http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...eck-minnesota-gophers-couch-column/761037001/
By the time Michigan State plays Minnesota again, on Halloween 2020, the Gophers will be a bear.
To think otherwise is to doubt P.J. Fleck’s ability to recruit. Which is foolish, based on all the evidence at hand.
What’s different now from last time he took over a college football program — now, he’s sure he’s right.
“I know it works, I know how it works, I know when it turns,” Fleck said this week, as his 3-2 Minnesota team prepared to host 4-1 Michigan State in a prime-time matchup tonight. “I know what it looks like when it’s working. I know what it looks like when it’s not working. I know what it looks like when guys are bought in. I know what it looks like when guys aren’t bought in. Because you’ve been through that before. Going through it a second time, you know it works, so you’re more confident to stick to the plan.”
In case you missed it, Fleck’s four seasons at Western Michigan went like this: 1-11, 8-5, 8-5, 13-1.
“After a 1-11 season, you’re sitting there going, ‘Holy cow, I didn’t know it’d be this difficult,’” Fleck said. “But you stick to the plan, and you don’t sacrifice what you really want down the road for what you want right now.”
The swing from his first to final season at WMU is exaggerated a bit because he didn’t take over a program that needed to go 1-11 that first year.
At Minnesota, he’s likely headed for a 5-7 record in Year 1, given the Gophers’ weaknesses and the schedule ahead. That’ll be plenty to show the contrast in the years to come. But it’s not by design. Not this time. That’s one of the ways Fleck is different at age 36 than he was at 32.
“You still owe it to the seniors and the people here to give them every ability to win,” he said. “I think I’ve done that more here at Minnesota than I ever did at Western Michigan my first year. These guys truly deserve to win.”
Fleck will win at Minnesota quickly. It’s the perfect place for him — rapidly improving facilities, good market, a place you can win, but not a place that has won enough to expect what can’t be done. And a division, the Big Ten West, that goes through Wisconsin but is otherwise for the taking.
By the time Michigan State plays Minnesota again, on Halloween 2020, the Gophers will be a bear.
To think otherwise is to doubt P.J. Fleck’s ability to recruit. Which is foolish, based on all the evidence at hand.
What’s different now from last time he took over a college football program — now, he’s sure he’s right.
“I know it works, I know how it works, I know when it turns,” Fleck said this week, as his 3-2 Minnesota team prepared to host 4-1 Michigan State in a prime-time matchup tonight. “I know what it looks like when it’s working. I know what it looks like when it’s not working. I know what it looks like when guys are bought in. I know what it looks like when guys aren’t bought in. Because you’ve been through that before. Going through it a second time, you know it works, so you’re more confident to stick to the plan.”
In case you missed it, Fleck’s four seasons at Western Michigan went like this: 1-11, 8-5, 8-5, 13-1.
“After a 1-11 season, you’re sitting there going, ‘Holy cow, I didn’t know it’d be this difficult,’” Fleck said. “But you stick to the plan, and you don’t sacrifice what you really want down the road for what you want right now.”
The swing from his first to final season at WMU is exaggerated a bit because he didn’t take over a program that needed to go 1-11 that first year.
At Minnesota, he’s likely headed for a 5-7 record in Year 1, given the Gophers’ weaknesses and the schedule ahead. That’ll be plenty to show the contrast in the years to come. But it’s not by design. Not this time. That’s one of the ways Fleck is different at age 36 than he was at 32.
“You still owe it to the seniors and the people here to give them every ability to win,” he said. “I think I’ve done that more here at Minnesota than I ever did at Western Michigan my first year. These guys truly deserve to win.”
Fleck will win at Minnesota quickly. It’s the perfect place for him — rapidly improving facilities, good market, a place you can win, but not a place that has won enough to expect what can’t be done. And a division, the Big Ten West, that goes through Wisconsin but is otherwise for the taking.
