RandBall: Vikings, Gophers rewarded for their patience. It's called playing the long game.

[BleedGopher]

Per RandBall:

In the aftermath of a potentially season-altering win over Iowa on Saturday, Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck referenced a conversation he had with Illinois coach Bret Bielema about how to beat the Hawkeyes.

Bielema, who went 3-2 against Iowa while at Wisconsin and led Illinois to an ugly but effective 9-6 win last year with the Illini, counseled Fleck on the commitment to a patient strategy needed to defeat the Hawkeyes — something Fleck had never done before Saturday.

"As tempting as it is, as frustrating as it is at times, you've got to stick with it," Fleck said, adding that against Iowa a team needs to "play the long game" to win.

It worked just well enough for the Gophers, who used four field goals and a controversial (but correct) overturned punt return for a touchdown to win 12-10.

Vikings, Gophers rewarded for their patience. It's called playing the long game.

The Gophers and Vikings are prime examples of how quickly the arc of a season can change simply by staying true to the things you believe in.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[WAGopher]

Man, my head almost exploded! Bert getting some credit for the Gophs win over Iowa - Scandalous!!!

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Per RandBall:

In the aftermath of a potentially season-altering win over Iowa on Saturday, Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck referenced a conversation he had with Illinois coach Bret Bielema about how to beat the Hawkeyes.

Bielema, who went 3-2 against Iowa while at Wisconsin and led Illinois to an ugly but effective 9-6 win last year with the Illini, counseled Fleck on the commitment to a patient strategy needed to defeat the Hawkeyes — something Fleck had never done before Saturday.

"As tempting as it is, as frustrating as it is at times, you've got to stick with it," Fleck said, adding that against Iowa a team needs to "play the long game" to win.

It worked just well enough for the Gophers, who used four field goals and a controversial (but correct) overturned punt return for a touchdown to win 12-10.

Vikings, Gophers rewarded for their patience. It's called playing the long game.

The Gophers and Vikings are prime examples of how quickly the arc of a season can change simply by staying true to the things you believe in.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

All is forgiven

 

[Spaulding!No!]

That pass on second down prior to theeeee punt. So close to disaster.

 

[restovich]

Yeah, this is cool. I do not really care HOW we beat Iowa. I just want Floyd in his proper place, in Minneapolis.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

there is more than one way to win a game.

Yes, when playing a team like IA that has a good defense and special teams, you need to avoid mistakes. but the "take no risks" approach also leaves you no margin for error. Gophers have tried that before and wound up losing - like Mo with the fumble in '22.

a few more pass completions and MN would not have had to sweat out the final minutes of the game.

 

[Nokomis]

And people graded Fleck an F... Coach had a plan and stuck to it!

 

[btowngopher]

That pass on second down prior to theeeee punt. So close to disaster.

I kinda like the play call but AK executed it about as poorly as possible outside of throwing an int.

 

[Dakota2]

there is more than one way to win a game.

Yes, when playing a team like IA that has a good defense and special teams, you need to avoid mistakes. but the "take no risks" approach also leaves you no margin for error. Gophers have tried that before and wound up losing - like Mo with the fumble in '22.

a few more pass completions and MN would not have had to sweat out the final minutes of the game.

Or bringing in a fresh Evans for his first action of ‘23 instead of running an already limping Taylor then finally Tyler. Evans was a strong bet to hammer out two or three first downs and preserve the win.