What Minnesota coach PJ Fleck said about Buckeyes

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will face Minnesota on Saturday night in a primetime showdown inside the Horseshoe.

Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck met with the media to preview the game on Monday, and Lettermen Row has everything the Gophers coach said about the Buckeyes ahead of the game.

On preparing for Ohio Stadium crowd noise…

“I know that the fans have been asking for a night game for three years, right? And they got it, and it’s against the Gophers. So we’re gonna do everything we can to simulate it. I don’t think you can ever do that exactly because, I mean, that place is 107,000 fans and it’s deafening. And that’s for a noon kickoff or an 11 AM kickoff, let alone all them doing what they do, tailgating all day and being ready for the night game that the fans have asked for. And so we know we’re walking into a really hostile environment. We’re gonna do everything we can to recreate it and preparing it. But our players are just gonna have to have incredible poise and execute in small details and find a way just to continue to get better and go execute the game plan that’s in front of us.

“But we know what kind of environment we’re walking into and what type of team we’re going to play. I mean, he’s defending national champions. And you listen to Ryan’s press conference, and I have a ton of respect for Coach Day. I mean, a ton. He’s an incredible man, first of all, and then just a fabulous coach. But I know he has a lot of confidence in this football team that he’s coaching. And I think statistically, when you look at them under Ryan Day, I mean, statistically, in the first four games could be his best team he’s ever coached, and so this is a really good football team. So we’re gonna have to play our best football game of the year. We know that, but that’s what’s so fun about it, and what a great opportunity it is for us, and a great challenge at the same time for our football team.”

On the environment at Ohio State on Saturday…

“We’re going to Ohio Stadium, which I have a ton of respect for what environment they create. Again, when you work there, you appreciate it even more. And they’re very passionate about their football, and it’s gonna be a great challenge for us. But again, to our players, a great opportunity. And we’ll be excited for it, and we’ll be ready for it. And we’re gonna give everything we got, that’s for sure.”

On what makes the Buckeyes defense so good…

“Well, they’re holding opponents to five points. So Washington did a good job scoring one more point than what they’re averaging. So that’s above average performance. They’re really, really good at understanding how it all works. You can see how the front seven understand how the back end works. The back end understands how the front seven works. They work cohesively together, they’re relentless. I mean, those four guys up front, I mean, they get into double legal packages, and they are straight up the field. I mean, Coach Johnson coaching that D line, I mean, they’re coming after the quarterback. And if the run happens to get in the way, they’ll tackle the run. But they’re coming after him, and they’re relentless in their pursuit. They’re really good tacklers, they’re smart. Coach Patricia does a really good job of always keeping you guessing something different almost every single play. And it has a lot of that NFL feel to it. Every time you’re at the line of scrimmage, it’s a different front, it’s a different coverage. It’s very challenging. They don’t allow you to ever get into a rhythm, because you’re getting something different constantly. And they’re really good at it. A lot of people are afraid to do that, because that’s hard to be good at a lot of different things. But they have such good players, really good coaches, that they can do that. And they’re very good at it. So that was a one possession game going into the fourth quarter, and then Ohio State makes some plays. But we have to be us. We have to build the game plan according to who we are, and put ourselves in a position to execute at a very, very high level. And if we don’t do that, it’s gonna be a long day. So we have to do what we do, and we’ve gotta have a great week of practice. We have to have incredible attention to detail and find a way to be able to play one of our best games we’ve played this year.”

On playing against Jeremiah Smith…

“He’s fabulous. He’s a phenomenal football player. He can stretch a field vertically. He can work in the screen game. He can work underneath. He’s got incredible control of his body in the air, on the ground. He’s lightning quick, ultra fast, plays big. 50-50 balls are really not 50-50 balls. They’re like 90-10 balls. You could tell that everybody believes in him, and they’ve got a lot of him around their football team. And it’s a tremendous supporting cast that allow him to be the best player he can be. But he does it all. He’s got great center of gravity, good contact balance. When he does have the ball in his hand, he’s got great vision. He’s an overall, he’s as good as advertised, that’s for sure.”