Head Coach PJ Fleck and the Gopher football team doesn't have much time to sulk about losing to Iowa on Saturday. The pig is gone, and now they face Michigan for the Little Brown Jug on the road this Saturday.
It was a good start against Iowa. The Gophers led 14-7 at the half. The Gophers did nothing in the second half though, and Iowa pulled away for a 31-14 win.
It was a disappointing finish and Fleck says the Gophers have had two bad halves of football leading to their two losses. This one against Iowa, and in the first game of the year, a loss to North Carolina.
"We gotta be able to fix that," Fleck explains. "And that falls on my shoulders and we gotta make sure that we can play the way that we start a game, the same way in the middle. Start fast, accelerate the middle and finish strong. And if we can do that, I mean, this is a really good football team. I really like our football team. I've told you that before. We play some really good opponents, but that brings out the best in you, and unfortunately, those two halves caught up with us."
Fleck and the Gopher football team now set their sights on Michigan after the tough loss to Iowa. In an odd year for the Gopher schedule, it is their first road game of the season after four straight in Dinkytown.
Last year Michigan thumped the Gophers 52-10 at Huntington Bank Stadium. Fleck says they know what to expect from Michigan, and it won't be easy.
"We can't let the circumstances dictate our behavior and, you know, you gotta be able to play anywhere in the Big 10 and you've been preparing for that all off season in terms of their offense," Fleck said Monday. "I mean, they're gonna run the football. They did that with Jim Harbaugh, they're doing that with Sherrone (Moore) and they're doing it in a lot of unique ways, especially with the quarterback change. They're big, they're strong. I mean, we've got to be able to stop the run."
Michigan (3-1, 1-0) overcame losing a 14-0 lead in the first half and coughing up two fumbles in the second half to extend its Big Ten winning streak to a school-record 26 games in a come-from-behind win over USC on Saturday. Kalel Mullings surged 2 yards for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 37 seconds left, lifting the Wolverines to a 27-24 win over the 11th-ranked Trojans in their conference debut.
The takeaway:
Minnesota: Brosmer, the sixth-year transfer from New Hampshire, has helped give the Gophers their best passing attack in five seasons. He went 17 for 26 for 165 yards and the two scores before halftime, matching the most first-half completions since Fleck arrived in 2017.
“When we gave Max time, he looked really good back there,” Fleck said. “Just got to continue to keep him in a rhythm.”
Michigan: Moore earned his first signature win as Jim Harbaugh’s successor, making enough moves that panned out in what was potentially a pivotal game in his first season.
“Our players never flinched and that’s what you’re really proud of,” he said.
Up next:
Minnesota: Plays at Michigan on Sept. 28. The Wolverines, who were ranked 18th before beating No. 11 USC on Saturday, jumped to 12th this week in the AP Poll. Michigan has not hosted the Gophers since a 33-10 win in 2017.
The Big House has been a bit of a house of horrors for Minnesota. The Gophers last won in Michigan in 2014 and prior to that in 2005. Add in 1986, and those are three wins in Michigan since the early 1960s.