Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Statistically speaking, Minnesota is more than a match for Carolina.
The third of four non-conference games (the fourth being Campbell later) will clearly be the toughest test of the season for the Tar Heels, who played well against South Carolina and APP State but must play better Saturday against Minnesota, one of the “other” teams besides the Big Two in the Big Ten.
While Michigan and Ohio State conduct their Carolina-Duke like rivalry, Minnesota could be the best of those other 12 football teams in the nation’s oldest conference. At least their record and stats tell that story.
In 2022, the Gophers finished in a three-way tie for second in the Big Ten West while three bullies in the East division – Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State – had better overall records.
But, make no mistake about it, this is a team that’s definitely in Carolina’s league. Ball control offense, geared to keeping Drake Maye off the field, and suffocating defense that held Eastern Michigan without a first down in the entire second half. That is almost impossible in any college football game.
For any coach in that league besides Jim Harbaugh and whoever is coaching Ohio State (Ryan Day) is hard to get props, especially if he is as understated as P.J. Fleck, who nevertheless is 30 years younger, makes a million dollars more per season and has a better winning percentage than Mack Brown at UNC.
Fleck went 1-11 in his first season at Western Michigan and three years later led the Broncos to a 13-0 record before losing to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl. Since 2017, Fleck’s Gophers have been to four bowls in five (full) seasons, heading to Chapel Hill at 2-0 and with two straight 9-4 records and bowl wins.
His 2023 entry is experienced and can get noticed by dealing Maye and the No. 20-ranked Tar Heels their first loss of the season. In beating conference foe Nebraska and Eastern Michigan, Fleck’s defense has allowed only 16 points and zero rushing touchdowns, converted more than half of their third- and fourth-down attempts and have dominated time of possession.
The Gophers have a Greek quarterback with a name I can’t even pronounce (and will leave it to Jones Angell). He led a fourth-quarter comeback against Nebraska and completed 24 passes for 196 yards. Fleck and his entire program can get out of the Big Ten shadows by beating a favored, more high-profile foe on the road.
North Carolina has a bigger name, but do they have a better game?
Featured image via Minnesota Athletics/Brad Rempel
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
