A few short weeks ago, Minnesota was left for dead after a disappointing home loss to Bowling Green. Now, the Gophers have battled back with 2 straight wins in B1G play.

Those wins have come on the road against Purdue and at home vs. Nebraska. In both games, Minnesota entered as underdogs but came away with a hard-fought win.

In Saturday’s win over the Huskers, it was running back Bryce Williams – Minnesota’s third starter of the year at the position – who provided a boost in the win. Fleck previously shared how he felt Williams was due for a big game after serving behind Mo Ibrahim and Trey Potts on the depth chart until now.

Fleck also took time to discuss the game as a whole, and he described it as a battle of “culture vs. skill.” According to Fleck, it is the culture at Minnesota that has helped keep the team focused despite being underdogs:

“That was truly culture vs. skill. That’s what I saw today,” said Fleck. “Whatever anyone else wants to say about us or our program or our culture, feel free. We’ve been called every name in the book.

“On paper, we’ve been underdogs the last few weeks. Our guys don’t listen to all that stuff. Our culture keeps everything tight, they believe in it, they live it: academically, athletically, socially, spiritually, and everyone’s held to a high standard. And that will not come down for anyone.”

Here’s a glimpse at his full comment from Gopher Hole:

Now at 4-2 on the year (2-1 in B1G play), Minnesota has a great shot at getting to a bowl game with a mostly winnable schedule the rest of the way. And with Iowa’s upset loss to Purdue, the B1G West is still in reach with Purdue, Iowa, and Minnesota each at 1 conference loss apiece.

Up next will be a visit from Maryland next Saturday.