PJ Blows The Pig

Iowa 27

Gophers 22

Make it 1-8 in the two big rivalry games for PJ Fleck following today's rather embarrassing debacle loss at Iowa.

This game was there to be had. Iowa is not that great. The Gophers played with energy and spirit. But their head coach screwed them, largely through a series of terrible 4th down decisions, and his refusal to just admit that his senior quarterback is a liability. 

The Gophers first scoring drive led to a 4th and goal at the Iowa 2. Playing as a road dog, and desperately needing to play from a position of advantage, Fleck played coward and kicked the field goal to then tie the game at 3.

Later in the half they faced another 4th and short from just inside the 40. This time there was really no choice but to go for it, and the play actually resulted in a nifty long, rumbling touchdown to a fullback, tying the game at 10.

Following a turnover, the Gophers again drove deep in Iowa territory. Here it was more bad clock management than anything. The Gophers ran it 8 straight plays, the last of which came up just short of a 1st. Why run it every time with time so scarce, and a timeout left? We ended up having no choice but to kick the field goal, and grab the Gophers first lead over Iowa in years. But points had been left on the board. 

That lead was soon gone in the 3rd quarter anyway. After Iowa went up 17-13 the Gophers got to the Iowa 11 for yet another 4th and short, where Fleck yet again opted for the field goal, which left them still behind. The next Gopher drive then came up empty when Fleck again made a foolish decision to bring on a backup kicker to try a 53 yard field goal, which was easily blocked, and was soon followed by another Iowa TD to put them up 8.

Miraculously the Gophers actually hit on a deep ball in the 4th to pull within 2, but failed on the conversion. They got one more late chance to do something special after being pinned deep on a punt, but Tanner Morgan stood there like an idiot and got sacked back at the 1. Facing 4th and 17 at the 1, a basically impossible situation, Fleck technically could have punted but chose to try for a desperation pass...that fell incomplete. So yes, wrong decision again.

But Iowa's own mediocrity allowed the Gophers to get one last chance, now down 5. Morgan actually completed a couple of passes to at least get in range to take a shot or two to the endzone. But then he ran himself into a strip sack that ended the game. Just garbage awareness in huge moments for your senior QB. 

Anytime Morgan makes any kind of solid play anymore it feels like a glitch. He is just awful, and yet he is being allowed to still start every game and play nearly every passing snap. 

Whether it is all him, or the obviously lousy OC play calling, or Fleck being a clown, or a combo...I don't care. I know I am sick of all that pre-snap chaos where Morgan is always looking to the sidelines, then running to the line and calling out whatever changes, often barely getting the snap off, and sometimes not at all.

It's like the whole point is just to draw attention, which I guess is classic Fleck. That's what it's all about with this narcissistic buffoon. And this buffoon is now 0-2 since that preposterous contract extension. 

And the 2021 season is a failure. This loss all but eliminates them from the Big Ten West race, barring a ton of outside help. Fleck is now 0-5 against Iowa, and in a couple weeks a resurgent Wisconsin team is going to come in to Huntington Bank Stadium and destroy this team. So no pig, no axe, no division title, and you still have those Bowling Green and Illinois losses on the books.

All that is left is maybe a win at Indiana and then some meaningless lower tier bowl game. 

That's worth 7 years of job security? What a fucking joke.