Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck has repeatedly shared his recipe for success in 2026: his team playing near its peak in all three phases of the game.

But when defensive breakdowns occurred at Purdue on Oct. 10, and the Boilermakers were running away with U’s chance to start Big Ten play at 3-0, Fleck declined to give his offense added chances to make big plays that might kick-start a rally — especially on fourth downs. The Gophers lost, 41-13.

It was nothing new.

In a five-plus season sample size, Fleck’s team has ranked 110th or lower in the nation in fourth-down conversion attempts. Since 2021, his team has averaged roughly one per game.

Fleck has made clear that his ethos doesn’t allow for “chasing points” before the fourth quarter. But if he doesn’t take at least a few calculated risks, games such as the Purdue loss can effectively end before crunch time.

On Saturday, Fleck enters his 10th Floyd of Rosedale rivalry game against an Iowa. The 15th-ranked Hawkeyes feature their trademark stingy defense, but they also have a new, more-dynamic offense. In order to win as a touchdown underdog, Fleck might have to gamble some to improve on his 1-8 record against Kirk Ferentz.

The Pioneer Press asked Fleck on Monday when it might be appropriate to actually chase points when trailing by multiple scores early in games.

“I think that comes down to how the game’s going and what you feel,” Fleck said. “You’re always doing what you can to score points. There’s not one time we went out there and said, ‘Let’s just go and do what we have to do to punt here.’ Never done that in 14 years — ever.

“You’re always going doing what you can or what you’re presented to give you the best opportunity to go score points.”

Fleck’s success rate on fourth down over the past five seasons has varied wildly. Minnesota converted 42% last year to rank 116th in the nation. In 2021 and ’22, they were middle of the pack both years (around 50th) at a roughly 55% conversion rate. In 2023 and ’24, they were No. 1 in the nation at 82% and 91%, respectively.

But you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. The Purdue game provided a handful of examples.

On their opening drive, the Gophers trailed 3-0 when it had a fourth-and-4 at Purdue’s 37. They opted to punt, and Tom Weston, who is having an outstanding season, got it high and the coverage unit downed it at Boilermakers’ 2-yard line.

Given the game state and Weston’s success in this spot — second in Big Ten with 13 punts downed inside the 20 this season — the conservative nature made sense. But Purdue proceeded to march 98 yards for a touchdown for a 10-lead, perhaps a sign that the cautious approach was not going to work in this arena.

It was still 10-0 when Fleck challenged the spot of Javon Tracy’s catch on third-and-20. Upon review, it became fourth-and-2 from the Boilers’ 31. Fleck said that challenge was only about setting up a better field-goal try, and Luke Drzewiecki nailed a 49-yarder to make it 10-3.

“At that point, we needed some points,” Fleck reflected Tuesday on his KFXN-FM radio show. “There are times when you have a big drive and things might be not going your way, and there is a lot of football left to play. Sometimes, coming away with points, your team (can say), ‘Alright, we got some points.’

“If you don’t, the way they are moving the football, that game can get out of hand really fast.”

Purdue was up 20-3 when the Gophers got the ball at their own 14-yard line with 1:51 left in the half. Quarterback Drake Lindsey completed passes of 14 and 27 yards to jumpstart a drive that reached Purdue territory.

Two incomplete passes and 4-yard pass to Darius Taylor set up a fourth-and-6 from Purdue’s 39 with 56 seconds left. Fleck allowed more than 40 seconds to run off the clock before using a timeout with 14 seconds left. This time he went for it. Lindsey threw an interception.

At halftime, Fleck told KFAN he wanted to get a first down, spike the ball to stop the clock, and kick another field goal to cut it to 20-6.

Given the game state, the Gophers might have benefitted more from hoarding seconds on the clock and playing with tempo in an attempt to score a touchdown. A 20-10 score, and the ball the start the third quarter, would have been a genuine momentum change.

Instead, the Gophers started the second half down by 17 and were quickly off the field after three straight running plays.

Purdue extended its lead to 27-3, and when Minnesota faced a fourth-and-3 from Purdue’s 18 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter. Fleck opted for a 37-yard field goal to cut Purdue’s lead to 21 points.

Going into conversion situations on the headsets, offensive coordinator Greg Haraugh said on Wednesday he and Fleck will discuss whether upcoming third downs will be treated as a two-down conversion situation.

Does he lobby for more fourth-down conversion attempts?

“It’s a conversation,” Harbaugh said. “I think (Fleck) does a great job of handling that. He tells me exactly what he wants.”

Down 34-13 with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Gophers attempted their second fourth-down conversion of the game. But with two yards to go, Taylor was stopped for 1-yard gain and Minnesota turned the ball over. After a muffed punt, Purdue got the ball back and scored a final touchdown to make it 41-13.

The Gophers officially were 0 for 2 on fourth down conversion attempts against Purdue, but it’s the ones that didn’t end up on the box score that could have made a real difference.

Now, with Floyd on the line, the Gophers need to decide if they want to change course.

Source: Yahoo Sports