Five takeaways from Gophers coach P.J. Fleck’s news conference: Back to fundamentals

The Gophers committed only two penalties for 12 yards in Saturday night’s 42-3 loss at No. 1 Ohio State. They did not throw an interception or lose a fumble. And they were sacked only one time.

“There’s so much good in that film,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said Monday during his weekly news conference. “It gets covered up by the score, but there’s a lot of good to pull from that game.”

If you told Fleck his team would have those numbers against most opponents, he would probably take them and believe Minnesota was victorious.

The Gophers weren’t playing most opponents, though.

They were playing top-ranked defending national champion Ohio State, and the Buckeyes showed that superior athletes employed in schemes that confuse will overwhelm an opponent.

All the while, the Buckeyes produced a couple of telling numbers of their own: 474 total yards gained, and one third-down situation converted by the Gophers in 11 attempts.

“If we were hoping Ohio State wasn’t going to play well, that wasn’t going to be the key to victory,” Fleck said. “They’re great players, and they played really well against us.”

The Gophers opened the season with two solid games on the tackling front, missing no tackles against Buffalo and only three against Northwestern (La.) State, according to Pro Football Focus. Over the past three games, each against FBS opponents, the Gophers have missed 45 tackles. Against Ohio State, 14 missed tackles by Minnesota helped the Buckeyes win big.

“You’ve got to get better at the fundamentals and details of tackling,” Fleck said. “…You work on it every day, and the only choice you have is to get better."

Fleck has no plans to increase the level of hitting in practice to address tackling.

“I don’t think turning up the physicality with the level of depth in season is the smartest thing to do,” he said. “I’d rather have the really good players I have keep getting better at tackling than not have any players at all.”

The Gophers juggled players along their offensive line in hopes of getting the run game going, and it could be an ongoing development. Nathan Roy moved from left tackle to right tackle, Greg Johnson moved from left guard to left tackle, Dylan Ray moved from right tackle to right guard, Marcellus Marshall shifted from right guard to left guard, and Tony Nelson saw action at right guard. Ashton Beers remained at center.

Fleck singled out redshirt freshman Mason Carrier for his effort in preventing Ohio State’s Lorenzo Styles Jr. from scoring on a punt return trick play in the third quarter. Carrier chased down and tackled Styles, who took a cross-field lateral from Brandon Inniss and raced 36 yards to the Minnesota 20.

“The fake that they had, that throwback, was a really good play, really well-designed play,” Fleck said. “Mason Carrier made a heck of a play on that. He’s running 21.6 miles an hour at 235 pounds cross field to make that play, which was a huge ‘how’ play for him and us.”

The Gophers face Purdue for homecoming Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium, and Fleck is well aware of Boilermakers running back Devin Mockobee. The 6-foot, 202-pound senior has rushed 81 times for 304 yards and four touchdowns this season. He rushed for 112 yards and a score in a 20-10 win over the Gophers in 2022 and 17 times for 153 yards and a TD in a 49-30 victory over Minnesota in 2023.