Gophers Coach PJ Fleck Can’t Catch A Break After Saturday’s Win

College football season is now two weeks old for most teams, there were a few who played what is called Week 0 games, so they’ve been playing for three weeks. For the most part, the games this past week were not the Top 25 match up’s that most reporters and TV networks clammer for. 

Week 2 is a normal week for schools from bigger conferences to play schools from smaller conferences or even FCS teams. The rules state that FBS teams can count one win per year over an FCS team toward bowl eligibility if that FCS team meets certain requirements. 

That was the kind of week that the Minnesota Golden Gophers had as they hosted Northwestern State, an FCS team.  

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Some Folks Can't Seem To Be Happy

Some people, I won’t use the word fans because I’m not sure they cheer for anything, took the opportunity to take shots at Minnesota Coach PJ Fleck.  The remarks were all along the lines of “Coach Fleck should be ashamed for scheduling such a lesser team”. 

The Are Positives From This Game

Now remember, the game was within the guidelines to count toward bowl eligibility, so Minnesota did nothing wrong. In fact, playing the game the Gophers did some good with this contest. 

First, they won in a fashion you would expect.  Total domination, so fans and critics can’t say they played a lesser team and struggled.  I get the feeling that some detractors of Coach Fleck really wanted this to happen so they could scream louder for his job. 

Secondly, a lot of players who practice hard each week got a chance to get in a game. This serves as a two-fold good thing; the players get game tape for Coaches to evaluate and coach them from. As the season moves on, especially through Big Ten play, these players might not have a chance to see the field during the game, but if they do, they have some live game experience. And for the players who may decide to move on and transfer next year, they have actual game film to use to present to other teams.  

And lastly, Northwestern State reportedly was paid $500,000 to play the game. That benefits not just their football team, but most likely their entire athletic department, which helps their student athletes as well. Don’t forget that most bowl game payouts will far exceed the money Minnesota paid out, so it seems like a fair price to pay to help get in that position.  

Of course, the Gophers still have to win four more games to be eligible, but you hope they win more than that to land in a better bowl game.  

And not every FBS team wins each of their games against FCS teams. I have broadcast two games where an FCS team was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars and stole a game from what should have been a superior team. So far this year, 4 FCS teams have won games at FBS opponents, which include Long Island University’s win over Eastern Michigan this past Saturday. 

In conclusion, don’t read a great deal into the 66 points scored over a lesser opponent, but don’t shame a team for staying within the guidelines to try and become bowl eligible. Unfortunately for the Gophers, that still seems to be the primary goal every season.  

Minnesota heads to face Cal on Saturday at 9:30pm.