P.J. Fleck reflects on gut-wrenching Indiana loss: 'Sports are not kind'

Good morning, everybody. Thanks for covering our team. Appreciate all your coverage. Just want to wish Coach Nico all the best tonight as they open their regular season in the barn. So excited about that opportunity for him and watch his team as they continue to compete. Been able to get over to a practice or two, so that's been a lot of fun to watch our guys. Thank you, guys. Obviously really disappointing with the outcome. We fully expected to win that football game against Indiana. I thought our guys played incredibly hard. Going back, watching the film, got a lot to get better at. A lot to get better at, but now we face another top five defense and a top five team, so we're going to have to learn from that very quickly, which we did yesterday, move on, and continue to get better. Loved our fight, did everything we possibly could to win that football game. game and You'd like to be able to have that where there's no seconds as you kick that field goal. We weren't able to do it, but we were able to get the clock down to what we were going to get it down to. And. You know, 19 seconds, I mean, they got a really good quarterback. They got a first-round pick, seven-year quarterback. First-round pick wide out, makes a heck of a play. So, and puts them in a position. Second play, you know, we make a really good play. Throws it out of bounds, two seconds left. They got to kick a 60-yarder. So, the whole point was we're going to make them earn everything. Everything that they're going to get, they're going to have to earn, including the win. But so proud of our team, so proud of our players. All coming together for one common goal and made it really, really hard on them. Just wasn't able to get the victory, which is disappointing. But anytime you're going to defeat the national champions, defending national champions, you've got to beat the national champions and not give them that opportunity. And unfortunately, I had an opportunity at the end and executed and then beat us in overtime. But we learned from it. We're going to move on, and we have moved on. And, you know, we've talked to our players that sports aren't kind. I said that to all of you in our press conference afterwards. Sports are not kind. And sometimes, you know, they're worth it. Sports are amazing. Sports are elite. Sports teach you so much about life, but they are not kind. You don't get into sport for the kindness of it. It's complete competition. But the mentality this week, who's next? What's next? That's it. So we came in yesterday saying, who's next, what's next? And our guys did a really good job of moving on. So with that said, I'll open it up for questions. PJ, you talk about the difficult nature of losing that game. What emotionally do you try to do uniquely to get your team to bounce back? Well, we've been in a lot of emotion. We've had a lot of emotional wins. We've had some emotional games, whether really good or on the opposite side of that. We've had four one-possession games. I think we're 3-1 now in one-possession games. We knew this year going into it, that's why I said from day one, complimentary football is going to be everything for this football team. One possession games are going to be everything for this football team. You're taking a top-four team down to the wire. You have the lead with 19 seconds left. It says a lot about the resolve and resiliency and the toughness of this football team. Team, team, team, team, team, team, football team, coaches, team, everybody involved. I'm really proud of them for that. But they made one more play than us. They gave an opportunity to do that. They did. And that's why they did it the last two weeks as well. So you've got to give them credit. But they had to earn it. But fortunately for them, they did. Unfortunately for us, they did. If the offense is going to find more consistency, what needs to improve? Well, it starts, we all have to be better, right? We all have to be better coaches, players. They all have to look within to what we can do, which we did yesterday, you know, just like we normally do. What are things that we have to get better at each position? And then within the position, the individual, what can that person truly work on to get better? And we usually do two things. Like, what can you get for these two things we have to get better at? Focus on these two things. You're doing all this other stuff well, but these two things we got to get better at. And if you give them the two things, the three things, they can handle that. You start telling them 15,000 other things. That's why we do it every week consistently, win or lose. But we have to play better. We have to play more consistent. But I look at everything through every lens. Thank We're going to play another top five defense, top ten defense. And, again, it's not an excuse. We're playing really good defenses. And just like we're a really good defense. you You look around the Big Ten, there's a lot of really good defenses. very And so when you go into the Indiana game, there's not a lot of people who are scoring a ton of points in Indiana. So you're looking at how can we as a team put ourselves to be in it much. in the fourth quarter and go win. You want to move the ball. You want to execute. You want to score touchdowns. You want to win 42 to nothing. It's probably not going to happen against them. So you've got to look at everything. How are you going to manage the game? How are you going to deal with the field position? What calls are we going to make that benefit our team? What are we doing well right now? What are we not doing well right now? And you've got to listen to that. And the best data and proof you have from that is prior film. So you go back and look at those things. It starts with me, goes to the quarterback, goes to the receivers, goes to the O-line, goes to the running backs and the tight ends and all of our coaching staff. So we all have to be better. UCLA's speed and versatility really stand out on defense. What have you noticed about that unit and just their team as a whole? Yeah, up front, they're incredibly aggressive. They're long. They do a great job with their hands, violent disengage. You even hear in a lot of the players' quotes when you hear their interviews how much they love playing in that defense, how fast they play, how violent they want to play, and you can see it on film. Linebackers do a really good job at key and diagnosing. We'll see you soon. They're a really smart linebacking crew. You can see that they move really well with the movements, whether it's power or counter or zone. I mean, they're usually one step ahead. He said, And then on the back end, they keep everything in front of them. They're a very difficult defense to play against. Again, another top 10 defense for a reason. One of the only undefeated teams left in the country. Top five team in the country. Just played the top four team in the country last week. Played a top five team this week. We've played a bunch of ranked teams already. Still some on the slate as we go forward, I'm sure. So we got to be at our best. And the only thing we get to control is us. The only thing we get to control is the improvement we make from last week to this week. And that's what we're going to focus on. But Coach Chesney deserves a lot of credit. Yeah. You know, he's done a really good job with that football team. And they're really good at what they do, especially defensively. And then offensively, they haven't even missed a beat. Their new quarterback has really just kind of seamlessly gone in there and executed at a high level. They love to run the football, but they've got weapons on the outside that'll hurt you too. So they're a very well-balanced offense, a very efficient and special team. So it's not shocking. He's a really good football coach. He's got a great pedigree, a great reputation, and, you know, there ain't no. Top five in the country. PJ, from the start of fall camp till now, tell me about the improvements you're most pleased about and where are the growing edges? Yeah, I think you can kind of go through. It's kind of a broad question, you know, but I'm really proud of the toughness and resolve and the resiliency and the fight of this football team. And I said before, the complementary football is going to have to show. And whether pretty, not pretty at times, maybe what people expect or don't expect, the complimentary football, for the most part, has been there, helping each other. Even if you're not able to score a lot of points or you're not able to move the football the way you wanted to move the football, flipping field position is critical. It's getting blocks on field goal, blocks on punt, great returns, flipping field position, defense, getting the ball back in plus territory. And if you don't score, pinning them down inside the 10. It all comes together. That's what I'm most proud of this football team for. Because when you identify what kind of team you have, I think it's up to the coaching staff to really design a plan, not just January, but when you really find out the team that you have, really in the summer. You design the plan of how you think these games are going to go. How are we going to have to create an identity? What's that identity going to look like? Not just offense, defense, special teams, but philosophy-wise of what is going to benefit this team. And more important than any team, I said this a long time ago, it's almost on repeat. It's kind of like consistency. But as much complementary football team this team can have, the better we're off being. And I think that showed in a lot of our close wins, and it showed in this last game. And we just weren't able to finish the last few plays there. But what I loved about it was you walk in that locker room, they're not a dry eye. And I'm not saying that that's what you expect. Those kids care, man. They care. And they walked into Indiana thinking they're going to win that football game. They prepared all week like they were going to win that football game. This team's not going to back down to a challenge. I know that. And we've had plenty of them. And another one, again, another top five team this week. So we've got to have it all come together and keep coming together, but be better than we were the week before. That's the biggest challenge. Jay, when you recruited Luke, did you think he'd be this good? I mean, this guy seems amazing, 60 yards. I mean, just think about how that last 22 seconds, 24 seconds unfolded just in college football, how rare that is. You see it in the NFL. I mean, I think back to, I don't remember what division championship it was. I think it had to do with the Bills maybe and Chiefs. I don't know. But somebody kicked a field goal with four seconds left. You're like, there's no way. That's how it ends. And then, boop, one play, timeout, and they kick it from 65 and win. When you've got kickers that can kick from 60 yards and make it, especially even theirs. The backup kicker, that's really the long-distance field goal kicker, and they both make one from 60 within a matter of 24 seconds. You've got to take your cap off to them. Just like there was a lot of opportunities that we had that I'm sitting there thinking if we miss this field goal, they're getting great field position. And he's got his timeouts, and all they've got to do is go bloop, bloop, and they're in field goal range, and everybody's like, why'd you kick it? To answer your question, there's a reason I kicked it. I believe in him 100%, and that's the reason we brought him here. He is so matter-of-fact, the type of person he is. And he's so focused on what he wants to do. You know, it's funny, in field goal, I like to move a little bit quicker in practice as you all have watched field goal in practice. Like, we go, we go, we go, we go. You know, we go from hash to hash and right middle, left middle. We're moving all over the field, backing up. And I like to move. And I told DDP, I said, I think we got to move a little bit more urgently. When I first started watching Luke kick, Luke's got a routine. And I'm like, he's like, coach, he's got a routine. You know, it's going to take a little longer. I mean, we can tell him that, but he's got a routine. I'm like, let him do his routine. So field goal goes a little slower than I've normally liked field goal to go. And when I get to it, I'm kind of like, all right, I've got to like let my ADD go down a little bit. I'm all right. Listen, he's doing it. Smile at him, wake him. All right. Yeah. Takes his steps, but he simulates every kick the exact same, like it's a game kick, and I appreciate that because there is no such thing as the game or practice to him. It's all game reps. I mean, everything is he's putting himself in that position he put himself in on Saturday, and that's what I appreciate about him the most is he is, as a matter of fact, and everything is simulating that type of situation, and you don't get that all the time, and he's taught me a lot. I will say that he's taught me a lot. And I think when your players teach you a lot of different things or new ways of doing things or open ways to do certain things, I think that's when you have the best people inside the program. And I'm really, really proud of him. Drake specifically, what are the biggest keys for him to find more consistency? Yeah, again, it takes everybody. It's not one player. It takes everybody and there's reasons. But you asked and it's truthful because the same thing I talked to him, the trust in the pocket, standing in that pocket. Trust in your technique, trust in your fundamentals, trust in your reads, trust in the people that are in front of you. I think trust is just really key for any really good football team to have success, and every player trusting each other. And it just needs to be better. I'm not saying it's not. I'm just saying it just needs to be better as he continues to go in there. And then just you've got to be able to stand in the pocket and deliver. And that doesn't mean be reckless. There's a fine line in there. And that's one thing, as you asked me in the office, is we have to keep improving. And that's something that just because you say you want to improve on that, From the summer to now, it doesn't mean it's fixed. You've got to keep improving on that. The one thing I love about him is he has no problem identifying something. You can be very transparent with our quarterback. And that's what I love about him, is that you can have open, honest conversations with him, just like you can have open, honest conversations with me. You want, as a coach, to have somebody that you're coaching that is willing to have open conversations. Because if you don't, how can you even fix a problem? How can you ever identify a problem? How can you come up with solutions to get that done? So we're working collectively together to make sure that we can put the best product forward every single game on offense. defense and special teams that we possibly can. Are there options along the offensive line? I think our guys up front are fighting their tail ends off right now. I mean, they're working. I think this was one of our better games running the football, which if you ask me going into the game, you know, would we run the football that well? That's going to be tough sledding versus that unit. I thought they worked really well cohesively. And, again, they do things on defense. That's why they're a top-five defense. This isn't just made-up, make-believe, pixie-dust stuff. Like, oh, yeah, they're really good. These are why they are all highly ranked teams, highly ranked defenses, because they get paid to make sure you can't block them. But I loved our fight. I loved our growth from the week before to this week. But now we've got to take another step. So we always have people ready to go. We want to continue to raise that floor, and we'll continue to do that with every week. The Big Ten passed last week new rules about revenue share, mirroring the Protect College Sports Act. Curious what your reaction is to that, especially as I imagine you guys are in the midst of negotiations for next season. Yeah, I don't think it's the... First, and I don't think it's the last thing that comes out. So with all due respect, I love your question. I think it's a question a little bit more for the offseason for me. Thank UCLA is really good, and we need to focus on that piece just because I think that there's a lot of things that are being reported you so that aren't necessarily just factually true. I think it just sounds like it's this whole new thing, much and here's how it's going to be. As you know, as I know, that there's a lot of red tape for in what was just announced. And, um... having And a lot of details that people still have to kind of cipher through. So we'll leave it to them to do that. My focus is on another top ten defense me. and number five ranked team in the country. Great question. How are you with these 11 a.m. games, PJ? A preference to that? I don't have a preference. I really don't. I think the national exposure for the Big Ten is amazing. I mean, you look at what... CBS and NBC and Fox and Big Ten Network, and you look at all the partners we have in TV, I mean, it's elite of the elite. So whether it's 11, 2.30, night games, we'll play anytime, anywhere, anyplace, and any day. And that's the mentality that we'll have. That's the mentality we teach within our program. I am. But we practice in the mornings as well. But again, you adapt your schedule a little bit based on when you play. When you practice in the morning, you have it at 11 o'clock, you don't really have to adapt it too much. One or two more. Go ahead. PJ, what stands out to you about Wayne Knight and the rushing attack? They're really efficient. They come off the ball. The offensive line is big. They're physical. I'm They do a really good job of communicating. starting Rarely is there somebody that's not blocked. You don't see somebody. And technically and fundamentally sound as they are, they play with incredible violence, plus technique and fundamentals, and pad level. And then. to Their tailback is so explosive, and so he's got incredible vision. speak Kind of reminds me of Muhammad Ibrahim's vision. And then he gets lost behind those big guys too, now. and then he just comes spitting out. And he runs not only very fast, but he runs incredibly aggressive. Runs behind his pads, plays as a bigger back, but also has all the characteristics of a smaller scat back. So when you combine those, you kind of morph all that into one back. That's why he is one of the best leading rushers or best rushers in the country right now. But it takes all of them. Their wide outs are incredibly willing. They go down there and really knock people, safeties and corners. They're really efficient in their run game. Tight ends are doing a great job. They're all working cohesively. And the quarterback's doing a really good job being a great point guard distributing where he needs to distribute it because they've got weapons on the outside too. But the back's very, very talented. PJ, I think one of the highlights of this team is sort of the next man up mentality. You see it in the backs, linebackers all over. Can you speak to that a little bit? Yeah, I said earlier already that, you know, who's next, what's next. It kind of fits. Even the depth chart piece, you know, I mean, some years you're a little less banged up than other years. This year at some positions, we got really banged up and weren't able to get a lot of those guys back. So who's next? What's next? And they just kind of slide in there and go. You know, we had Garrison Monroe out last game and we had to move everybody up in that and kind of switching people around late. I thought our guys did a really good job of that. Depth is critical in college athletics, especially as we start cutting down the rosters to true 105, like we get to that point. I think some people forget, like, the NFL, you have a 53-man roster that makes the team, 46 dress, right, plus you have practice squad. But you could add to your team throughout the entire year. In college football, you have 105, you go into it, and remember, you have a salary cap budget of whatever that is, and that's what you have. And then you go into it, whether it's through January or June, however you decide that. But January on, that's your football team. And if you're not that deep in a position for a lot of different reasons and then you get banged up, that depth's got to go play. So development of that depth is more critical now than it's ever been. Not just buying the depth, but the development. In this program, we've got to develop the depth. So there's a lot of guys who are playing maybe faster than maybe we wanted them to play. And there's some guys who probably are going to play next year that might not be playing as much just because guys in front of them are healthier. So I know it's hard to kind of marry and mesh the old football with the new football. But the resources make you do that piece. of how much you have to be on either side of that. And I think that, you know, our guys, our coaches do a really good job of developing players. Our players want to be developed. I think that's a blessing as a coach. They want to be developed. They want to grow for the most part. And when you have that, it makes it coming to work really exciting. So I appreciate everybody's time. Go get them on the basketball court today, Nico. Row the boat, Ski-U-Mah. Go Gophers. Thanks.