Everything P.J. Fleck said following Minnesota's 17-7 win over Wisconsin
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck met with the media following the Golden Gophers’ season finale on Saturday afternoon at Huntington Bank Stadium, with the Gophers defeating archrival Wisconsin 17-7 to keep the Axe at home.
Here’s everything that Fleck had to say following the Gophers’ seventh win of the season.
Opening Statement:
FL:ECK: “Alright, well, that’s our North, that’s for sure. That’s Gopher football. From the weather in late November to the style that we played with, I’m really, really proud of our team for the response and the resolve from last week.
What we did tonight, what we’re expected to do, how we’re expected to play. Complimentary football — offense, defense, special teams, field position battles, ending the game on offense, four-minute drill. I thought our guys played their hearts out, and the Axe stays in Minneapolis, and I’m proud to say that.
I go back nine years ago when Mark Coyle hired me, and I said this in front of our team because I think it’s really important. I asked a lot of fans, administration, donors, boosters, and people that I met, ‘What do you want most?’ He said, ‘Just beat Wisconsin.’
And, you know, four of the last five, five and four in nine years — and that’s one game, I get that. But when you look at what we’re doing, we continue to change and elevate the standard and the expectation of the program.
I said that earlier in the year: that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen just because you have a high standard. Everybody has a high standard — look around the country — but we’re striving for that every single day that we’re here. Our coaches are working their tails off to create that for everybody — our fans, our administration, our players, the experiences, and the moments and memories.
And I told them, I said, ‘Go create your own moment memory.’ Before the game, I said, ‘Go create your moment memory. Unitedly, as a united team, as a united front, go create it.’
Because what we had in the past, that’s not this team’s moment memory. Create your own moment memory. And they did just that.
And they played exactly to a T — the game plan. From field position, to the way we played, to what we were gonna have to do on offense, to how we were gonna have to play on defense. We talked about being plus-three in the turnover battle. We were, and we took advantage of our takeaways.
But to respond off the hard, hard loss at Wrigley Field against Northwestern last week — and the way it ended, and the way we played, and to have that defensive performance — that just shows the type of character we have in that room. Not only for now, but for when they’re husbands and fathers.
And I tell them that all the time, because every time we take the field, there are life lessons. And there are so many to take from this, and we’ll use that tomorrow when we talk to the team about life lessons we learned from this game.
So really, really thankful. Really proud of our football team. I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was a great holiday season as we prepare for where we would go in the bowl game.
But the Axe staying home is a — it’s a big moment for at least 364 more days. So hopefully our fans really enjoy that.
So, with that, we’ll open up for questions.”
Q: What do you feel like are the key elements to win four out of five and do something that hasn’t been done here for 35 years?
“Yeah, and a great question. I think it’s just mindset and trust. You can have a mindset, but if you don’t truly trust in that belief and in that process, you don’t have anything.
Trust comes down to time, consistency, and proof. You’ve been to our practices. They don’t look any different than they did in year one. The consistency of what that Axe-tough, right? Now you’ve been watching for years, a whole period dedicated to that, all the way back from the spring and every single time we practice. Setting that mindset of what really is important at the end of the day.
Elite teams find a way to beat their rivals. And again, we’ll talk about records and wins and scores, and those will all go away at some point. But you’ll know when you beat your rival and you’ll talk about that. And that’s what’s so fun about college football. That is our biggest rival, and we’re 1–0 today. That’s what that means.
But I think that when you have that mindset, that trust piece to believe in that process and consistently stay with it, that’s really difficult to do. And having the opportunity to be here nine years is a blessing. I mean, it is an absolute blessing. Win or lose, it’s a blessing. And I never take my job for granted. Never take where I am for granted. I love being here.
And it takes that cultural sustainability, Andy, to keep that belief system and trust going. So Mark Coyle deserves a lot of credit on that.”
Q: How big of a factor was the field position battle today?
“Yeah, a few boo birds when we did punt a few times, which I get. But that was the whole game plan.
It was going to be a long field for both offenses. It didn’t matter who was out there today. When you’re playing in inches of snow, they’re shoveling the lines all the time. That is Big Ten Minnesota football right there.
And if you think you’re going to throw for over 550 yards, I think you’re crazy. With that wind and all the things that were going on, we knew we were going to have to play the field position game and be patient.
We also knew that whoever turned the ball over in their own zone was going to have a disadvantage. And we were able to capitalize on a few of the takeaways we got. Credit to our defense.
They were swarming. They played together. They played united. They swarmed the ball and created some takeaways. And we were plus-three. That was the whole point going into the week: be plus-three, play united, and attack.
And I thought we did that. Now, besides one play — you take that play away — I thought it’s even more impressive. But it’s football. I mean, they have scholarships, they get paid, and they’re coaches too.
But the field position battle was going to be critical. I thought Tom did a tremendous job of handling the elements. I think you look at the punt game, and those are two different averages. And I think that played a huge factor in this football game.”
Q: John Nestor. What got into him today?
“That’s the way he’s always played.
It’s good having him back. You know, we’re not the deepest football team. You know, we’re not three deep all making the same amount of money. We’re not. That’s kind of the business of college football right now. But we are a transformational program.
Once you get past the first few, you get young really quick. And we played a lot of young players last week. Again, they fought their tails off and learned a lot from their experiences. But I’m really, really proud of them for what they did.
John Nestor is the ultimate competitor. I think he fits so well here. I think that’s why you’ve seen that. I believe you’ve seen this growth. Because when somebody fits in a program, it can escalate where they go in their life — on the field, off the field.
I hope young people really value that. Because when you find the right fit and the right people around you, it’s people that can take you to where you want to go. Not just coaching, but people. Not just a program or a football team, but real people. Everybody from the team — the players, the coaching staff, the administration. I think John Nestor fits us to a tee.
He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s tough. He loves playing football, man. He loves playing football. We’ve got a bunch of guys who love playing football. They’re going to continue to get better. That’s our job — to keep getting them better.
But boy, he loves playing football. And I think you all can watch it. It’s refreshing. And I’m so thankful I get to be his coach.”
Q: What did you think of the crowd energy?
FLECK: “I’m glad you brought that up. Because first of all, I want to thank our fans. We’re 7-0 this year. Undefeated at home.
Now look, your counterpiece and your headline, Randy, is going to say we’re 0-5 on the road. I love you, Randy. It was from our conversation earlier with the headline stuff. But 7-0 for the first time since what, Paul, the 30s? That’s called home field advantage.
Now, that doesn’t happen overnight. That doesn’t happen in a year. And you can see how fast all over the country that can plummet. Am I right? Yeah.
So what our fans, our season ticket holders, and our student body are creating — and I know it’s year 9 — takes a long time to create something like that. This is a very, very difficult place to play. Huntington Bank Stadium is a very, very difficult place to play. And it’s because of our crowd, our fans, our supporters, our student body.
I can’t thank them enough. They were just home for Thanksgiving. And they’re full. And it’s snowing sideways, 20 degrees. It’s awesome. I can’t thank them enough.
They create that atmosphere. 7-0 at home. I love that. And if you go back to a lot of our games even last year, we’re starting to build that — really close against Penn State. We got some done. USC, all the ranked wins we’ve had. That’s what you want to create. And it takes a while to create that. There’s a lot of really tough places to play all over the country.
And I hope we can continue to build that, fight for that, keep that. And I hope that all the people who buy tickets and come to the games take pride in that. 7-0 since the 30s because of you. So if you don’t think you matter, you’re crazy.
Now we all have to come from here and then go support Brozema. First flight out to Seattle.”
Q: How would you assess the season as a whole?
FLECK: “Yeah, Pierre, I think that growth describes this football team perfectly. They’re so fun to coach because they always want to get better.
They came in on Sunday. You would never have thought we lost against Northwestern at Wrigley. You had no idea. Our meetings — those were tough. But you came out to practice field, they’re ready to go. Their mind went right to Wisconsin.
That doesn’t happen with every team, Pierre. Not every team you coach is just that way because you say ‘row the boat’ and ‘respond.’ They have to believe it. They have to trust it. This team does.
Looking at our schedule, looking at some of the close losses, getting to the end of the season and having another winning season is a tremendous feat, but still leaves a lot of room on the bone.
And that’s what I love about this football team — they all came together. There are some really difficult moments of the season where everybody could have just folded up tent and packed it in. They never did. I’m talking about some really hard losses — some blowouts, some one-possession loss at Northwestern. Cal was really, really tough.
But they just continue to respond. And again, that’s what’s gonna make them better husbands, fathers, and better people one day. And that’s why I love coaching them. Because the transformational program has so much to do — not just 6-7, but so much to do with life. This is real life. Life’s not perfect. Not every team’s gonna go perfect and undefeated.
But I’m really, really proud of how they responded from last week and played complementary football. They were tough. They were violent. Everything maybe we weren’t last week, they were this week. Just got to continue to make it more consistent. But the growth is how I’d describe this team.”
Q: You opened with five straight passes. Did the weather change anything in your plan?
FLECK: “Well, we knew. I mean, we get the forecast too, Dave. We know it’s gonna snow. I never left that four or five hour block — it was pretty much, it’s gonna snow.
And then you get to Monday, and still gonna snow. In fact, Tuesday, Wednesday, it’s gonna snow more. Woke up this morning, started snowing earlier than expected.
We’ve got to be able to throw the ball in the snow, rain, sleet, wind — and Drake can do it.
You’ve got to be able to mix it up and execute. Whether you’re in the NFL, or at Soldier Field or Lambeau Field, or in New York — you gotta be able to play Cincinnati, Cleveland, all the outdoor stadiums in January, in the playoffs in December. You’ve got to be able to do it.
And that’s what we’re teaching our team too, as we continue to become more balanced as an offense. I thought our offensive line blocked really, really hard tonight. Kept Drake upright, kept him clean. I thought our guys ran incredibly hard — that was really tough footing. I thought Darius and Femi just ran violently as well.
Good quarterbacks win. Elite quarterbacks win rivalries.”
Q: Happy birthday—what else are you thankful for or want to accomplish?
FLECK: “It’s a great question, Nadine. My job is to always look around corners. I think any leader’s job is to — everybody says ‘be present.’ It’s really hard for leaders to be present because leaders have to look around that corner, that corner, that corner — a month ahead, a week ahead, a day ahead, a year ahead, two years ahead.
So, I’m really thankful I get to do my job, and I’m thankful for the personality that allows me to do that. It matches my ADHD, whatever you want to call it. However I was made, it matches the job, and I’m very thankful for that.
I’m thankful for my players. I’m thankful for my awesome wife, Heather, who is incredibly supportive. My kids, who are just dynamite children — so proud to be their dad every day, and proud to just raise that football team and be a part of raising them.
I’m not their dad, I’m their coach. I always make that very clear. I’m proud to be their coach. My job is to take them from where they are to where they dream of being — and that is not an easy process.
I am thankful for that struggle and adversity, because I think that’s what strengthens you over time. I’m very thankful for the people I work for that allow me to be me, allow our staff to be themselves. We have a very unique culture. We have high expectations in every area of life, but everybody gets to be themselves. Just got to be the best version of yourself. That’s what’s challenging.
Very thankful, and I could keep going. I’m a very thankful and grateful guy. If you would have told me I’d be head coach at Minnesota for nine years, going on ten, head coach for 13 years — that doesn’t happen to everybody. It’s beyond any wildest imagination or dream I’ve ever had. I get to do that, and I never take that for granted. It’s because of the people I work with: Garrett Chernoffs, Mark Coyles, Dusty Clements.
A head coach is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with. Don’t ever forget that. I’ve been one in 11, and grateful for that too.
So anyway, happy Thanksgiving, everybody.”
Q: “PJ, how much time do you get to enjoy this one before folks on signing day on Wednesday?”
FLECK: “We’ll probably make some calls tonight, for sure. Enjoying it all is a fluid term, because this isn’t a normal job. People ask in the offseason, ‘Do you do real estate? Buy real estate? Have another job?’ No. This is my job — busier out of season than in season with recruiting. Somebody’s got to go get those players that show up.
But we’ll enjoy it tonight, for sure. Only your 45th birthday till midnight, so maybe we’ll have it that way. But tomorrow, we’d be right back at it.”
Q: PJ, you talk a lot about looking around the corner. How much did you feel like rode on this game? Obviously, 7-5 with the Axe is much different than 6-6 without it.”
FLECK: “Andy, that’s a great question. I take things one game at a time. We’re either gonna be 1-0 or 0-1.
I think when you start to go down that rabbit hole — like, what does it mean? What does it mean? It’s all speculation. That’s all pixie dust, all make-believe. Everybody in this audience has a job to do, right? You’re very good at it, but my job is to find a way to be 1-0. That’s all we focused on: keep the Axe in Minneapolis, at the University of Minnesota. We’re gonna do that for 364 more days at least.
College football moves fast. It’s hard to sit there and say, what does that mean for a year down the road, two years, three years? You can’t do that — that’s an eternity in our profession.
It was good enough for today. Today, we were able to take the next right step. Tomorrow, we’ve got a whole new step to go get after. And to Nadine’s question, I’m just glad. I’ll be excited for it.”
Q: Any bowl game thoughts yet?
FLECK:
“When it comes to next steps, have you thought about bowl games, where you might go, that kind of thing?”
FLECK:
“I don’t know, Mark. Where are we going? Mark was like, ‘Great, just keep complimenting me, but don’t ask me any questions.’ I don’t know yet.
That’ll be something Mark and I obviously talk about, maybe even tonight or tomorrow. The way the Big Ten selects it, you have no idea. But this is a really good football team that’s earned the right to play in a really good bowl game — whatever that looks like. We’re talking five and four in the league, seven wins, a lot of the teams we played, and the way we’re playing right now and coming together.
It’s great for any bowl. It’s gonna be a lot of fun no matter where we go, because we get to be together. Home is where you go together, and we look forward to spending another bowl game together somewhere. The win helps, so that’s really good.”
Q: No stocking cap?
FLECK:
“Off the wall. No stocking cap? I don’t think I’ve ever worn a stocking hat. I just don’t do it — why? There’s no hair to protect. I just never have. Joe Novak never did — my college coach. He never had anything on his hands, never had anything on his head. They bundle up, but no.
He always used to say, if you want to play in the North Atlantic, you got to train in it. He was a tough, tough head coach. I’m not saying I’m that, I just choose not to wear a hat. It’s like I choose to wear a tie for all the people who got me to where I am, because without them, I wouldn’t be here.
Fashion-wise, when Heather and I go to the mall, or downtown, or wherever, yeah, I’ll wear a hat. But not for football. It doesn’t fit me.”
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