Andy Greder St. Paul Pioneer Press comments

#2Gopher

Well-known member
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
9,207
Reaction score
3,080
Points
113
When P.J. Fleck made his first trips around the state of Minnesota in the spring of 2017, Gophers fans let their new head football coach know the top priority was to beat Wisconsin.

It had Fleck wondering aloud during stops on the U’s road trip whether it would be OK to finish a season with a 1-11 record — as long as he found a way to beat the Badgers.

In May, Fleck reminded a capacity crowd at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska of that first objective.

“The first thing people said to me was, ‘Get that Axe back, get that Axe back, get that Axe back,’ ” he said.

The maroon-and-gold crowd burst into applause, knowing how this story ended: Gophers 37, Badgers 15 on Nov. 24. It was Minnesota’s first win in the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe since 2003 and the first win in Madison since 1994.

It’s also Fleck’s signature win through two seasons in Dinkytown. The victory over the Badgers helped Minnesota close the 2018 season with a 3-1 record (7-6 overall), and it’s now used as a sign Minnesota is headed in an upward direction.

Fleck, wide receiver Tyler Johnson, defensive end Carter Coughlin and running back Mo Ibrahim will speak at Big Ten media days at the Hilton Chicago on Thursday. Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst and the Badgers will have their slice of the forum Friday.

“That rivalry is back!” a fired-up Fleck told the crowd in Chaska in May. “That rivalry is now healthy again! I promise you it’s going to be a battle every single year. But when you watched the game, I hope you all saw something happen.”

With Minnesota leading 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium, Fleck mentioned how the Gophers went on a 15-play drive that milked more than nine minutes off the clock at the start of the fourth quarter. The U failed to score on that drive, but Fleck felt it sent a message.


“Some people said it was ‘Wisconsin style.’ You’re right,” Fleck said. “We controlled the clock. We ran the ball. It was 10 minutes, which was the longest drive in the Big Ten the entire year.”

Fleck also mentioned how the Gophers had three fourth-down conversions in that game, including two on the same touchdown drive to take a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

“We went for it on fourth down three times because we were going to go win the game!” Fleck said. “We were going to go win it! We weren’t going to sit there and say, ‘Lets play field position.’ We were going to go win the game because that game, in my opinion, set the entire tone for the next two or three decades of Gopher football.”

Fleck is 1-1 with the Gophers against Wisconsin, but last year’s result avenged the Badgers’ 31-0 rout in 2017. Then, last year’s Gophers went on to blow out Georgia Tech 34-10 at the Quick Lane Bowl in December to become the first team in program history to win its final regular-season game and a bowl game in the same year.
 

From the article:

"With Minnesota leading 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium, Fleck mentioned how the Gophers went on a 15-play drive that milked more than nine minutes off the clock at the start of the fourth quarter. The U failed to score on that drive, but Fleck felt it sent a message.

“Some people said it was ‘Wisconsin style.’ You’re right,” Fleck said. “We controlled the clock. We ran the ball. It was 10 minutes, which was the longest drive in the Big Ten the entire year.”

Fleck also mentioned how the Gophers had three fourth-down conversions in that game, including two on the same touchdown drive to take a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

“We went for it on fourth down three times because we were going to go win the game!” Fleck said. “We were going to go win it! We weren’t going to sit there and say, ‘Lets play field position.’ We were going to go win the game because that game, in my opinion, set the entire tone for the next two or three decades of Gopher football.”


I LOVE reading what Fleck is saying here: Wisconsin-style football, control the clock, play to win (rather than to avoid losing). With our massive, athletic offensive line, our talented stable of running backs, and our RPO offense with the quick slants to our superb receivers, not to mention Seth Green and the wildcat, we can grind teams down, and keep them on their heels.

If the QB play is adequate to good, and the defense is steady, we'll be tough to beat.
 

From the article:

"With Minnesota leading 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium, Fleck mentioned how the Gophers went on a 15-play drive that milked more than nine minutes off the clock at the start of the fourth quarter. The U failed to score on that drive, but Fleck felt it sent a message.

“Some people said it was ‘Wisconsin style.’ You’re right,” Fleck said. “We controlled the clock. We ran the ball. It was 10 minutes, which was the longest drive in the Big Ten the entire year.”

Fleck also mentioned how the Gophers had three fourth-down conversions in that game, including two on the same touchdown drive to take a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

“We went for it on fourth down three times because we were going to go win the game!” Fleck said. “We were going to go win it! We weren’t going to sit there and say, ‘Lets play field position.’ We were going to go win the game because that game, in my opinion, set the entire tone for the next two or three decades of Gopher football.”


I LOVE reading what Fleck is saying here: Wisconsin-style football, control the clock, play to win (rather than to avoid losing). With our massive, athletic offensive line, our talented stable of running backs, and our RPO offense with the quick slants to our superb receivers, not to mention Seth Green and the wildcat, we can grind teams down, and keep them on their heels.

If the QB play is adequate to good, and the defense is steady, we'll be tough to beat.

TM was 9-16 for 124 yards. Defense and special teams were the stars, gave offense short fields most of second half.
 

TM was 9-16 for 124 yards. Defense and special teams were the stars, gave offense short fields most of second half.

Dude was a redshirt freshman at Camp Randall and converted on some clutch throws, didn’t make mistakes. Best QB play vs Wisconsin since Adam Weber as a senior. Sure, he was asked to be a game manager, and he succeeded in a very tough environment. Has he hit his ceiling already?
 

That drive really was brutal. No points, but almost just as effective.
 


TM was 9-16 for 124 yards. Defense and special teams were the stars, gave offense short fields most of second half.

Yep.

56.3% completion percentage
7.8 yards per attempt
121.4 rating
7/9 completions were for 1st down yardage.

Those are decent numbers when coupled with a strong running game and.....

Zero interceptions
Zero fumbles

It wasn’t necessary to air it out a bunch in this game. Would you rather have 300 passing yards, or 9 minute clock eating drives with a lead?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Yep.

56.3% completion percentage
7.8 yards per attempt
121.4 rating
7/9 completions were for 1st down yardage.

Those are decent numbers when couple with a strong running game and.....

Zero interceptions
Zero fumbles

It wasn’t necessary to air it out a bunch in this game. Would you rather have 300 passing yards, or 9 minute clock eating drives with a lead?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah unless you're go Johnny Montana back there....if you're running well, have lead, scoring, playing with confidence... don't get cute.
 


TM was 9-16 for 124 yards. Defense and special teams were the stars, gave offense short fields most of second half.

That's correct; and you completely missed the point of all this.

Morgan's stats in that game are meaningless; the final score is what matters.

The Gophers demolished the Badgers with a power run game and a solid defense, yet you're focused on QB passing stats... like many fans.

We don't need big passing numbers when we run the ball down our opponents' throats and play decent defense.

Again: that's the point.
 



That drive really was brutal. No points, but almost just as effective.

Some MN doubt creeped in after missed FG, at that point it was 16 point game which is 2 possessions. I was still mostly confident, but hard to not have doubt...then boom, Coughlin strips Hornibrook, we recover, and that's all she wrote
 




Top Bottom