P.J. Fleck referred to himself as Greg Schiano’s “little brother” in the build-up to Saturday’s Big Ten game at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Like siblings, the Gophers and Rutgers head coaches “get into it” from time to time, sometimes “fighting over (assistant) coaches,” as Fleck put it on the KFAN pregame show.
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The Rutgers head coach nabbed offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca away from Minnesota after the 2022 season. Then Fleck, who is 15 years younger than Schiano, tabbed Knights linebackers coach Corey Hetherman to be the U’s defensive coordinator for one year in 2024.
There wasn’t much of a squabble over Robb Smith after Fleck fired him as defensive coordinator in 2018, and Smith reunited with Schiano for a third time as D.C. this season.
After the Gophers’ 31-28 win over Rutgers, Schiano and Fleck used the sentiment of “Tommy Boy,” that “brothers gotta hug” like Chris Farley and Rob Lowe’s characters did in the 1990s comedy. The two coaches embraced at midfield after the Gophers’ comeback win put them at 1-0 in Big Ten play before a trip to No 1-ranked Ohio State on Saturday night.
“It’s like looking in a mirror,” Fleck said of Rutgers postgame. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Rutgers, lot of respect for their coaching staff. We know them very well, and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. Simply that, whether it’s Kirk or Greg or Joe Susan (Rutgers’ special assistant to the head coach). I can go on and on.”
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After Rutgers took a 14-0 lead early in the second half, Fleck and his coordinators Greg Harbaugh and Danny Collins — both younger and more inexperienced than their counterparts — made vital adjustments to stake the Gophers’ biggest home comeback since 1992.
Former U quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completed his first nine passes, two for touchdowns. It was coming easily for him, talking only one sack and finding openings in the Gophers’ coverage with deep out routes. The Rutgers QB was stacking up chunk plays.
Fleck credited Collins with mixing up some coverages with “completely different looks.” While they blitzed regularly, Fleck said they also needed to get to Kaliakmanis with four rushers to shrink the pocket.
Defensive end Anthony Smith did a “tremendous job of that,” with seven pressures and 1½ sacks. The Gophers finished with seven sacks.
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The Gophers, however, struggled to tackle, with Pro Football Focus totaling 17 missed tackles. The lowlight came with at least three missed tackles as running back Antwan Raymond was able picked up 20 yards on third-and-15. Two plays later, Raymond scored from four yards out to give Rutgers a 28-24 fourth-quarter lead.
On offense, the Gophers struggled on the opening two drives with a three-and-out and a five-play drive. So, to begin the third series, Harbuagh called a deep post route to Jalen Smith. Drake Lindsey put it on the money and the 78-yard completion became the longest pass play in the history of Huntington Bank Stadium.
“We were a completely different team in the second half, as you saw, Fleck said. “We had to get away a little bit from the run.”
Minnesota ran the ball nine times in each half, but had 13 passes in the first half compared to 28 in the second.
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The Gophers’ run game is a concern going into a daunting matchup against the defending national champion Buckeyes. Without top tailbacks Darius Taylor and A.J. Turner available on Saturday, Fame Ijeboi and Cam Davis averaged 3.0 yards per carry, and only one offensive lineman, left tackle Nathan Roy, has a run-blocking grade above the average mark of 60.0.
To start the second half, the Gophers’ used a quick-tempo passing game, and on the opening drive, Lindsey went 8 for 11 for 76 yards and a 9-yard touchdown to Smith to tie the game at 21-21.
During the game, Harbaugh used motions and shifts to decipher whether Robb Smith’s defense was in man or zone coverage.
“I thought Greg did a great job of being able to peel back the onion and give Drake the keys,” Fleck said.
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