Fleck at Minnesota
Timeline of P.J. Fleck's first four years with the Gophers
August 28, 2021 at 9:21PM
P.J. Fleck carries a 26-19 record into his fifth season with the Gophers. The details:
Year 1 5-7
High point: The Gophers steamrolled Nebraska 54-21 on Nov. 11 to reach 5-5, one win short of bowl eligibility.
Low point: A week later on a windy, sleet-filled day in Evanston, Ill., the Gophers fell 39-0 to Northwestern.
Quotable: "It's unfortunate. It hurts. It's not pretty whatsoever and there are no excuses for it, so I take 100 percent blame. We've got to get better.'' — Fleck after the Northwestern loss.
Year 2 7-6
High point: The Gophers ended a 14-year losing streak against Wisconsin by winning Paul Bunyan's Axe 37-15 at Camp Randall Stadium.
Low point: The Gophers surrendered 430 rushing yards and 646 yards total in a 55-31 loss at Illinois. The next day, Fleck fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith and promoted Joe Rossi to the role.
Quotable: "When you hold the Axe, now you know why everybody wants it so much. It's a very surreal feeling.'' — Fleck after the win at Wisconsin.
Year 3 11-2
High point: In front of a sellout crowd at TCF Bank Stadium, the No. 13 Gophers beat No. 5 Penn State 31-26, their first win over a top-five team since 1999.
Low point: A week after beating Penn State, the Gophers came out flat at Iowa and trailed 13-0 on the way to a 23-19 loss. Had they won the game and other results stayed the same, the Gophers would have played in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Quotable: "I'm just so proud to be a Gopher, and I speak for our whole team when I say that.'' — Fleck after the win over Penn State.
Year4 3-4
High point: Playing without more than 30 players because of COVID-19 and injuries, the Gophers beat Nebraska 24-17 in Lincoln.
Low point: The Gophers aren't competitive at all in a 35-7 loss to Iowa in which they scored their only points with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz used all three of his second-half timeouts with 19 seconds left.
Quotable: "Obviously a devastated locker room, very disappointed, sad, but not pouty. Nope. Just sad that they didn't win.'' — Fleck after a season-ending 20-17 OT loss to Wisconsin.
Widely known that Minnesota sports fans are among the most suffering in the nation, this holiday season has the chance to become special, given the recent success of the Vikings, Wolves, Lynx and Wild.
