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What PJ Fleck had to say after Minnesota’s win over Wisconsin

In their final step towards Indianapolis, Wisconsin came up woefully short in a 23-13 loss to Minnesota that handed Iowa the Big Ten West division title.

The loss felt like early moments of Wisconsin’s season, where the Badger offense simply couldn’t find rhythm in any facet of the game. Whether it be a run game that averaged only 2.8 yards per carry, Graham Mertz and the passing game that saw multiple misses and drops, or the questionable play calling, Wisconsin’s offense stalled in the biggest moments.

After the game, Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck was complimentary of the Badgers as he spoke with reporters.

Here is some of what Fleck had to say postgame:

On his respect for Wisconsin:

Nov 13, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck looks on during pre game before a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at TCF Bank Stadium. Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

First of all, I just want to thank everybody for being here. It was a really special win. You’ve got to give Wisconsin a lot of credit, that’s a really good football team. It was going to take our best effort, it was going to take a lot of things that we focused on all week. Who’s going to be able to tackle better than we’ve ever tackled. That was the whole you know, hit ’em low, hit ’em low, hit ’em low and swarm to the ball.

Because that back is one of the best backs in the country. I mean, you’re gonna be watching him on Sundays in a few years. They’ve got one of the best coaching staffs in the country. They’ve got one of the best programs in the country. And, you know, when I first took the job here, this is what we wanted to be able to do when we got here.

On the importance of beating the Badgers:

Nov 27, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Gophers players rush to celebrate with the Paul Bunyan trophy after their victory against the Wisconsin Badgers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

I still remember a story of person asking me, they’re sitting there and they told Heather and I, they said “Listen, all you got to do is beat Wisconsin, you can be here forever.” I said, “So you’re telling us if we beat Wisconsin and we got 1-11 we’ll be here forever?” And the guy’s like “Yep”. I said we need to make you the athletic director. And…no offense Mark, you’re doing a great job. And I’m really appreciative of you.

On Minnesota's defense:

Nov 27, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Gophers defensive back Justin Walley (0) breaks up a pass intended for Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Kendric Pryor (3) during the second quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

That was a plan that was exceptional. You know, that was exceptional. And we talked about, we had to be able to stop the run, we had to hit them low and swarm. And we did. We hit them low and we swarmed. There wasn’t many broken tackles and if guy’s got a hand on them they held on for dear life and everybody rallied around them. We were going to be able to play in their face man coverage and press them, you know, and make Graham Mertz beat you. That was the whole game plan. Stop the run, tackle, get out of the third-and-ones and third-and-two games, win on first down, and we did that.

Highlights of the postgame celebration:

Nov 27, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Gophers fans rush the field after their victory against the Wisconsin Badgers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

I get rushed off the field so fast. I think, well, here’s the first thing is the slide. Challenging the ruling on that because we’ve been burned by that twice. And you know where you start, when you go feet first. It starts immediately where you drop or where you start your slide and I remembered that. Because we got burned on that twice. And so, being able to challenge that and finally finally get into victory formation.

I was just so happy for our fans. You know, because I think a lot of people out there and I said this, I said this two years ago after ’19. I said, “We’re not going back.” On this podium, after Wisconsin, we lost, right? I said we’re not going back. And I guarantee at some point throughout the game, the crowd’s going, “Oh, here we go, here we go again.”

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