The P.J. Fleck Show, Episode 10

The Gophers got back on the horse last Saturday with a win over Illinois, the first Big Ten victory in the P.J. Fleck era. 

Now, with the wind at their back and a rivalry matchup coming against Iowa, Fleck and his team hope to shore up some mistakes--Illinois scored 10 points on turnovers last week--and take home the Floyd of Rosedale, a bronze pig that last traveled to Minnesota in 2014.

The Fox 9 Sports crew stopped by TCF Bank Stadium Wednesday to talk with Fleck about mental toughness, metal hogs and all things Gopher football. 

ON GETTING HIS FIRST BIG TEN WIN

"It was good, we're 1-0 in the Illini season. After six games we drew a line in the sand, we learned from our first six games, and our players responded in a fashion that I'd want them to.

"Offensively, with our passing game we weren't where we needed to be--though obviously our run game was dominating. On the defensive side of the ball they got 10 points from our turnovers on offense, but beyond that they only had 7 points all the way to the very end so I thought our defense played exceptionally well and kept us in the game."

ON PLAY CALLING WHEN THE PASS GAME ISN'T WORKING

"Every play you have dictates what you do with the next play, to be honest with you. We were throwing some interceptions and I can tell you what we wouldn't do is continue to lose the game. So we had to be able to run the football. 

"That's not necessarily what you want to do as a coach, but if it's working you stick to the plan. The players were executing it, and that's what matters."

ON WHETHER LAST WEEK'S WIN HELPS THE TEAM THIS WEEK

"I'm not a big fan of this game led to this and one loss is going to carry over to the other loss or a win's going to carry into another win. We just have to continue to get better, continue to play better, coach better, do the small little things right--especially when you're rotating quarterbacks or have a new quarterback. Last week was Demry's first start, so hopefully he's got those cobwebs out and begins to settle his feet down.