Fleck again takes the blame but cites major problem with missed tackles

It hasn't helped that Minnesota has faced two of the nation's top-three leading rushers.

Sep 21, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson (2) runs the ball resulting in a touchdown as Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Coleman Bryson (16) defends during the second half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Forty-eight hours after getting shellacked by Iowa in the second half en route to a 31-14 loss Saturday night, Minnesota Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck feels tackling woes and losing the turnover battle were the main reasons his team watched a 14-7 lead disappear.

"Winning comes down to winning football games. I know it sounds like a simple statement and really the statement probably doesn't make sense, but it does. We didn't win the turnover battle, we were minus two and you can't be minus categories and beating Iowa. Anybody who's in the minus category, you have like a 3% chance to actually beat Iowa. Tackling, we missed a ton of tackles in the second half," Fleck said Monday morning on KFAN-FM 100.3.

"We were hesitant in the second half for some reason," Fleck continued. "We lost the exlposive play battle and it was unfortunate because I thought we had a really good first half. Made some adjustments, they made some adjustments."

According to Pro Football Focus, the Gophers missed 13 tackles against Iowa. They only missed four tackles in a shutout win over Nevada in Week 3 and they missed just five tackles in a shutout victory in Week 2 over Rhode Island. Tackling was a major issue in a Week 1 loss to North Carolina, with PFF charging the Gophers with 20 missed tackles.

"We've played two bad halves of football this entire year and it happened to be against Iowa in the second half this week, and North Carolina, I'd give it one quarter we didn't play up to our standard," Fleck said. "But again, it starts with me and it starts with the head football coach, but we just gotta play more consistent and 60 minutes of football."

Coincidentally, the Gophers went up against North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton and Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson. Johnson currently leads the nation with 685 yards and Hampton is third with 555 yards.

It doesn't get easier this week as Minnesota faces No. 13 Michigan at "The Big House," where their job is to stop running back Kalel Mullings, who is 12th nationally with 429 yards.