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If you have been in a coma since 2016 and just woke up, Saturday’s loss to Illinois encapsulated everything that has happened since P.J. Fleck became head coach of the Gophers. This will not be an article bashing Fleck and calling for his job, but his entire program is built on catchphrases, one of which is “change your best.” He has taken the Minnesota football program to places it has never been, but watching the Big Ten West slowly slip away for the third straight season, it’s time for Fleck to change his best. Since 2019, he has consistently put this program in a position to do something special, but they’ve consistently been one step short, much like Saturday’s loss to Illinois.
2023 Big Ten West title race
The 2023 season will be the last of the Big Ten West’s existence. With USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining the conference in 2024, the future is a bit muddy for programs like the Gophers. But in 3 of the last 4 seasons, Minnesota has finished tied for either first or second in the division. Flash forward to Saturday afternoon, Nebraska and Wisconsin suffered surprising losses in the 11 a.m. (CT) window, opening the door wide open for the Gophers to take a stranglehold on the division. With a win, they would’ve been tied with Iowa at the top of the standings, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker with three games remaining.
But… following Week 10, Minnesota still has a path to clinching a trip to Indianapolis, but it became a lot harder:
Most likely path to a UMN title:
UMN *(5-4)
– @ Purdue (W)
– @ Ohio St (L)
– v Wisconsin (W)
Iowa *(5-4)
– v Rutgers (L)
– v Illinois (W)
– @ Nebraska (L)
Wisco *(5-4)
– v Northwestern (W)
– v Nebraska (W)
– @ Minnesota (L)
Neb *(5-4)
– v Maryland (W)
– @ Wisconsin (L)
– v Iowa (W)
Gophers would then own the H2H tie-breaker over Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. Illinois is also not dead with a favorable schedule remaining, but with losses to Wisco and Neb, it would be tough. There is no denying that whoever comes out on top of the West is not the second-best team in the conference, and maybe not even the third or fourth. In 2024 the Big Ten is eliminating divisions and adding other top programs will make a conference title that much more unrealistic for programs like Minnesota.
Puzzling Play-Calling
Again, this will not be an article calling for Fleck’s job, as I do believe that he is the best option for this program and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But, the program needs to change its best, and the offensive play-calling held them back in that game. Athan Kaliakmanis had one of the best halves of football in a Gophers uniform in the first 30 minutes. He was confident and comfortable, finding Daniel Jackson, Brevyn Spann-Ford and Elijah Spencer for big plays and it finally looked like the offense had balance.
In the second half, it seemed like one team made adjustments and it wasn’t Minnesota. Star Fighting Illini DT Jer’Zhan Newton came in and instantly made an impact with an early sack, causing the Gophers to settle for a field goal. Fast forward to the end of the half, Spann-Ford did not have a single target and most notably they opted to target Athan Kaliakmanis on a trick play jump ball in a pivotal 2-point conversation instead of their elite red zone threat TE. I wish I could say decisions like this were out of the ordinary, but they have become far too common this season. When Fleck-led teams decide to become aggressive it seems like they always bite themselves in the foot with odd decisions like that 2-point conversation which went a long way in determining the outcome of Saturday’s game.
Cody Lindenberg’s career-best performance
On a positive note, Gophers’ starting LB Cody Lindenberg is finally fully healthy for the first time this season and it showed Saturday afternoon. Playing 72 snaps, he earned a career-high PFF Grade (90.5), tied a career-high for total tackles (11) and added 1.5 TFL and one forced fumble. A tremendous afternoon from the Anoka, MN product will be overshadowed by a shocking collapse, but it is certainly worth noting and he will give the Gophers’ defense a serious boost for the home stretch of the season.