Fleck says Gophers still a work in progress
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck has won his share of battles on the recruiting front. But for the second straight year in his tenure, Fleck couldn’t get a win over Iowa. The Hawkeyes never trailed and notched a 48-31 win over the Gophers.
Minnesota (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten Conference) has lost four straight games to Iowa, and Fleck dropped to 0-4 in rivalry trophy games since taking the job at Minnesota. Iowa scored 28 first-half points.
“I told our team in there that I’m disappointed, very disappointed,” Fleck said. “However, I saw a ton of growth, a ton of growth in a lot of areas.”
Hopefully, Fleck’s words will ring true this Saturday when the Gophers head to Columbus, Ohio, to face No. 3-ranked Ohio State.
Besides a 27-26 win over then-No. 8 Penn State, the Buckeyes haven’t been challenged this season. Ohio State crushed Indiana 49-26 last Saturday with quarterback Dwayne Haskins putting up record numbers and becoming a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Conversely, Minnesota freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad has thrown five interceptions in the losses to Maryland and Iowa. He did manage to throw a career-high three touchdowns against Iowa.
After the Iowa loss, Fleck acknowledged the Gophers are a work in progress, even going into a long explanation comparing the program to crops.
“It’s like planting crops and they are all supposed to grow at the same time — that’s what you expect,” Fleck said. “Every row is supposed to grow at the same time, same temperature, same size. We kind of have spotted growth right now. This row is growing a little faster than that row is growing a little slower than that row. That row hasn’t even grown yet. This row is just unbelievable and until we keep growing as a team, some of the results could be like that.”
One of the few positive vibes from two tough losses is the wide receiving corps are becoming regular contributors. Led by Tyler Johnson, the Gophers have some talent at the key skill spot. Freshman Rashod Bateman caught two touchdown passes against the Hawkeyes.
“We’ve made huge strides, look at our wideouts,” Fleck said.
There have been some positives lost during the recent skid. The Gophers have committed just 20 penalties this season and been flagged only 11 times in the last four games.