Did Gophers coach P.J. Fleck run up the score on Eastern Illinois?

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck’s postgame handshake, chat and pat on the back with Eastern Illinois coach Chris Wilkerson was protracted after Minnesota’s 59-7 season-opening win.

At midfield, Fleck felt the need to tell Wilkerson he was not running up the score when the U offense, already up 45 points, didn’t take a knee in the final minute and scored another touchdown with 29 seconds left.

“I just wanted to make sure he understood one thing — just so everybody doesn’t take that out of context,” Fleck said postgame at Huntington Bank Stadium. “Listen, I played a lot of players and felt like I had to play a lot of players. And nobody’s trying to (run up the) score or do this or that.”

When the nonconference blowout was in full effect in the third quarter, Fleck inserted more backups, third-team players and even freshmen at the end.

The Gophers played a total of 87 players on Thursday, including 27 making their collegiate debuts. That list included a handful of promising freshmen that included defensive lineman Aaden Aytch, running back Ryan Estrada, receivers Hayden Moore and Quayd Hendryx, tight end Roman Voss and offensive linemen Andrew Trout and Gavin Meier.

In the transfer-portal age, the Gophers remain a program with a foundation in high school recruiting. The U currently has 29 prep players in its 2027 class, second-most in the nation behind Wake Forest (32) and ahead of Oklahoma (27).

“If we’re talking about our developmental program, then I have to develop those players,” Fleck said. “And the only way I’m going to be able to develop those players is getting them on the field in those situations. Again, no disrespect to anybody with that. But there’s 60 minutes of football and I’ve got to keep developing our football team.”

On that final drive, third-string quarterback Brady Palmer attempted a third-dow pass at the Eastern Illinois 1-yard line; it fell incomplete. On fourth down, fourth-string running back Xavier Ford took a handoff and scored.

The current landscape of college football makes these types of blowouts more likely to happen.

The roster spending of Big Ten programs dwarfs FCS-level schools, so the talent gap is larger than ever. In addition, the NCAA’s new five-for-five eligibility rule no longer requires programs to keep tabs on how many young players can get on the field and still take a redshirt season. Plus, with the expanded freedom to transfer, game reps can help keep players happy about their place in the program.

In Week 2, the Gophers will welcome Mississippi State to Minneapolis, and the number of Gophers who will see the field against that Southeastern Conference foe is expected to be cut by roughly a third from Thursday’s opener.

Minnesota will play Akron in Week 3. The Zips (0-1) lost to Wake Forest, 38-16, on Thursday, so the U will likely field more players again in the final nonconference game on Sept. 19. After that, the Gophers have nine straight Big Ten Conference games, for which the participation is expected to be reserved for the team’s best.

In previous years, Fleck has pushed back on the concept of “garbage time,” saying it’s not a throwaway to players learning their craft with rare live snaps. The focus, Fleck said, is how to use all 60 minutes to improve.

“All the coaches around the country have to because you just never know when you’re going to need those people to play,” the coach said. “The consistency of that has stayed the same since I’ve been the head coach here, too.”

And if Eastern Illinois is actually upset about the extra touchdown, then that’s what the money is for. The contract for the nonconference meeting earned the Panthers $500,000.

Related Articles

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos