Summarizing what Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said after Saturday's 34-16 win over Maryland
On the win:
- Thought Rossi and his staff did a great job of creating a blueprint
- Forced Tagovailoa into some bad throws and got to him
- Players executed that blueprint perfectly
- 4th down is a huge stop
- Selfless defense
On offense:
- We were gonna have to be dirty and nasty
- Put your hand in the dirt and run the ball
- Said Mark Coyle came in his office before the game and said it felt like a "run the ball type of game"
- Second half, those three/four yard carries broke through
- Burns did a good job of calling the hot hand
- TE's and WR;s did a good job
- Have to make those FG's, have to coach them up better
- All players had to tick on the clock and the players did that today
- Had five backs over 100-yards in a game seven games into the season
- Maryland is well coached, a good football team, won on the scoreboard tonight
On running the ball 23 straight times to finish the game:
- Adjusted schemes in the second half
- Second half they were really good on first and second down
- Wanted to take the first possession of the second half down for a score
- Took seven minutes off the clock on that drive
- Won time of possession, that's the type of game we want to be in
On OL and DL being the identity of this team:
- We knew this was going to have to be won in the trenches
- They had both their corners back this week
- Knew this was going to be a physical game
- Answered the bell, especially in the second half
- Mentions Connor Olson owns the career starts record at Minnesota now
- Talented football players behind guys like him
- Rotating 8 defensive lineman right now, they all play for each other
- RB position is a great example of providing depth
On RB depth:
- As a head coach, you are never comfortable
- We're looking for confidence and depth
- Really likes the room
- Kenni Burns is the best running back teacher out there
- Always striving for a position group to be that deep
- Going to hit and miss on guys
- It shows where we are in recruiting
- Our team trusts the younger guys in those situations
- We were deep in year four at Western Michigan
On Jack Gibbens:
- He's a Mariano clone
- Instinctive
- They are doing the un-required work, which really separates him
- Perfect match when he came in
- Always looking for the right fit for us
End of the first half:
- Says they didn't take a shot toward the end zone because they were getting the ball in the second half
- Wanted to play for the FG knowing they were getting the ball after halftime
- Unfortunately, they didn't get the FG
- Didn't want to put themselves in a position where they lost field position and got out of field goal range
- It's not playing safe or hoping not to lose, that's actually trying to win the game
On the defense:
- Rossi is spectacular
- They are playing so hard
- Had to go through a lot of ups and downs
- Internal louder than the external
On the DL:
- Talent, skill, and connected they are, and depth - they are the best
- What you strive for
- Young guys behind them are pretty good too
- May see some more guys as the season goes
- Chad Wilt is fantastic, he can truly develop skill and combine it with talent
- It's a hard room to coach and he does a good job of bringing it all together
On the win:
- Thought Rossi and his staff did a great job of creating a blueprint
- Forced Tagovailoa into some bad throws and got to him
- Players executed that blueprint perfectly
- 4th down is a huge stop
- Selfless defense
On offense:
- We were gonna have to be dirty and nasty
- Put your hand in the dirt and run the ball
- Said Mark Coyle came in his office before the game and said it felt like a "run the ball type of game"
- Second half, those three/four yard carries broke through
- Burns did a good job of calling the hot hand
- TE's and WR;s did a good job
- Have to make those FG's, have to coach them up better
- All players had to tick on the clock and the players did that today
- Had five backs over 100-yards in a game seven games into the season
- Maryland is well coached, a good football team, won on the scoreboard tonight
On running the ball 23 straight times to finish the game:
- Adjusted schemes in the second half
- Second half they were really good on first and second down
- Wanted to take the first possession of the second half down for a score
- Took seven minutes off the clock on that drive
- Won time of possession, that's the type of game we want to be in
On OL and DL being the identity of this team:
- We knew this was going to have to be won in the trenches
- They had both their corners back this week
- Knew this was going to be a physical game
- Answered the bell, especially in the second half
- Mentions Connor Olson owns the career starts record at Minnesota now
- Talented football players behind guys like him
- Rotating 8 defensive lineman right now, they all play for each other
- RB position is a great example of providing depth
On RB depth:
- As a head coach, you are never comfortable
- We're looking for confidence and depth
- Really likes the room
- Kenni Burns is the best running back teacher out there
- Always striving for a position group to be that deep
- Going to hit and miss on guys
- It shows where we are in recruiting
- Our team trusts the younger guys in those situations
- We were deep in year four at Western Michigan
On Jack Gibbens:
- He's a Mariano clone
- Instinctive
- They are doing the un-required work, which really separates him
- Perfect match when he came in
- Always looking for the right fit for us
End of the first half:
- Says they didn't take a shot toward the end zone because they were getting the ball in the second half
- Wanted to play for the FG knowing they were getting the ball after halftime
- Unfortunately, they didn't get the FG
- Didn't want to put themselves in a position where they lost field position and got out of field goal range
- It's not playing safe or hoping not to lose, that's actually trying to win the game
On the defense:
- Rossi is spectacular
- They are playing so hard
- Had to go through a lot of ups and downs
- Internal louder than the external
On the DL:
- Talent, skill, and connected they are, and depth - they are the best
- What you strive for
- Young guys behind them are pretty good too
- May see some more guys as the season goes
- Chad Wilt is fantastic, he can truly develop skill and combine it with talent
- It's a hard room to coach and he does a good job of bringing it all together
