Well that was… thorough.
I expected Ohio State to win comfortably, but I didn’t think the Buckeyes would beat Minnesota quite that badly.
The Golden Gophers entered 3-1, and I expect them to finish closer to the top of the Big Ten standings than the bottom, though the middle might be pretty mushy when all is said and done.
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck was effusive in his praise for Ohio State, especially Matt Patricia’s defense, after the game.
PJ Fleck on OSU: “They put you in a corner & they change up so many different coverages & fronts. After that 1st drive I thought we had ‘em in their base defense & their base coverages & we had a really good bead on them & then we came back off & they changed it.”
— #Marcus Hartman (#@marcushartman)
4:17 AM • Oct 5, 2025
He’s usually good after these games, so I went out of my way to listen to what he had to say.
He said he hasn’t seen a defense like that in 13 years of coaching, and the depth of scheme combined with the personnel that makes it possible was the reason.
On top of that, the offense is truly pick your poison, but you already knew that.
Meanwhile, Ryan Day was happy with what he saw overall but also lapsed into almost anger or at least visible frustration at one point toward the end of his presser.
“I just never want to be in a situation where you go into a game, and a game catches you off guard because you felt like you weren't on it, that you weren't hungry and desperate. Because when you watch teams that are that way, you see what you get. And so that, to me, is important to figure out. How do you have that mentality?”
Of course learning during a victory is better than the alternative.
“When you keep winning, it's easy to take the problems and the issues and just say, it's not a problem. I'll just say it. Bo Jackson reaches the ball out on second down, that's a problem.
“We should not be reaching the ball out. That's going to be a fumble down the road. I'm just going to call it out for what it is. That's an issue. And if the ball is fumbled, then we're in a different situation right now. And so we have to recognize the things that we need to get better at.”
He also did not like how backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz executed an ill-fated short-yardage run, bouncing outside when he needed to trust the blocking and just hit the hole.
“That's going to lose us a game if we don't recognize how important those things are. I love those guys, but we've got to get them fixed. And really, that goes to the coaches. We've got to get that straightened out.
“We've got to practice it better. We've got to drill it better. We've got to hold them accountable. So those are the things that when you're chasing greatness, you have to be all over. You've got to take them serious. And it can't be after a loss when all of a sudden, everybody starts sitting up straight in meetings or you're going to get burnt.
“So like they say in the Navy SEALs, when you think you've got it, you're about to get it. And we're far from where we need to be, so we have to stay hungry every day.”
Obviously complaining about a touchdown run is a first world problem, but I think it displays again how Day is aiming this team toward perfection on a quest to repeat.
He hasn’t stated it in those terms, but he has said over and over gain there is a long-term plan for this team, something I don’t really recall him saying before. At least not in such explicit terms.
Maybe he’s always looked at it that way but not said it out loud, but I thought that was worth pointing out…
At the same time, Day also had a light-hearted response to a question about his career winning percentage rising to .882, which would qualify him for the best of all time if he had 10 years in.
Knute Rockne is the leader at .881 for Notre Dame from 1918-30.
So far this season, I’ve been impressed with the way he seems to be balancing expectations and reality.
While the pressure seemed to be eating at him last year all the way back to July at Big Ten Media Days (let alone after the loss to Michigan), this year he’s intense, but it feels like he’s got control of it after successfully piloting his team through troubled waters last December and all the way to the national championship.
