P.J. Fleck makes pitch for ESPN to bring College GameDay to Minneapolis
Coach Fleck made an impassioned speech Saturday after his team crushed Maryland, 52-10.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In two weeks, the Gophers will face the biggest game of the season as the unbeaten team hosts another 8-0 squad at TCF Bank Stadium.
After bye weeks for both teams, Penn State will make the trip to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers. But, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck is hoping for other visitors are following Penn State to Minnesota. He's hoping for national attention on what will be a major game for the university.
Speaking after Minnesota's thrashing of the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, Fleck said ESPN should come to town for the November 9 matchup.
"I've said, I hope College GameDay really looks at our Twin Cities, our university, truly to bring GameDay here," he said. "We have 4 million people who live in the Twin Cities area. We are the only Division I school in the state of Minnesota. Everybody here is Gophers."
"We have never hosted College GameDay," Fleck added. "All due respect to Alabama and LSU, I have no idea what is going on with them right now, but I can tell you this, you can go to them any year! Pick a year! Pick a game! You can go to them every game of the season, if you would like."
"College GameDay is about unique stories, about unique places, about unique moments," Fleck argued. "That's what they say they're about. I'm not going to say they're not if they don't come here -- because I think that'd be bad."
Fleck further explained the impact the show can have on programs and players by detailing his experience with the program.
"If I can tell ESPN to believe me, to trust me, you come to the Twin Cities area, you come to the University of Minnesota for an undefeated Penn State team, an undefeated Minnesota Gophers team in this Twin Cities area where the host the Super Bowl... The Final Four. Next is GameDay, naturally."
"If they thought they got large crowds before, wait until 4 million people show up," Fleck concluded.
His team backed up his call with a tweet in the form of a letter to ESPN with the Gophers' undefeated resume.
The Gophers improved to 8-0 for the first time since the 1940s after Saturday's win at home. The team's game against Penn State is the start of a tough stretch for the Gophers to cap off the season.