the game is being played. The Gophers have not won at Kinnick Stadium since 1999 — the same year Fleck graduated high school — and the drought feels even longer than that considering the excruciating nature of defeats in recent years.
Tenured Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has fielded more talented and complete teams than the one the Gophers will face this time. To put the game and the Big Ten West race into proper context, the Hawkeyes sit atop the division despite having the lowest-ranked offense in major college football.
Matchup No. 117 in the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry serves as an inflection point for Fleck's team. The Gophers are 3-3 and coming off a 42-point drubbing by Michigan. The offense has been plodding. The defense has been uncharacteristically susceptible to big plays and blown assignments. Fleck's team has yet to play a complete game.
The importance of this opportunity cannot be overstated. Lose again with Ohio State still to come and the mood around the program will totally deflate. A win could have the opposite effect. Look beyond the Ohio State game and the remainder of the schedule is hardly daunting.
The Gophers had their bye week to get healthier, address problem areas and devote extra time to preparing for this opponent. There should be no excuses.
The Hawkeyes are a hurdle the Gophers keep tripping over. Fleck is 0-6 against Ferentz. Any loss to a rival is irritating, but the Gophers have themselves to blame as much as anything for a few of those losses, setbacks that had nothing to do with being overmatched physically or athletically.
In 2021, the Gophers outgained Iowa 409-277 in yards and won the turnover battle.
In 2022, the Gophers rushed for 312 yards and won time of possession by 10-plus minutes.
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Individual plays, moments and coaching decisions that tilted the advantage to Iowa in those games are impossible to wipe from the memory:
Tyler Johnson's dropped pass on fourth down near the goal line in 2019.
Ultraconservative game management in 2021.
Mohamed Ibrahim's fumble at the end of an epic performance last season.
Circumstances made two of those losses doubly dispiriting because they prevented the Gophers from winning the division.
The Hawkeyes currently have the inside track in the West race, which is rather remarkable given the state of their offense.
The Hawkeyes defeated Purdue two weeks ago without completing a pass to a wide receiver. They won at Wisconsin last week despite posting 37 passing yards and 506 punting yards. They rank 133 out of 133 FBS teams in yards per game. And they've lost key players to injury, including their starting quarterback.
And yet the Hawkeyes keep winning with a time-tested approach: hard-hitting defense, superior special teams, pounce on mistakes, grind the game into sawdust.
"They have a formula," Fleck said, "and they do it really well."
The Gophers are still searching for their formula and identity. A popular theory before the season about their offense opening up and featuring the passing game more has not materialized.
In fact, two of the four least productive passing offenses in college football will be on display at Kinnick. The only two teams below the Gophers and Iowa in passing yards are offenses that have no real interest in throwing the ball: Navy and Air Force.
The lack of offensive firepower has made this game an easy target for derision. Everybody is expecting the football equivalent of a root canal. But style points don't matter. The over-under betting line doesn't matter. The Gophers have found different ways to lose to Iowa under Fleck. Now they need to find a way to win.
The Gophers quarterback believed in himself, and his transfer to the U has led to a winning record this season.
