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There are always a handful of plays that determine the outcome of football games. In last week’s loss, several untimely turnovers and scattered big plays helped Northwestern escape with a 24-14 victory over Minnesota. More times than not, the team that limits mistakes is going to win. Two interceptions, a fumble, dropped passes, and a Cover-2 breakdown gave the Wildcats life.
“[We] had plenty of opportunities. I think it’s a matter of five or six plays and that’s where the game was won or lost on their side and our side. They play really well, got to give them a lot of credit. They’re Big Ten West champs for a reason. They don’t beat themselves and we beat ourselves, that’s how it came down to it,” Gophers’ head coach P.J. Fleck said. “There were multiple drops, there were two interceptions, a sack-fumble, missed a fourth-and-1, in cover-2 we break on a play and don’t get it, miss a field goal, one of the kickoffs before the half, so there you go. That’s the name of the game.”
Those mistakes have been a problem this season as the Gophers haven’t executed Minnesota’s “Ball is the Program” mantra. A message hangs on the wall to remind players how much the ball determines the outcome of games. Right now, the Gophers are currently minus-11 in turnover differential and it has been costly during close conference matchups.
“The ball has not been the program. We stress it, we coach, it we demand it. There’s three things up in our team meeting room, besides the Minnesota Golden Gopher logos, it’s the HYPRR culture, it’s Row the Boat and it’s the ball is the program,” Fleck said. “We haven’t done that for multiple reasons. To be able to value the ball, you have to know what it is like not to value the ball. Well, we have a lot of guys who are really finding out what not valuing the ball is.”
Fleck said the coaches will continue to stress the importance of ball security in the future. The success of Northwestern’s team is the direct example of valuing the football. Minnesota will also need to create more takeaways on defense. They average just 1.5 takeaways per game and have been unable to take care of the football, either.
“Understanding [valuing the football is] how you win games,” Fleck said. “That’s how Northwestern has been able to win the Big Ten West, but we’re minus-11 in the turnover battle, we’re lucky we’re 5-6. We’ve got to be able to fix that.”
Fleck said one of the two interceptions in last week’s game was the result of quarterback Tanner Morgan making the incorrect read. He didn’t see the linebacker dropping to his zone and forced the football to Tyler Johnson. Despite occasional mistakes, Fleck noted the positive strides both Morgan and Zack Annexstad have made.
“There’s been highs, there’s been lows. It’s been like a giant wave. There’s been good, there’s been bad, but they’re both freshmen and I’ve seen an enormous amount of positive from both of them,” Fleck said. “To do what they’re doing as young guys is really good. Then I’ve seen some things that we’ve got to be able to correct, but one thing I’ve seen from them a lot of times is once they make a mistake, they rarely make that mistake again and that’s a credit to them.”
Fleck noted the challenges associated with playing a young quarterback, especially when inexperience is surrounding them. Even with many areas to improve, the head coach has still noticed growth.
“We’re exactly where I thought we would be. Could it have been a little bit better? Sure. Could it have been a lot worse? Yeah. When you have those freshmen, they’ve almost played almost better than I thought they could play,” Fleck said. “When you play a true freshman or you play a redshirt freshman, it can get catastrophic quick – mentally, physically and emotionally.”
With one regular season game remaining, the Gophers need one win to qualify for a bowl game. As they travel to Madison for a rivalry game against the Badgers, Fleck is educating his players about the importance of Axe Week. Minnesota hasn’t won in Madison since 1994 and the Axe has been absent in Dinkytown for 15 years. Expectations were high for this Badgers’ team, but they’ve suffered key injuries across all levels of their defense. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook has also missed time with a concussion, thrusting sophomore Jack Coan into action. Wisconsin has used the momentum of running back Jonathan Taylor to scratch out a 7-4 record.
Minnesota will certainly need to contain Taylor and take care of the football if they want to pull off an upset.
“A chance to go to a bowl and then bring the axe home. It’s one of the most traditional college football games in college football and we’re excited to play in it. It’s not very difficult to tell our players a little bit about this week and what it means,” Fleck said. “Wisconsin has always been, we’re gonna run the ball, you know we’re going to run the ball and we still run the ball. When you’re doing that, you know you have a really good football team and they present a lot of challenges for us.”
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“[We] had plenty of opportunities. I think it’s a matter of five or six plays and that’s where the game was won or lost on their side and our side. They play really well, got to give them a lot of credit. They’re Big Ten West champs for a reason. They don’t beat themselves and we beat ourselves, that’s how it came down to it,” Gophers’ head coach P.J. Fleck said. “There were multiple drops, there were two interceptions, a sack-fumble, missed a fourth-and-1, in cover-2 we break on a play and don’t get it, miss a field goal, one of the kickoffs before the half, so there you go. That’s the name of the game.”
Those mistakes have been a problem this season as the Gophers haven’t executed Minnesota’s “Ball is the Program” mantra. A message hangs on the wall to remind players how much the ball determines the outcome of games. Right now, the Gophers are currently minus-11 in turnover differential and it has been costly during close conference matchups.
“The ball has not been the program. We stress it, we coach, it we demand it. There’s three things up in our team meeting room, besides the Minnesota Golden Gopher logos, it’s the HYPRR culture, it’s Row the Boat and it’s the ball is the program,” Fleck said. “We haven’t done that for multiple reasons. To be able to value the ball, you have to know what it is like not to value the ball. Well, we have a lot of guys who are really finding out what not valuing the ball is.”
Fleck said the coaches will continue to stress the importance of ball security in the future. The success of Northwestern’s team is the direct example of valuing the football. Minnesota will also need to create more takeaways on defense. They average just 1.5 takeaways per game and have been unable to take care of the football, either.
“Understanding [valuing the football is] how you win games,” Fleck said. “That’s how Northwestern has been able to win the Big Ten West, but we’re minus-11 in the turnover battle, we’re lucky we’re 5-6. We’ve got to be able to fix that.”
Fleck said one of the two interceptions in last week’s game was the result of quarterback Tanner Morgan making the incorrect read. He didn’t see the linebacker dropping to his zone and forced the football to Tyler Johnson. Despite occasional mistakes, Fleck noted the positive strides both Morgan and Zack Annexstad have made.
“There’s been highs, there’s been lows. It’s been like a giant wave. There’s been good, there’s been bad, but they’re both freshmen and I’ve seen an enormous amount of positive from both of them,” Fleck said. “To do what they’re doing as young guys is really good. Then I’ve seen some things that we’ve got to be able to correct, but one thing I’ve seen from them a lot of times is once they make a mistake, they rarely make that mistake again and that’s a credit to them.”
Fleck noted the challenges associated with playing a young quarterback, especially when inexperience is surrounding them. Even with many areas to improve, the head coach has still noticed growth.
“We’re exactly where I thought we would be. Could it have been a little bit better? Sure. Could it have been a lot worse? Yeah. When you have those freshmen, they’ve almost played almost better than I thought they could play,” Fleck said. “When you play a true freshman or you play a redshirt freshman, it can get catastrophic quick – mentally, physically and emotionally.”
With one regular season game remaining, the Gophers need one win to qualify for a bowl game. As they travel to Madison for a rivalry game against the Badgers, Fleck is educating his players about the importance of Axe Week. Minnesota hasn’t won in Madison since 1994 and the Axe has been absent in Dinkytown for 15 years. Expectations were high for this Badgers’ team, but they’ve suffered key injuries across all levels of their defense. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook has also missed time with a concussion, thrusting sophomore Jack Coan into action. Wisconsin has used the momentum of running back Jonathan Taylor to scratch out a 7-4 record.
Minnesota will certainly need to contain Taylor and take care of the football if they want to pull off an upset.
“A chance to go to a bowl and then bring the axe home. It’s one of the most traditional college football games in college football and we’re excited to play in it. It’s not very difficult to tell our players a little bit about this week and what it means,” Fleck said. “Wisconsin has always been, we’re gonna run the ball, you know we’re going to run the ball and we still run the ball. When you’re doing that, you know you have a really good football team and they present a lot of challenges for us.”
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