P.J. Fleck explains why Gophers don’t believe momentum is a thing
MINNEAPOLIS - It’s probably one of the most over-used words in sports, and its gray area and subjectivity make it difficult to completely grasp: Momentum.
It’s a buzz word, but you’ll never hear it being used by P.J. Fleck with respect to the University of Minnesota football program. He doesn’t believe in momentum, never has since he’s been a head football coach. Just because you execute one play, doesn’t mean you will the next.
On his weekly FOX 9 show, Fleck explained why he doesn’t believe momentum is a real thing. He says it goes back to his days playing Pop Warner football as a kid.
"I’ve always felt that, even as a kid. I had a Pop Warner youth coach tell me that. Momentum is always used, I think, as an excuse," Fleck told the panel. "You go on a 20-0 basketball run, and I know basketball is made of runs, but why were you able to go on the run? You shot the ball better, you rebounded on the offensive or defensive glass better and somebody wasn’t shooting the ball well for whatever reason. It’s a made up word for us to have an excuse of why we didn’t play well."
Why it matters
The Gophers head to Rutgers this week on a four-game Big Ten win streak, after starting conference play 0-2. They have wins over USC, UCLA, Maryland and Illinois.
So does Minnesota have momentum? Not according to Fleck, because it’s not tangible.
"I can’t fix momentum, I can’t control momentum, I can’t practice momentum, so why would I put a lot of stock into it? I want to have things I can get better at, I want measurable things that I can sit there and say we’ve got to get better at X, Y and Z, and here’s how we’re going to get better," Fleck said. "But momentum is just an easy word to say, ‘Yeah, we didn’t have the momentum.’ It’s an excuse, we don’t believe in it."
Fleck’s Gophers’ culture
Fleck might be one of the few coaches who is strongly against momentum. Many lean into it. But he has a strict policy of "one game championship seasons." They come in Sunday, win or lose, learn from Saturday’s result and move forward.
When he talks to media every Monday, the Gophers are 0-0 and looking to be 1-0 by Saturday night.
What’s next
The Gophers are bowl eligible with three regular season games left and head to Rutgers on Saturday. Then after a bye, they host Penn State for Senior Day on Nov. 23. They end the regular season at Wisconsin on Black Friday.