P.J. Fleck gearing Golden Gophers up for invasion of the Hawkeyes

MINNEAPOLIS — Saturday night will be the 118th meeting between Iowa and Minnesota, and the Battle for Floyd of Rosedale is as intense as a rivalry gets in College Football.

Minnesota Coach P.J. Fleck knows all about the tradition, passion, hate and a little controversy when it comes to slugging it out on the gridiron for the pig. As a matter of fact, four of the past five meetings have come down to the wire. Last season the Golden Gophers won at Kinnick Stadium on a special teams blunder by the Hawkeyes, which still haunts their fans to this day.

Fleck understands the ending to that game is going to add fuel the fire for Iowa to get some payback at Huntington Bank Stadium. Although Iowa (2-1) is operating under a new Offensive Coordinator in Tim Lester, Fleck expects much of the same recipe from the opposition’s rushing attack.

“It’s Iowa and you look at everything that they lean on, and when anything is getting off the tracks they go back to what they do really well, which is run the football,” Fleck said. “You look at Kaleb Johnson and what he’s been able to do, I think he’s one of the most underrated backs in the country.”

After losing the season opener to North Carolina, Minnesota (2-1) is coming off back-to-back shutout victories for the first time since 1962. Fleck wants to carry that momentum into this matchup, which will also be the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Quarterback Max Brosmer has blossomed over the past two games, and completed 40 of his 56 passes for 462 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Having running back Darius Taylor healthy should help the ground game. Fleck is counting on his offensive line to deliver in the trenches, considering the Hawkeyes have one of the best defensive lines in the country.

“They put the ball down and play great defense, they’re very sound, they get off their blocks, they can two-gap you, every single one of them do such a great job,” he said. “The defensive line with the strike and shed, they’re so long and big, that it’s hard to even get into them on some of the blocks.”

Fleck has a lot of respect for Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, who’s the nation’s longest-tenured coach, and expects him to have his team ready to play. Both defenses are playing lights out, and points could potentially be hard to come by. Not to mention both teams seem evenly matched, so the game might come down to special teams again. The Hawkeyes have the better kicker in Drew Stevens, who can nail field goals from 50 yards and beyond.

Which is why Fleck needs to come up with the perfect game plan, and make significant adjustments at halftime. It’s no mystery that the road team has won the past two meetings in the Battle for Floyd of Rosedale. The game is always full of surprises too, and Fleck anticipates Ferentz will have some tricks up his sleeve.

“Hopefully rivalries are meant to go back and forth, I’m not sitting here saying I want to lose anything, nor do they want to lose anything, but I think that’s what makes rivalries really special,” the 43-year old said.

Fleck happens to be 1-6 head-to-head against Ferentz. This will also be the start of a rough three-game stretch for Minnesota, with Michigan and USC looming. Fleck is eager to start out Big Ten play on a high note, and his Gophers are ready to put together a grinder under the lights to keep Floyd at home.

“This game is about the trenches in my opinion, always since we been here, had a lot of close, tight games with them, one-possession games, but this a really good football team.”