Minnesota coach on controversial onside kick, 4th quarter surge against Michigan

ANN ARBOR – Let’s start at the end with Minnesota’s onside kick with 1:37 left in Saturday’s game at Michigan.

Minnesota coach PJ Fleck couldn’t determine whether the offside call against his team was valid, and when he spoke to reporters after the game, he hadn’t seen a replay. On the FOX television show, acting pundit Mike Pereira said it was the wrong decision.

The Gophers recovered, but the penalty forced them to try again. Michigan rallied on its second attempt to win 27-24.

“I didn’t see the game, and a game doesn’t win or lose,” Fleck said. “Everyone will focus on that. I’m not going to sit here and get fined and do all these other things. I have too much respect for my boss, the University of the Minnesota and the Big Ten to say that. But we did it and it was executed really well.”

He said an official told him a gopher “broke the plane,” meaning it had crossed the 35-yard line before the ball was kicked. “We practice it every day and fine-tune it,” Fleck said. “You have to be on the edge to regain it.”

If the referees hadn’t flagged Minnesota for offside, they probably would have done it for illegal touching. A Gopher was the first to make contact after the kick, and that contact appeared to occur before the required 10 yards. Fleck was not questioned about this.

The almost 59 minutes of playing time beforehand had some big fluctuations. Michigan led 21-0 as Minnesota’s first seven drives of the first half resulted in two turnovers and just four first downs. Michigan had four sacks and eight tackles for loss in the first half.

“Wink (Martindale) does so much,” Fleck said of Michigan’s defensive coordinator. “He’s one of the greatest defensive coordinators in the country – NFL, college. There are so many looks and there are so many things you don’t prepare for.”

Minnesota’s adjustment was to increase its tempo. Fleck said there are seven operating speeds for his offense. If No. 7 is the fastest, Minnesota was in the 3-4 range in the second half. Michigan’s offense is run-heavy and can therefore eat up the clock. Minnesota had to make the most of its possessions.

“If you give Wink time to see the formation, see the movement, make checks, make another decision, confuse you, and you work at that (slower) pace, he can do it a lot more efficiently,” Fleck said . “When you have the (faster) tempo, he often stays in the same setting; They do a single flash or something more general. When we have a higher tempo, it’s difficult for all eleven (defenders) to be on the same page.”

Minnesota scored a touchdown on each of its last three drives, with two of them traveling at least 75 yards.

(The other three points were scored on a Fire drill field goal as time expired in the first half. Minnesota connected on a 44-yard Hail Mary to get to the Michigan 1 with two seconds left and made it it’s somehow possible to make a field goal.

Minnesota’s defense also improved in the second half. The Wolverines had two time-consuming drives that ended in field goals for their only points of the second half.

Michigan quarterback Alex Orji, making his second career start, completed 10 of 18 passes for 82 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Orji had runs of 15 and nine yards that picked up first downs but was otherwise stuck on the ground.

Fleck then praised him. “He’s really good. He’s big, he’s fat. He can run, he can throw. What people don’t really see with him is that he moves really well in the run game and really gives the (running) back time to see something. They have really good backs; They can see it and carry their momentum forward. He gets into the line of scrimmage pretty well.”

At 1.90 meters tall and weighing 110 kilograms, he looks more like a linebacker than a quarterback. “He’s hard to take down,” Fleck said. “I looked at him warming up and his ankles are bigger than my thighs. It has a really thick frame and a low center of gravity. He’s a pretty good player.”

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