Five takeaways from P.J. Fleck’s news conference: Time to regroup

The Gophers absorbed a 42-13 beating Friday night at Oregon, a loss that followed a similar script to their defeats to top-ranked Ohio State and border nemesis Iowa. With the loss to the Ducks, who are No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings, Minnesota fell to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten with Saturday’s game against Northwestern at Wrigley Field and the Nov. 29 home contest against Wisconsin remaining.

Coach P.J. Fleck’s team will try to finish strong to improve its record and boost its profile in the eyes of bowl selectors. Here are highlights from Fleck’s Monday news conference and session with the Star Tribune:

The Gophers welcomed running back Darius Taylor back to the lineup Friday, and the junior from Detroit responded from missing the previous game against Michigan State by rushing 10 times for 57 yards and catching four passes on a team-high nine targets for 40 yards.

“You want to make sure you give him enough, but you also want to make sure you continue to have him the rest of the year,” Fleck said of Taylor, who has missed three games and the bulk of two others this season because of leg injuries. “But I thought he handled it really well.”

Taylor’s value was evident in the Gophers’ best performance of the season. He rushed 24 times for 148 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 16 yards in a 24-6 win over then-No. 25 Nebraska.

“We’ve had our best player on offense out for almost the whole year, and that impacts us a little more than maybe some other teams,” Fleck said. “… He just adds a different dynamic to our offense."

Minnesota’s offensive line has been a point of contention all season. The fact that the Gophers rank 128th in total offense (301.8 yards per game), 126th in rushing offense (105.0) and 104th in scoring offense (22.7 points per game) isn’t a good look for those tasked to push the defense out of the way. Fleck, though, saw improvement Friday.

The Gophers defense didn’t force Oregon to punt until starting quarterback Dante Moore had left the game after completing 27 of 30 passes for 306 yards and two TDs. Fleck saw instances of young players trying to do too much.

“Guys are trying to make the play, trying to get a takeaway, get the turnover, instead of just doing the routine play,” Fleck said. “And takeaways will come from us doing our job with incredible ‘how’ effort and great fundamentals and technique.”

Kicker Brady Denaburg matched his career long with a 46-yard field goal against Oregon, added a 26-yarder and had touchbacks on all four of his kickoffs. Tom Weston averaged 45.3 yards on his six punts with one inside the Ducks 20-yard line. Minnesota’s punt coverage unit was called upon only twice.

“Brady did a really good job of putting it through the uprights,” Fleck said.

Fleck grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago as a Cubs fan. His Wrigley Field highlight came in 1998 when while on a field trip with Kaneland High School, he saw Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood strike out a major league record-tying 20 batters in a 2-0 one-hit shutout of Houston.