The Gophers were abysmal the first two football games of the season.
And only coach P.J. Fleck could find the teachable moment in that unsavory set of performances.
"I read them a book, 'Everyone Poops' " Fleck recalled of the Friday team meeting before the Illinois game. "And I know that sounds crazy because we didn't play very well, but poop can be used as fertilizer if you grow. And in Minnesota, we've got lots of farms, and the poop is actually the manure, and it can help with crops and the best fruit and vegetables."
The children's book, which depicts various animals relieving themselves, is meant to show kids how going No. 2 is normal and nothing to be embarrassed about, especially since everyone does it. And that's essentially what Fleck was metaphorically trying to convey as well.
The Gophers did really crumble to start the season, losing big to Michigan and at Maryland with a highly touted passing game failing to meet expectations and a defense allowing an average of 578 yards per game. Running back Mohamed Ibrahim was one of the few not wasting his chances.
At Illinois on Saturday, though, the Gophers' 41-14 victory did seem to sprout from their earlier failures, seizing an opportunity against a struggling opponent. Ibrahim rushed for another 224 yards. Quarterback Tanner Morgan and receiver Rashod Bateman connected for their first touchdown. The defense held the Illini to 287 yards. Even the shaken special teams unit went from glaringly bad to not really noticeable.
And maybe that's because the coach reminded his players that good can come from bad.
"I mean, that's Coach Fleck. It hit perfect of being able to grow," Morgan said of the book's lessons. "… I think our guys really took to it."