Gophers football coach Fleck previews Senior Day and game vs. Iowa

Coach P.J. Fleck has accomplished a lot six years into his Gophers run, but he’s yet to defeat rival Iowa. Fleck takes his 0-5 record vs. the Hawkeyes into Saturday’s game at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Fleck met with reporters on Monday morning to preview Saturday’s game, plus he provided an update on QB Tanner Morgan.

***Click the video box above to watch Fleck’s Monday news conference***

On Morgan, who missed Saturday’s win over Northwestern: “He was at practice yesterday, but the medical staff has him. So they just kind of let me know what he can and cannot do each day and then we’ll just keep developing throughout the week.”

The Gophers still have a chance to win the Big Ten West. Part of that equation entails needing to win their final two regular season games vs. Iowa and at Wisconsin.

Fleck on Iowa: “As far as if there’s any extra motivation, you can probably say that about any coach in America and any team in America somehow someway. What hasn’t happened for however many years, but again, it’s a one game championship season and that is the mindset.

Our players know how important this game is. Iowa’s players know how important this game is. That’s a rivalry, and that’s what it’s all about. You don’t have to tell them at all about what this means to our program, what this means to our state, and this is why they come to the University of Minnesota is playing games like this, and they have an opportunity to do that on Saturday. I don’t think we need to tell them how important that is. I don’t think Kirk need to tell his team how important that is either. Not to speak for him. But you know, we know how important that is because it’s the next game and it’s a rivalry game.”

Kickoff Saturday is at 3 p.m. It’s Senior Day for the Gophers. So the final home game for RB Mo Ibrahim, Morgan, WR Clay Geary, DE Thomas Rush, C John Michael Schmitz, LB Mariano Sori-Marin, and many others.