P.J. Fleck says Gophers are flushing loss to UCLA, head to Penn State

P.J. Fleck, Gophers moving on from loss to UCLA: 'We talked about flushing it' University of Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck held his weekly news conference on Monday at Athletes Village. The Gophers are 5-4 and 3-3 in Big Ten play after Saturday's 34-20 loss to No. 8 UCLA. Minnesota is at Penn State Saturday night, needing a win to earn bowl eligibility. The Brief The University of Minnesota football team heads to Penn State Saturday night, coming off a 34-20 loss to No. 8-ranked UCLA. The Gophers and Bruins were tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter before a pair of Minnesota defensive miscues led to two UCLA 75-yard touchdowns. The Gophers' home finale against Northwestern will be an 11 a.m. kickoff on Nov. 21. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - University of Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck knew his team’s three-game stretch against Iowa, Indiana and UCLA would test his program’s fortitude. After a thrilling win over Iowa, the Gophers have been dealt a pair of gut punches after an overtime loss at No. 4-ranked Indiana, and Saturday’s 34-20 loss to No. 8-ranked UCLA. Both games were there for the taking. Fourth quarter blown coverages The backstory: The Gophers and Bruins were tied 17-17 two minutes into the fourth quarter, and it looked like they had given themselves a chance for an upset win. Then, the Gophers’ had a pair of blown coverages that went for 75-yard touchdowns for UCLA. Ty Dieffenbach completed only eight passes on the day for UCLA. Those two went for a combined 150 of his 303 passing yards. Dieffenbach averaged nearly 38 yards per completion. "The 75-yarders, we’re out of position, simple. It's 17-17 with 12 minutes to go, right there in the game. Post player doesn’t stay in the post, and we don’t have a backside safety player in quarters after the run gets cleared. They took advantage of it," Fleck said. "They hit two late because of busts, that can’t happen." ‘We talked about flushing it’ What they're saying: That, and a curious decision by Fleck to punt down 14 with less than three minutes to play, sent the Gophers to a second straight loss against a ranked team. The Gophers could be 7-2 and on the fringe of the College Football Playoff conversation. Instead, they have three games left against Penn State, Northwestern and Wisconsin to earn bowl eligibility. "We talked about flushing it, we talked about response yesterday. You’ve got to own it. That’s what the team meeting is for, everybody owns it," Fleck said. "We meet before we have our team meeting as a staff, we all own it as coaches. Players have to own it too. When things aren’t going right, if you don’t think you’re part of the problem, you’re wrong. I didn’t say the only problem, but part of it because we’re a team. We all need to be part of the solution." Northwestern start time announced Timeline: The Gophers will host Northwestern on Senior Day at Minnesota. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, and will air on FOX Sports 1. Minnesota Golden Gophers Sports