The Gophers were coming off a tight win over Purdue, getting ready to take on Wisconsin in one of college football’s longest and most played rivalries.
Then, the positive tests started coming. And they kept coming. The Wisconsin game was off. So was December 5th against Northwestern.
While the Gopher schedule now says it’s playing Nebraska this week, followed by what the Big Ten is calling “Championship Week” where each team from the West Division takes on their corresponding finisher in the standings from the East Division.
Right now, that could be Michigan for the Gophers. Perhaps Maryland, Michigan State or Penn State.
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There is talk however, that the league would change that plan and allow for other matchups that we didn’t get in 2020, such as Minnesota and Wisconsin who are both in the West.
Coach P.J. Fleck is all for that idea.
“We would love to play that game, and I think Wisconsin would say the exact same thing,” Fleck said at his weekly press conference. “So to say there's not lobbying, I would say, is inaccurate because I think both teams really want to play that game. Who wouldn't want to play in that game? That's why you come to the University of Minnesota. That's why you go to the University of Wisconsin, to play in the rivalries like that.”
Fleck said he does not know if the league is going to allow for that to happen however.
“Nobody knows what's going to happen,” says the Gopher Head Coach. “At the beginning of this, it was going to be West versus East. But I hope we kind of go through, in a season of change and uncertainty, then why not? And I know that the University of Minnesota, I know that our student athletes want to continue to uphold that famous rivalry and tradition. That's what it's all about. That's exciting. That's the fun part about this. So I'm sure Wisconsin feels the same way. That's what college football is all about, so absolutely.”
First for the Gophers is to get to a point where they can safely play football, something Fleck says is priority one. The team did practice on Sunday.
“We've had zero positive tests as of December 3rd. We’ve had two in the last seven days. Now, with that said, I'll explain that we're going to have, because of the COVI 21 day protocol, more than 20-plus players not available just from that. Not injury. Not anything like that. Just that now you're sitting there going, wow. Well, how the heck can you play?”
Fleck said despite missing so many players, the team’s practice and preparation assuming they’ll be able to play against Nebraska Saturday. If they do play, Fleck says they will be very shorthanded against the Huskers.
“So as I said, we had two (positive tests) in the last seven days,” Fleck said”.
Now there's that 21-day protocol that still keeps kids out for that long. Okay, so, that’s why we're in that position that we're in but definitely north of 20 players will be missing it just with COVID. And you add the injuries. This is what it is. But our players and the guys that were out there did a great job practicing on Sunday and really look forward to playing again. It's never our call whether we play or not, but again, from this point, as of right now, everything changes by the minute, plan on playing against Nebraska on Saturday and we've prepared accordingly.”
Currently, the Gophers are 2-3 with wins over Illinois and Purdue. Nebraska has also struggled and are sitting at 2-4.