P.J. Fleck says Gophers defense has to make more plays
Jake Funk #34 of the Maryland Terrapins rushes the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on October 30, 2020 at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland. ((Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - Win or lose, P.J. Fleck has the same routine when he watches film of Gophers’ football games.
Whether things go right or wrong, he looks at scheme, fundamentals and technique and the personnel on the field. Then he discovers why things happened the way they did.
Fleck had a lot to digest this past weekend after Minnesota lost at Maryland, 45-44, in overtime after a missed extra point. The Gophers had one of their worst defensive performances under Fleck, allowing 675 total yards and six touchdowns. Taulia Tagovailoa accounted for 469 total yards and five touchdowns. Jake Funk ran for 221 yards and one touchdown.
The Terrapins averaged 10.2 yards per play. So was the problem scheme, fundamentals or personnel?
“Defensively we had everybody in the right position, we just don’t make any plays. We’ve got to make plays in the secondary, we got to make plays at the linebacker position, we’ve got to make plays up front and we haven’t. Everybody is in the right spot, so that’s good. We’ve just got to keep getting better,” Fleck said Monday.
The week before, the Terrapins managed only a field goal and 207 total yards in a 43-3 loss to Northwestern.
In their opening 49-24 loss to Michigan, Minnesota’s defense allowed 481 total yards, 256 on the ground and six touchdowns. There’s no immediate sign that the Gophers will get better any time soon.
Tagovailoa had a 39-yard touchdown run last week, and hit Jeshaun Jones for a 76-yard touchdown in a 21-point first quarter. Zach Charbonnet went untouched 70 yards for a touchdown in Week 1. The Gophers are allowing too many big plays, and they’re taking the lumps of replacing seven starters on defense from last year.
Minnesota is allowing 9.4 yards per play through two games, among the worst defenses in Division I. Fleck called the defense after the loss at Maryland “unacceptable,” and said it’s on him to fix it.
“They’re playing really hard, but it’s getting to the right spots and swarming to the ball. Not just one guy being the tackler, being able to be in my gap, dominate my gap, get off a block and get to the ball. That’s going to be the biggest part,” Fleck said. “They’re in the right position, and eventually those guys are going to make the plays. We have a very talented defense, they just haven’t played enough to be really good yet."
Gophers’ athletes step away from sports Tuesday to vote
Athletes Village on the University of Minnesota campus usually buzzes with activity daily. Tuesday, it’ll probably look like a ghost town. That’s because all Gophers sports are taking a day off from meetings, workouts and practices. It’s Election Day, and student-athletes are encouraged to get out and vote.
Senior receiver/wildcat quarterback Seth Green has been one of the leaders in getting his teammates registered to vote. Many have already voted, either due to COVID-19 concerns or to avoid long lines on Election Day.
For freshman athletes, it might be the first time they’ve ever voted in an election. Green says the school has made voting for student-athletes a priority.
“I think that’s something that I do appreciate that they extended to us. It gives people an opportunity to relieve themselves of their responsibilities to go do that,” Green said Monday.