Gophers’ P.J. Fleck still bothered by onside kick penalty at Michigan

P.J. Fleck talks onside kick penalty, facing USC

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck held his weekly news conference on Monday after losing at Michigan and looked ahead to Saturday's game against USC.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football team is moving on from a 27-24 loss at Michigan on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean coach P.J. Fleck isn’t still searching for some answers on the last play of the game.

Fleck said at his weekly news conference on Monday he has spoken with the Big Ten commissioner and the officiating crew about Matt Kingsbury’s penalty for being offside on the onside kick. The Gophers had just scored to get within three points with 1:40 to play. Kingsbury recovered the ball in Michigan territory, and Minnesota had one timeout left.

A slow-motion replay on the FOX broadcast shows Kingsbury is not across the 35-yard line when Dragan Kesich initiates the onside kick. The Gophers should’ve had the chance to send the game to overtime, or possibly pull a stunning upset in Ann Arbor with a touchdown. They never got that chance.

"Here is what I’ll say about that. I had a conversation with the Big Ten commissioner and the officials. We know they’re reviewing it, and we expect to hear something this afternoon. That’s all I’ll say about the last play," Fleck said.

Fleck was very careful with his words after the game, but clearly upset about the flag. The play is not reviewable, and the penalty cannot be challenged.

"Everybody is going to focus on that, I’m not going to sit here and get fined and do all those other things," Fleck said. "I have more respect for my boss and the University of Minnesota and the Big Ten. That’s one play."

A Big Ten spokesperson said Monday that effective immediately, the league has been approved by the NCAA to put in place a modified officiating mechanic where the line judge and head line judge are positioned on the kicking team's restraining line. That puts multiple officials in the best spot to make the correct call. The old mechanics have the linesmen on the receiving team's restraining line, as opposed to the kicking team's.

‘You have to be really good at losing to find ways to win’

Fleck brought his team together Sunday after another tough loss as Minnesota dropped to 2-3 on the season, and 0-2 in Big Ten play. He had a message for his team as they practiced.

"You have to be, I think, really good at losing to continue to find ways to win. I’m not accepting losing, what I’m saying is you have to understand when you do lose, you’re going to learn the most," Fleck said. "Our players, I can’t give them enough credit for how hard they played in the second half, the resiliency they showed. That’s going to stay with them through life. I think they’ve handled everything with class."

After getting down 24-3, the Gophers rallied with 21 fourth quarter points against Michigan to give themselves a chance. They had halftime leads against North Carolina and Iowa, before losing both games.