When the Gophers hired PJ Fleck after the 2016 season, optimistic fans were hoping that the 37-year-old coaching wunderkind – the man who transformed Western Michigan into a 13-1 Mid-American juggernaut that battled Wisconsin tooth and nail in the Cotton Bowl – would make up for the loss of senior QB Mitch Leidner and a host of other key departures.
They hoped Minnesota would immediately become a contender for a New Year’s Six bowl.
They hoped Ohio State and Michigan would start having nightmares of a Gopher gnawing at their heels, like a midwestern take on the story of Achilles.