What does P.J. Fleck see as the key to fixing Minnesota's run game?
Minnesota football head coach P.J. Fleck met with the media on Monday and discussed a variety of topics. Among those topics was the Minnesota rushing attack that has struggled through the program’s first four contests.
Through four games, the Golden Gophers’ rushing attack has struggled to find consistency. Outside of a 258-yard performance against FCS opponent Northwestern State, the Gophers have had trouble moving the ball on the ground.
Against Buffalo and California, they averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, and last Saturday against Rutgers, they managed only 1.9 yards on 18 attempts.
Despite the stagnant rushing attack, Minnesota’s offense has remained potent, averaging 33.5 points and more than 400 yards per game thanks to a dangerous passing attack led by quarterback Drake Lindsey.
If the Gophers want to be successful going forward, they’ll need more out of their run game.
On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck was asked about his program’s run game and how they can improve going forward.
MORE: Everything P.J. Fleck said on Monday – Ohio State week
“I think just consistency, staying on our blocks a little bit longer,” he said. “We gotta be able to break some tackles. We’ve gone down by tripping over an ankle.”
“But I think it’s just consistency,” he reiterated. “That doesn’t happen if we’re a little tighter to the shelf, and those are the small details that, again, go a long way. If we can clean up the details, some fundamentals of the run game, I think we can have more success in it.”
Fleck doesn’t believe that it’s an effort issue for his team either.
“Guys are playing their tail ends off. I mean, that’s definitely not the, I don’t know if there’s necessarily an issue,” he said. “I think overall in the run game, everybody can do something a little bit better. We can either finish a block, or we can finish a run a little bit better.”
Getting the rushing attack going against the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend will be no easy task. Through four weeks, Ohio State has allowed just 97.2 rushing yards per game while giving up only 5.5 points and 229.3 total yards per contest
