P.J. Fleck can't escape criticism even after Minnesota beats Michigan

Even on one of the best days of his life , Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck can't avoid criticism.

After Saturday's 20-14 victory to reclaim the Little Brown Jug , Fleck found himself having to explain why he didn't have the Gophers attempt a two-point conversion after Drake Lindsey connected with Darius Taylor for a three-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota kicked the extra point to take a 20-14 lead with 13:44 left in the game. Going for two made sense because a successful conversion would've given the Gophers a 21-14 lead. For Fleck, it was too early to go for two.

"I don't chase points. If anybody knows me, this isn't a secret. Here I'm giving you inside what I think. Jim Tressel taught me a long time ago: never chase points. I never go for two until the fourth quarter. Period," Fleck explained.

"We were so close to the beginning of the fourth quarter, though, that if we kicked it, it made it a six-point game. Let's say they went down and scored a touchdown. Well, we're still within that range. Or, if we get the ball back and they don't score, we can go down and kick a field goal and be up two scores. If we don't get [the two-point conversion], then it's a different deal. So just take the points."

After kicking the extra point to take a six-point lead, they indeed could've stopped Michigan and kicked a field goal to increase the lead to nine points, making it a two-score game. Had they gone for two and failed, their lead would've been five points, and another field goal would've kept Michigan within eight points.

On the flip side, not going for two risked allowing Michigan to take the lead with a touchdown and an extra point. That's where Fleck's confidence in how the game was going comes into play. Minnesota's defense completely dominated the Wolverines.

"The best decision, because it was so close to the beginning of the fourth quarter, in my opinion, based on how the game was flowing, take the one, man. It wasn't even a thought in my head. We had talked about it, and I was like, 'No, no, no.' Don't chase points. Too early to chase points," Fleck said.

At one point, from 11:18 left in the second quarter until 14:51 left in the fourth quarter, Michigan had run nine plays for zero total yards. The two touchdowns Michigan scored were after interceptions by Lindsey. The first interception gave Michigan the ball at the Minnesota 34-yard line, and the second was returned 76 yards for a touchdown.

Other than that, Michigan never moved the ball deeper than Minnesota's 39-yard line.

The best decision, because it was so close to the beginning of the fourth quarter, in my opinion, based on how the game was flowing, take the one, man. It wasn't even a thought in my head. We had talked about it and I was like, 'No, no no.' Don't chase points. Too early to chase points."

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.