On Thursday night Minnesota will host 2020 B1G Champion Ohio State in the 2021 season opener, and for Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck, there’s plenty of motivation to put on a show.

The Gophers didn’t receive a single vote in either the Associated Press Top 25 or the coaches poll. Fleck and his staff will be preparing to face one of the nation’s top teams in the Buckeyes, and be the first contest for new OSU starting quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Ohio State starts the season at No. 4.

Despite the outcome on Thursday, Fleck and the Gophers are hoping to forget the 3-4 season that was in 2020 — like many of us would like to — and harken back to the success of their 11-2 season in 2019, that saw them bolt out to a 9-0 start and finish with an Outback Bowl win over Auburn.

Fleck took to the podium Tuesday afternoon to talk about the plans for the Buckeyes.

Here is some of what he had to say.

https://twitter.com/SchutteCFB/status/1432742684280729608

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