P.J. FLECK – Page 37 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

‘Way too Early’ Script on Fleck’s Gophers

Posted on January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 by David Shama

It’s become popular for internet media sites to issue “way too early” top 25 college football rankings in January. Read later in this space whether Minnesota is drawing national attention, but right now Sports Headliners offers much more detail about the Golden Gophers than a ranking.

Here then is a “crystal skull” script on how Minnesota will do in 2022. The schedule is not daunting. Talent and experience are in place. The coaching staff, led by P.J. Fleck, Joe Rossi and Kirk Ciarrocca, is impressive. The outlook is upbeat with the prediction that Minnesota can reach 10 wins with a bowl game victory. This is how the season could go:

The season opener with New Mexico State will draw more interest because of the two head coaches than the players on the field. The Aggies’ Jerry Kill isn’t a Fleck admirer. In a 2019 satellite radio interview Kill criticized Fleck’s ego and suggested the Minnesota coach is more about himself than the players. This fall Kill will be back on the sidelines as a head coach for the first time since he was Minnesota’s head man in 2015.

The game is a “damned if you do and a damned if you don’t” matchup for Fleck and the Gophers against a New Mexico State team that figures to be about a three touchdown underdog. Minnesota, coming off a 9-4 season, is seen nationally as a program on the rise. The Aggies were 2-10 last season and traditionally rank among the 10 worst major college teams. Embarrassments in 2021 included 59-3 and 56-16 losses to Alabama and Kentucky.

If the Gophers win big, observers will yawn. If the game is close, a Minnesota victory will have the critics talking about how Fleck was out coached. A New Mexico State win? Start negotiating with Kill about returning to Dinkytown.

The Gophers begin the season with three home nonconference games: the Aggies, Western Illinois and Colorado. That should result in a 3-0 start but this comes with a warning label.

Fleck’s teams are often sluggish early in the season. The coaches appear to take a conservative approach with the offensive playbook. In 2021 the implausible happened when the 31 points favored Gophers, playing at home, lost to Bowling Green. But in non-erasable ink let’s put the Gophers down for a 3-0 start to the 2022 season and knocking on the door of a top 25 national ranking.

The original schedule for this year had the Gophers opening the season with five consecutive home games including Big Ten matchups against Iowa and Purdue. But earlier this month the Big Ten football office modified the league schedules and the Gophers will now play Iowa at home November 19. The prior September 24 date with Iowa now has Minnesota at Michigan State.

It looks like Sparty goes into the season as a top 15 team nationally coming off last year’s impressive 11-2 finish. Home field will be the difference as the Gophers lose in East Lansing after the unbeaten non-conference start.

The next week the Purdue Boilermakers spoil Minnesota’s homecoming, with their first win over the Gophers since 2017. Dinkytown is in a panic!

Coach Ciarrocca, quarterback Tanner Morgan and the rest of the offense are imitating the struggles of 2021 instead of doing a 2019 encore. The defense is leaky after having to replace top play-makers like Boye Mafe and Jack Gibbens.

The media jackals are howling. Gopher loyalists are feeling sorry for themselves after a 0-2 Big Ten start. But during a bye week, coaches make adjustments and players vow to flip the script.

Look out because here come the Gophers who this year must play five conference road games, with four at home. Morgan brings back memories of 2019, with slant passes and long throws to wide receivers Chris Autman-Bell and emerging star Dylan Wright who in 2022 becomes a more disciplined route runner.

The running game remains dominant as it has been in Fleck’s previous five seasons at Minnesota. Mo Ibrahim, a 2020 All-American, could be among the Big Ten’s most productive tailbacks, but the Gophers will ease his workload with significant carries from Bucky Irving whose breakaway style complements Ibrahim’s power.

The offensive line with four new starters doesn’t hit its stride until mid-season but is anchored from the start by center John Michael Schmitz. He will be a top candidate for the Dave Rimington Trophy, last won by a Gopher in 2005 when Greg Eslinger was honored as the nation’s best center.

The defensive line, like its offensive counterpart, is likely to have early issues as it fills in with new players including at least three transfers from other programs. It will be interesting to see if leading play makers include highly hyped freshman defensive end Anthony Smith from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

The secondary, led by potential all Big-10 cornerback Justin Walley and veteran safeties Jordan Howden and Tyler Nubin, could be among the best in school history. Linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin, considered a coach on the field, is back to lead and inspire the defense.

Coach Rossi has earned the guru label from his players. His success dates back to his appointment as defensive coordinator in November of 2018 following an embarrassing 55-31 loss to Illinois. Since then the Gophers’ record is 26-11.

The defense will have help in dictating field position from punter Mark Crawford. The Aussie is skilled in dropping punts inside the 20 yard line of opponents.

Starting with an October 15 victory over Illinois, Crawford and his mates run off six consecutive league wins. Worthy of a state fair blue ribbon is the return of Floyd of Rosedale to Minneapolis. Before a raucous crowd at Huntington Bank Stadium, veteran kicker Matthew Trickett boots a last minute field goal to give Minnesota the bronze pig and its first win over the hated Iowa Hawkeyes since 2014.

The next week in Madison the Badgers stop the Minnesota win parade. Respect Badgers head coach Paul Chryst. Fear defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard who finds a way to control Ciarrocca and the Minnesota offense. Pray Leonhard doesn’t eventually become the big boss in Madison.

The Gophers finish the regular season at 9-3. For part of the year Minnesota is a top 25 team, maybe cracking the top 15 list in the polls. The Gophers could finish in that company, too, with an impressive bowl game victory.

That’s certainly higher than “the way to early” rankings in January from ESPN, CBS, Sporting News and Yahoo, who all leave Minnesota out of their top 25 teams. Stewart Mandel from The Athletic—and yours truly–believe the boys from Dinkytown deserve top 25 billing right now.

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Coming Days to Test Viking Owners

Posted on January 4, 2022 by David Shama

What the Wilf ownership group does in the next several days and coming weeks will reveal a lot about their thinking and make a profound statement to the Vikings’ rabid fan-base.

It’s currently a hostile public environment for GM Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer. Lead owners Zygi and Mark Wilf must certainly understand that, even though they don’t have Minnesota roots and are based in the east. What will they do this winter, if anything, about the future direction of the franchise?

The Wilfs are exceptionally loyal to their Viking employees. They bought the franchise in 2005 and Spielman, 59, has been on board from the start. Zimmer, 65, has been the coach since 2014. The Wilfs like continuity with their leaders and appear deliberate in their decisions.

They also are passionate fans with a stated commitment to deliver a Super Bowl team to this town. They have invested emotionally in Zimmer and Spielman, showing more patience than many other owners would offer. The Wilfs have also made a statement with their willingness to spend money on player payroll, and building world-class practice and stadium facilities.

But past on-field results by the team aren’t acceptable to many fans. Not as a franchise working on a 45-year Super Bowl drought, and with a more recent history that includes missing the playoffs the last two seasons and unable to play better than .500 football during 2020 and 2021. In the Zimmer era the Vikings have qualified for the post-season only three of eight times.

How capable are the Wilfs in being able to evaluate their football operation? That is a million dollar question. Are they comfortable enough with their abilities and experiences to not only determine who needs to be fired but also how to go about identifying, scrutinizing and ultimately hiring new leadership to be more successful?

The Wilfs could turn to a search firm for help regarding candidates to be new leaders. The NFL office could also be a candid source. Then, too, the Wilfs may have an inner circle they trust, perhaps including former Vikings players and coaches. Among alumni who could be useful and gets a vote here is Ben Leber. The 43-year-old former linebacker has a high football IQ and he is honest!

The options for final decisions in the weeks ahead include firing Zimmer and Spielman, or keeping one of them. They could also keep both and insist on clearing out most, or all, of their staffs. It’s believed the Wilfs have a particularly close relationship with Spielman and after eight seasons are certainly invested in Zimmer, too.

Presumably the Wilfs will have goals for near and long term results by their team and what can be accomplished within specific timeframes. Their roster has valued players like Dalvin Cook, Danielle Hunter, Justin Jefferson and Brian O’Neill. The team doesn’t need to be imploded, even if the Wilfs decide the coaching staff and front office must have a shakeup.

The fan base and media have been turning up the “heat” for months. Now the Wilfs get the last word and it will be intriguing to see what they do, how they do it and what the results will be in 2022 and beyond.

Worth Noting

NBC’s Cris Collinsworth said during Sunday night’s Vikings-Packers telecast the team can fire Zimmer but won’t find “a better coach.”

Minneapolis attorney and sports historian Marshall Tanick notes that Austin, Minnesota born John Madden, who died last week, coached the Raiders to their 32-14 Super Bowl win over the Vikings in 1977 (Minnesota’s last SB appearance). Madden’s final game as an NFL coach came in 1978 when the Raiders defeated the Vikings 27-21 in Oakland. As a broadcaster Madden mentored former Viking quarterback Rich Gannon as he transitioned from his playing career to NFL TV color man.

Illinois, 9-3 and 2-0 in Big Ten games, enters tonight’s matchup with the Golden Gophers at Williams Arena outscoring opponents by an average of 15.6 points per game and is a conference title contender. Minnesota, the surprise of the town’s sports teams at 10-1 and 1-1 in league games, has an average point differential of 8.9 against opponents.

Powerful Illini center Kofi Cockburn, who at 7-feet and 285 pounds averages 21.8 points and 12.1 rebounds, is a difficult matchup for the smaller Gophers. Look for the Gophers to double-team and perhaps use all three of their centers, Eric Curry, Charlie Daniels and Treyton Thompson, against Cockburn.

NCAA Tournament bracketologist Joe Lunardi of ESPN projects Minnesota and Illinois as No. 10 and No. 6 seeds respectively in the Midwest Regional.

Shooting guard Amir Coffey, the former Gopher from Hopkins who went undrafted in 2019, is having a career season with the NBA Clippers averaging 16.4 minutes per game. Several games of late he has played over 20 minutes including in last night’s loss to the Timberwolves.

Could Mohammed Elazazy, the former Western Michigan offensive lineman who has entered the transfer portal, interest the football Gophers? The 6-5, 300-pound guard is from Menasha, Wisconsin.

Former Minnesota offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, now in the same role at Colorado, will be without WR Brenden Rice, a rising sophomore and son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who has entered the transfer portal.

Gopher quarterback Tanner Morgan and center John Michael Schmitz—both part of coach P.J. Fleck’s first recruiting class in 2017—have announced plans to marry their girl friends in 2022. Going into their fifth seasons of competition next September, Morgan and Schmitz will be among the most experienced players in the Big Ten.

Sixty years ago the Gophers played in their second and last Rose Bowl. On January 1, 1962 Minnesota completely dominated UCLA in a 21-3 win, compiling 397 net yards to 107 by the Bruins.

Apparently no report yet on TNT’s national viewership for last Saturday’s Winter Classic matchup between the Wild and Blues at Target Field. The game dates back to 2008 and the 2020 classic hit a new TV low averaging a 1.15 rating and 1.96 million viewers on NBC. COVID-19 postponed the 2021 Winter Classic in Minneapolis.

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U Ends Desert Drought in Bowl Win

Posted on December 29, 2021December 29, 2021 by David Shama

It may have slipped by most University of Minnesota football fans and even a few Golden Gophers historians, but last night your favorite college program earned its first ever win in Arizona.

The drought is over. This is reported with both amusement and relief.

The Gophers beat West Virginia 18-6 in Phoenix Tuesday evening and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Four previous games in the Phoenix area didn’t go so well.

In 1969 Minnesota, just two years removed from a Big Ten championship, got ambushed by Arizona State in Tempe. Back in those days the Sun Devils were members of the lightly regarded Western Athletic Conference, a league that seldom received a nod in Big Ten country.

Coach Frank Kush and the Devils saw an opportunity to make a statement to the college football world. They did just that, embarrassing Minnesota by a 48-26 score indicative of the difference between the two teams on a September night in the desert.

Maybe the Devils jinxed the Gophs back in ’69. Not only did the next several decades of Minnesota football look nothing like the glorious past of conference titles and national championships, but even a return to ‘Zona in the new millennium brought more frustration.

The Gophers had a 35-7 halftime lead over Texas Tech in Tempe in the 2006 Insight Bowl. By the end of the fourth quarter the game was tied 38-38 and the Red Raiders won in overtime 44-41. Pass-happy Texas Tech threw 55 times and Minnesota had no second half answers.

The “stubborn” Gophers made return trips to the Insight Bowl in 2008 and 2009. Same destination with the drought continuing in the desert, losing 42-21 and 14-13 to Kansas and Iowa State.

The Arizona football gods tried to hex the Gophers again last night at Chase Stadium, the baseball facility with a retractable roof. On a rainy night in Phoenix, Guaranteed Rate Bowl authorities briefly opened the roof just before kickoff to allow sky divers to prove for the umpteenth time they can land on a football field (BTW, this one with recently installed new sod).

A less than ideal playing surface had the Gophers sometimes unsure of their footing and prone to mistakes. Such was the case in the second half when wide receiver Mike Brown-Stephens fell down on his pass pattern and allowed a West Virginia interception. Yes, the Mountaineers played on the same surface but lest you forget the curse of the desert, the boys from Morgantown looked steady on their collective feet.

And if the field conditions weren’t enough to cause a pre-game “here-we-go-again” mindset, a woman named Stormy was the sideline reporter for ESPN’s telecast!

When Minnesota endured the 1969 butt-kicking that started the struggles in Arizona, the Gopher coach was Murray Warmath who was born December 26, 1912 and died in 2011. He received a birthday present of sorts this week with his former team playing the kind of dominating defense, advantageous field position and time consuming football he preached at Minnesota. His 1960 team won Minnesota’s last national championship.

Minnesota ended bad times in Arizona by holding the Mountaineers to just one touchdown and 206 total yards of offense. The West Virginia running game was shut down and the passing results were not a whole lot better. The Gophers sacked the quarterback five times, bringing frequent pressure that helped hold the Mountaineers to 140 yards passing.

This season defensive coordinator Joe Rossi removed any remaining doubt about how important he is to the Gophers. He doesn’t like being referred to as “a guru” by his players but when your defense ranks among the best in the nation and allows only one opponent in 13 games to score over 28 points, you deserve accolades.

Minnesota’s kicking game and offense had the Mountaineers starting drives inside their 30 and 20 yard lines. Gopher defensive end Boye Mafe, who had a stellar night auditioning for NFL scouts, nearly caused a first half safety while tackling the West Virginia quarterback, Jarret Doege.

Minnesota’s time of possession was 38:29. West Virginia’s 21:31. The disparity was due mostly to the Gophers hoarding the football with their running game. That success started up front with its veteran line led by right tackle Daniel Faalele who also scored high with NFL evaluators while playing his final game for Minnesota.

In the first quarter the offense failed twice inside the West Virginia 10-yard line. Minnesota’s Ky Thomas fumbled to end a drive and Matthew Trickett missed a makeable 33-yard field goal try. That cost the Gophers points on a night they could have won the game by a much larger margin.

With Rossi in charge, it looks like the Gophers can consistently produce defenses that will do their part in winning a Big Ten West Division title. But to take the next step the Gophers have to raise the bar offensively, particularly with the passing attack including better play calls, catching consistency, big gains and more points. With the return of Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator, there is hope the Gophers can develop a passing offense that better complements their successful running game.

But before washing the desert sand out of their eyes and looking to 2022, the Gophers should take a few days to celebrate their triumph in Arizona and what it represents. Minnesota finishes 2021 with a 9-4 record including three straight wins and that sounds a lot better than 8-5. This is the second time in three years the Gophers have won nine games or more.

Among the victories in 2021 was taking down a nationally ranked Wisconsin team that has won seven of its last eight games. The late November win over the Badgers was the first time the Gophers claimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe in Minneapolis since 2003.

Head coach P.J. Fleck is now 3-0 in bowl games because his teams come prepared to compete instead of arriving with a “let’s party” approach. The focus is there for four quarters. In all games during the Fleck era (dating back to 2017) the Gophers are 33-4 when leading at halftime.

Fleck’s overall record at Minnesota is 35-23 but he is 23-10 the last three seasons. His winning percentage of .603 is third best among Gopher coaches who coached in 45 games or more. Minnesota has had 19 coaches since 1900 and Fleck ranks sixth all-time in program wins.

Fleck’s Big Ten record is 21-22 after going 6-3 this fall. In Warmath’s first six conference seasons he won 15, lost 25 and tied 2. Since 2000 the Gophers have produced five winning seasons in Big Ten games, with two coming under Fleck.

Oh, yes, one other stat before signing off. Fleck is 1-0 in the desert.

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