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Amidst mental mistakes and costly turnovers, P.J. Fleck surprised Minnesota found a way to win
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P.J. Fleck is a guy who preaches about the little things when it comes to winning college football games. Eliminating the mistakes, penalties and turnovers are huge focal points for Minnesota.
That was not the case on Saturday night, and you’d think it would’ve doomed the Golden Gophers in a road trip against a good Fresno State team. In the end, though, thanks to some big-time plays from Chris Autman-Bell and Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota got it done.
But if you would’ve asked P.J. Fleck if the Gophers would’ve won based on the stat sheet, he would not have believed it.
“I would have told you there was absolutely no way,” Fleck said in his postgame interview on KFAN 100.3.
#Gophers coach PJ Fleck on @KFAN1003 about Antoine Winfield Jr's game-saving interception:
"I think he's going to be exiled from this state."
On if they would win with all the turnovers and costly penalties, Fleck said: "I would have told you there was absolutely no way."
— Andy Greder (@andygreder) September 8, 2019
Minnesota had seven penalties for 65 yards and had three turnovers in the contest. But the Gophers are 2-0 following a 38-35 double-overtime victory over Fresno State.
Next, the Gophers return home to play Georgia Southern to round out the non-conference slate. Fleck will certainly want his team playing a much cleaner game before stepping into B1G competition.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB