P.J. FLECK – Page 72 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

How P.J. Fleck Ranks with Big 10 Peers

Posted on October 24, 2018October 24, 2018 by David Shama

This space has provided power rankings of Big Ten football teams in the past, but today I offer my listing of the league’s 14 head coaches. Most readers will immediately wonder where Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck ranks. He checks in at No. 11 and here’s my capsule on the 37-year-old “Row the Boat” specialist:

About halfway through Fleck’s second year at Minnesota his record in conference games is 2-11. His only two wins came last season against two underwhelming teams, Illinois and Nebraska. In nonconference games his record is 6-0, with those victories earned mostly against inferior opposition. Give Fleck, his assistant coaches and players credit for impressive performances in wins over Nebraska and Oregon State in 2017, and this season’s victory against Fresno State.

Team defense is now in alarm status. The Gophers were outscored 70-0 in their last two Big Ten games in 2017. In their four conference games this year they are giving up 43.5 points per game including a 53-28 loss to Nebraska last Saturday.

Fleck has gone overboard in emphasizing how young his roster is but the starters on defense are primarily juniors and seniors. Despite their experience, Minnesota defenders are often out of position or nowhere to be seen, as they allow opposing offenses to break off long gains. Defensive coordinator Robb Smith, who according to a college football insider was forced out at Arkansas before being hired by Fleck, should be under scrutiny.

Fleck and staff have improved the offense, including by bringing in young talent such as true freshmen quarterback Zack Annexstad and wide receiver Rashod Bateman. Fleck has done well in national recruiting rankings and been tireless in talking about his vision to make the Minnesota program “elite.”

But the Gophers have to stop giving up easy scores and start winning conference games. The program was 5-4 in Big Ten games the season prior to Fleck’s arrival in January 2017. Minnesota had winning records in the Big Ten in two of the three seasons prior to Fleck being hired.

The conference totals on wins and losses say the program is going backward. It’s up to Fleck and his staff to soon change that.

In ranking all 14 Big Ten coaches (below) multiple factors were considered including not only wins and losses, and championships, but also the difficulty of their assignments. It’s not an even “playing field” when comparing resources at each of the Big Ten programs. Far from it. Among the most difficult jobs are Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern and Rutgers. Places of privilege include Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

1. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State. He is a taskmaster’s taskmater whose defenses have allowed the Spartans to overachieve and win for many years.

2. Urban Meyer, Ohio State. He won’t lead any popularity polls nationally, or in Big Ten country, but he’s won every place he has coached and is 77-9 in seven seasons with the Buckeyes.

3. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern. Historically not a program with great resources but Fitzgerald is a superb leader and coach who gets the most out of the Wildcats.

4. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa. There is a reason Ferentz has been at Iowa for 20 seasons. He and his staff are masters at identifying under the radar player talent and developing it.

5. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan. Harbaugh failed in three previous seasons to find a quality quarterback but the fiery coach has one now in Shea Patterson and the Wolverines’ coach could be on his way to a first Big Ten title.

6. Jeff Brohm, Purdue. Beating No. 2 ranked Ohio State last Saturday was no fluke. The second-year coach immediately improved a dreadful Purdue program in 2017 and is the real deal.

7. Scott Frost, Nebraska. He is 1-6 in his first season at Nebraska but he was 13-0 at Central Florida last season, and just as importantly comes from a gold-plated coaching tree that includes Tom Osborne and Bill Walsh.

8. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin. Chryst was given the keys to a national top program and in four seasons is 38-10 overall and 25-5 in league games, but the Badgers have occasionally stumbled including a surprise loss to BYU and poor performance against Michigan this year. Maybe he is more of a maintainer than a builder.

9. James Franklin, Penn State. Impressive recruiter who has helped restore the Penn State program but he couldn’t close out big home games this fall against Ohio State and Michigan State.

10. DJ Durkin/Matt Canada, Maryland. Canada is the interim coach with Durkin on administrative leave while the school investigates his program. What is certain is the Terps have recruited successfully the last few years.

11. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota. See comments at the top.

12. Tom Allen, Indiana. A coin flip in ranking Allen behind Fleck. The second-year IU coach is 3-11 in Big Ten games.

13. Chris Ash, Rutgers. He was smart enough to hire Jerry Kill as offensive coordinator for one season in 2017 but Rutgers is one difficult place to coach. In Ash’s third season he has yet to show a lot and is likely to go winless in the Big Ten.

14. Lovie Smith, Illinois. The Illinois job is deeper in resources than Rutgers but you wouldn’t know it looking at the mess Smith has contributed to in three seasons. The former Bears Super Bowl coach has a league record of 3-18.

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Gophers Football Ticket Sales Decline

Posted on October 10, 2018 by David Shama

Ticket sales continue to decline for Golden Gophers home football games. In response to a request from Sports Headliners, the University of Minnesota reported that both non-student and student season tickets had declined 2,572 from last year.

As of late September, 21,682 non-student season tickets had been sold compared to 22,990 in 2017. The student season tickets total of 4,730 compared with 5,994 last year.

The public isn’t rushing to buy single game home tickets either. Announced attendance for four games so far includes three totals under 42,000 in TCF Bank Stadium with a seating capacity of 50,805. The attendance of 38,280 for the Fresno State game was the second lowest in stadium history since its opening in 2009.

There is also the eyeball test at each game that shows huge patches of unsold or unused seats all over the stadium, including many that are expensive seats. Buyers are paying for tickets but not showing up or successfully giving those seats away. This was evident even at the most attractive game on the 2018 schedule, last Saturday’s rivalry game against Iowa.

Announced attendances for college football games, including those at TCF Bank Stadium, have long raised eyebrows and caused speculation about accuracy. A Wall Street Journal article last summer reported that based on actual ticket scans at FBS games last year far fewer fans actually show up in their seats than what announced attendances indicate.

The Journal reported in its August 30 article that the Gophers announced total attendance in 2017 of 310,506 for seven home games contrasted with a tickets scanned total of 210,909. That resonates with last Saturday’s Iowa-Minnesota game at TCF Bank Stadium when despite an announced attendance of 48,199, it appeared that 10,000 to 15,000 fewer fans were in the building.

College football attendance decreased for a fourth consecutive season in 2017, and there are many reasons. HD TV delivers captivating pictures for those watching college football in the comfort of their homes without paying high ticket prices and investing time travelling to and from game sites. Then, too, the college game is lengthier than its NFL rival with longer halftimes and more clock stoppages during the four quarters of “action.”

Younger fans, including college students, often aren’t as interested in their hometown team as past generations. The argument of moving Minnesota’s games back to campus at TCF Bank Stadium to draw more students has proven highly questionable.

Whether a school has a winning team, of course, also has a big impact on attendance. Often, the schools that draw the smaller crowds in their conferences (like the Gophers) don’t have successful teams and in many instances haven’t for a long while. Add it all up and many universities, including those in the Big Ten such as Minnesota, find themselves with lots of empty seats but grateful for TV revenues in the range of $50 million this school year.

Interest in Gophers football began declining with the mid-season resignation of head coach Jerry Kill in 2015. Kill had the program on the rise and was a popular personality who connected with the public. Ticket buyers didn’t respond the same way with Kill’s successor, Tracy Claeys, who had one full season as head coach in 2016.

A couple weeks prior to the start of the 2016 season the University reported about a 19 percent decline in non-student season tickets. The total in 2015 had been 27,885 but in mid-August of 2016 the Gophers had sold 22,706 non-student season tickets.

Despite a winning Big Ten record and unexpected Holiday Bowl win in 2016, Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle and University president Eric Kaler terminated Claeys in early January of 2017. “I determined that the football program must move in a new direction to address challenges in recruiting, ticket sales and the culture of the program,” Coyle said in a statement.

University regent Michael Hsu said the message from administrators was there would be a “Fleck bump” in ticket sales by hiring P.J. Fleck, known as an exciting young coach from Western Michigan who was coming off a 13-1 season. Fleck had drawn national press coverage because of both his record and salesmanship. Hsu told Sports Headliners he had been reluctant to approve Fleck’s contract because it was not only considerably more compensation than Claeys earned, but also the athletic department was taking on the expense of over $3 million for buyouts of Claeys and his assistants.

In fact, there hasn’t been much “Fleck bump” in ticket sales. Last year, the Gophers’ first under Fleck, attendance for seven home games averaged 44,358—slightly improved over the average of 43,814 in Claeys’ only full season as head coach. That average was the lowest in TCF Bank Stadium history. The Gophers had averaged a TCF best 52,355 fans in 2015 when the Kill-effect was still in play and the stadium had a temporary larger capacity because the Vikings were playing there.

This season might set a new attendance low at TCF with the team off to a 0-2 Big Ten start, giving up 90 points in the first two league games. The Gophers could be underdogs in all of their remaining games. The remaining home schedule has three opponents with no marquee pull—Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue. Through four home games Minnesota is averaging 42,233 fans per game in announced attendance.

The “honeymoon” effect of TCF Bank Stadium has been gone for some time. As the weather turns colder, and the possibility of precipitation is in play, having an outdoor facility in this marketplace (compare to U.S. Bank Stadium) is a liability in selling tickets, and it causes those with tickets to stay away.

In an interview last month with Sports Headliners, Kaler acknowledged the attendance problem at Minnesota and elsewhere. “We’re not alone in this situation across the country,” he said. “As you know, attendance at sporting events has dropped off nearly everywhere. Of course, I expected more people to come (to Gopher games), but nothing brings people to a stadium better than a winning team. I think as P.J. begins to put more w’s up on the board, (and) the young men continue to perform, our attendance will rebound.”

Fleck’s recruiting classes have ranked higher than what Gophers fans have known over the years. Fleck, Kaler and other leaders at the U are counting on more talent in the seasons ahead. “I am very pleased with the decision that Mark and I made to hire P.J.,” Kaler said. “He is exactly what we expected him to be. …He is setting a foundation that I think will hold up a very, very strong team as time goes forward.”

When does Kaler believe the Gophers can start filling up their stadium for every game? “Oh, I don’t have a timeframe for it, Dave. But I do think when we start routinely beating Wisconsin, we will sell out.”

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Gophers Lost ‘The Juice’ 50 Years Ago

Posted on September 21, 2018September 21, 2018 by David Shama

Golden Gophers football then and now in today’s column. Read on for a history lesson, and also insight about Saturday’s game against Maryland.

It was 50 years ago today, September 21, 1968, that Minnesota lost to USC in one of the grand games in Gopher football history. The buildup and hype to the game at old Memorial Stadium on the Minnesota campus was extraordinary. The Trojans were college football’s defending national champions. The Gophers had shared the 1967 Big Ten title with Indiana and Purdue.

USC was a glamour team featuring senior All-American halfback O.J. Simpson who would go on to win the 1968 Heisman Trophy. Yes, for those who need a history lesson, the same Orenthal James Simpson—nicknamed the “Juice” for his orange juice-like initials—that was charged in 1994 with killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

Minnesota had talented players, too, including All-American defensive end Bob Stein. USC’s John McKay was a national championship coach and Minnesota’s Murray Warmath had coached the Gophers to the 1960 national title.

In the weeks leading up to the game there was a buzz around town seldom seen with Gophers football before or since. It was Minnesota’s opener and the game drew a crowd of 60,820 crazed fans to Dinkytown. It would be the largest crowd at Memorial Stadium until the Gophers abandoned the “Brick House” after the 1981 season and moved into the Metrodome.

Warmath was known from International Falls to Austin as a defensive authority and military-like taskmaster. Stop the other team. Gain field position with a strong punting game. Don’t make mistakes. If you’re worried about the offense screwing up, punt the ball on third down and let the defense take over winning the game.

Warmath, then 55, had been the Golden Gophers head coach since 1954. Before that he was head coach for two seasons at Mississippi State. This assignment of stopping Simpson and USC was hardly his first “rodeo.”

Sometime during the offseason of 1968 Warmath got an unusual idea. He decided to let the grass at Memorial Stadium grow long in an attempt to slow down Simpson who not only was powerfully built but had track star speed.

How long was long? “Unusually long,” said former Minnesota offensive tackle Ezell Jones.

Fullback Jim Carter was a teammate of Jones in 1968 and also recalled the long grass. “It was deep,” Carter said. “I don’t know if it was six inches or what. But the problem with that strategy is, it didn’t work.”

The grass was long and the field was wet from rain, but the Gophers couldn’t do enough to contain Simpson in a 29-20 loss. Simpson ran for four touchdowns and had 375 all-purpose yards, according to Warmath’s biography, The Autumn Warrior by Mike Wilkinson.

After the game Simpson expressed his admiration for Minnesota’s defense. “Simpson praised the Gophers, saying he had never been hit harder than he was that day,” Wilkinson wrote.

Those who saw the game have enduring memories but topping most any list is Minnesota’s fourth quarter kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Gophers a 20-16 lead. The play started with George Kemp catching the USC kickoff and starting up the field. Suddenly, with tacklers coming toward him, he stopped and threw a cross-field lateral pass to teammate John Wintermute who had an open field in front of him and a path to the end zone.

Murray Warmath (photo courtesy Minnesota athletic communications)

The play shocked not only USC but also Gophers fans who long ago had labeled their coach unimaginative. “That was awfully risqué for coach Warmath,” Carter said. “(Normally) three running plays and a cloud of dust was about as risqué as he got. Having a play like that on the kickoff was pretty amazing.”

The other day somebody recalled the kickoff play was copied “by every high school coach in the state,” and that they used it on ensuing Fridays. Whether that’s reality or myth, the memory of the play will never be forgotten by those who attended that famous game.

The 1968 squad was the last of Warmath’s powerful teams. That group went 5-2 in Big Ten Conference games and tied for third place in the standings. They could play—as they showed against USC—with any team in America. Warmath, with recruiting deteriorating, had losing seasons in 1969, 1970 and 1971, and then was forced out as head coach.

Between 1960 and 1968 Warmath’s Gophers won one national championship, two Big Ten titles and split two Rose Bowls. During their best stretch, from 1960-1962, Minnesota’s record was 22-6-1.

The Gophers have had nine coaches between Warmath and P.J. Fleck. None of the coaches since Warmath has been able to make the Gophers consistent winners in the Big Ten and therefore return Minnesota to national prominence.

Fleck was 2-7 in conference games in his first season of 2017. Tomorrow he takes his 3-0 nonconference team to College Park, Maryland for Minnesota’s opening Big Ten game in 2018.

The Terps are 2-1 and the results include a season highlight win over Texas and an inexplicable home loss to ho-hum Temple, 35-14. Maryland has that kind of a roller coaster program. Third-year coach DJ Durkin has recruited effectively but he is currently on administrative leave while the school investigates the football program’s culture.

The Terps are at least an average Big Ten team in talent, perhaps better. They were labeled before the season as the potential surprise team in the Big Ten’s East Division. The Gophers have an unusually inexperienced roster and are playing on the road for the first time this season. The game looks like a tossup—and a huge opportunity for Fleck and the Gophers to move within two wins of bowl eligibility, with eight more games remaining after Saturday.

Among the positives for Minnesota is the fan apathy at Maryland Stadium, formerly Byrd Stadium. Two years ago redshirt junior and walkon quarterback Conor Rhoda made his first college start at Maryland Stadium. “…It was not too electric of an atmosphere,” Rhoda told Sports Headliners this week.

Rhoda was an effective game manager in the quiet atmosphere, helping Minnesota to a 31-10 win. “After the first play I didn’t even notice the stands, or notice anybody out there,” he said. “It just felt like practice to me, which was a big relief.”

Rhoda completed seven of 15 passes for 82 yards and one touchdown in front of an announced crowd of 41,465. Minnesota’s offense was running game dominant with Rodney Smith at 144 yards and Shannon Brooks gaining 86.

Rhoda said going on the road changes routines and preparations for players. A first away game can particularly be a challenge. The task is only made more difficult if played in a noisy and even hostile environment.

Tomorrow the Gophers will send another walkon quarterback out on the field at Maryland Stadium, Zack Annexstad. Rhoda, who now works in sales for a Minneapolis tech company, expressed confidence about Annexstad’s first road start. As with other observers of Minnesota’s first three games, Rhoda has been impressed with the poise of the true freshman quarterback.

“I don’t have any doubts that Zack will feel comfortable after a snap or two in there, and he’ll feel just like he’s playing at TCF (Bank Stadium),” Rhoda said.

Rhoda has met Annexstad and also knows his family including older brother Brock who is a redshirt freshman wide receiver for Minnesota. “He (Zack) seems like a mature kid and he knows how to handle himself in a Big Ten environment,” Rhoda said.

Rhoda, who was one of the Gophers’ two starting quarterbacks last year, knows Tanner Morgan better than Zack Annexstad. Morgan redshirted last season and is now Annexstad’s backup. “Tanner has got nothing but awesome things to say about him,” Rhoda said.

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