P.J. Fleck searching for answers after losing two-straight games
Minnesota Coach P.J. Fleck signals towards an official during a timeout in the second quarter against Penn State Saturday November 23, 2024 at Huntington Bank Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
MINNEAPOLIS — The Golden Gophers are reeling after losing a thriller at home to the Nittany Lions Saturday, and their coach has a short amount of time to pick up the pieces.
Penn State stormed into Huntington Bank Stadium, outlasted Minnesota 26-25, and all Coach P.J. Fleck could could do is watch as time expired in the fourth quarter. The Golden Gophers needed to make one last stop on defense on the Nittany Lions’ final drive, but they couldn’t get off the field to give the offense the ball back.
It was a frustrating ordeal for Fleck, considering his team played well enough to win. Minnesota led in time of possession, third down efficiency and only had one penalty. However, it wasn’t enough to take down the No. 4 team in the nation, and two costly turnovers didn’t help the situation.
Now Fleck has to rally his troops, go back to the drawing board and figure out what his team needs to correct on a short week with Wisconsin looming.
“There are a lot of things that you look at after a game, you gotta evaluate everything starting out with me,” Fleck said. “I gotta look at every decision I made and evaluate it, but there’s no hindsight, I don’t believe in that, you make the best calls in the best situations, and some work and some don’t.”
Fleck is proud of the way his players battled throughout the afternoon. Minnesota drew first blood in the first quarter after quarterback Max Brosmer led the offense on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. The Golden Gophers scored 10 unanswered points before the Nittany Lions finally responded.
Brosmer also connected with tight end Jameson Geers for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Penn State (10-1) did find the end zone after quarterback Drew Allar rushed for a score with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, but Minnesota caught a break. The Golden Gophers blocked a PAT, and returned it 88 yards to the house, and the momentum was clearly on their side.
It was a solid first 30 minutes from Minnesota in Fleck’s eyes. After all, the Nittany Lions went scoreless in the first quarter, and the Golden Gophers led by three points at halftime.
“We did so many things that were incredibly awesome, we did so many things that we needed to be able to do and we did,” he said. “There were unbelievable plays made from the offensive and defensive side of the ball, and they played their hearts out against one of the best teams in the country.”
The second half was a different story though. Minnesota had trouble executing, gave up some explosive plays on defense, and couldn’t score a touchdown. Kicker Dragan Kesich was clutch again, and nailed all three of his field goal attempts on the day, including a 48-yarder. Still, the Golden Gophers needed more help from the offense.
Minnesota’s ground game was abysmal, and it only averaged 2.9 yard per rush. Brosmer also threw an interception, and the offense lost a fumble. Regardless of the mistakes, Fleck’s squad had a chance late in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions used the final 15 minute effectively, and even executed a fake punt. Franklin’s team used their final drive to make the biggest plays of the contest, and some of those were risky.
Penn State converted three fourth down attempts, and refused to give Minnesota the ball back. Star tight end Tyler Warren delivered down the stretch for the offense, and forced the Golden Gophers to use all of their timeouts. Once the smoke cleared, Penn State led Minnesota in total offense, plays, first downs and yards per play.
Fleck was encouraged by the fact that his players never gave up, and showed heart in losing fashion. Brosmer completed 15 of his 23 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Running back Darius Taylor rushed for a team-high, 58 yards. Wideout Daniel Jackson finished with a team-high, six catches for 90 yards.
Defensively, Minnesota (6-5) was able to stop the run for the most part, and Penn State ended up with 117 yards on the ground. The defense didn’t create any turnovers though, and that’s something the Golden Gophers have prided themselves on this season.
Linebacker Cody Lindenberg tallied a game-high, 14 tackles, including one for loss. Defensive back Koi Perich generated 13 stops, including one for loss. Defensive lineman Anthony Smith recorded four tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack.
Losing by one point to a top-five team is nothing for the players to hang their heads about, but Fleck refuses to accept any moral victories. The bye-week did help the team improve in certain areas, but now the Golden Gophers are on a two-game losing streak. Fleck also has to shift gears towards the hated Badgers and the last thing he wants is for this loss to linger, and let the Nittany Lions beat them twice.
“There are a lot of tears in that locker room from how hard they played, but Penn State found a way to make one more play than we did, and it was a great football game.”
