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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 6 96 F ew first-year coaches inherit a program that's won as much as Minnesota did last season. But P.J. Fleck gets the opportunity, taking over a Golden Gopher team that was 9-4 in 2016. Despite the success, many thought change was necessary after Tracy Claeys' short tenure was met with resistance from administration and fans. Both, though, are embracing Fleck, an energet- ic showman who turned around Western Michigan's program and led the Broncos to a New Year's Day bowl game last season. "The culture has changed immensely with Fleck leading the way," said Matt Jessen-Howard, publisher of TheGopherReport.com, the Rivals site that covers Minnesota. "Under Claeys, the program had its best record in a long time, but ticket sales were low, recruiting was awful, and there was just very little buzz about the program. Fleck has of course brought his 'Row The Boat' mantra to Minneapolis and that has ignited the fanbase." But the Gophers might be hard-pressed to exceed their nine-win total of last season, which included a 17-12 win over Washington State in the Na- 2016 Results (9-4) 2017 Schedule 9/1 OREGON STATE . . . . . W, 30-23 9/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . BUFFALO 9/10 INDIANA STATE . . . . . W, 58-28 9/9 . . . . . . . at Oregon State 9/24 COLORADO STATE . . . W, 31-24 9/16 . MIDDLE TENNESSEE 10/1 at Penn State . . . . . . . L, 29-26 9/23 . . . . . . . . .MARYLAND 10/8 IOWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L, 14-7 9/30 . . . . . . . . . . .at Purdue 10/15 at Maryland . . . . . . . . W, 31-10 10/5 . . . . MICHIGAN STATE 10/22 RUTGERS . . . . . . . . . . W, 34-32 10/14 . . . . . . . . . . ILLINOIS 10/29 at Illinois . . . . . . . . . . W, 40-17 10/21 . . . . . . . . . . . at Iowa 11/5 PURDUE . . . . . . . . . . . W, 44-31 10/28 . . . . . . . . at Michigan 11/12 at Nebraska . . . . . . . . L, 24-17 11/11 . . . . . . . . NEBRASKA 11/19 NORTHWESTERN. . . . W, 29-12 11/18 . . . . .at Northwestern 11/26 at Wisconsin . . . . . . . L, 31-17 11/25 . . . . . . . WISCONSIN 12/27 vs Washington State . W, 17-12 Minnesota Athletic Communications Rodney Smith broke the 100-yard barrier six times last year, including a season-best 153 yards against Purdue. Minnesota Golden Gophers OCT. 7 ROSS-ADE STADIUM TIME: TBA ∙ TV: TBA COACH: P.J. FLECK RECORD AT MINNESOTA: 0-0 (FIRST YEAR) RECORD VS PURDUE: 0-1 G O L D A N D B L AC K 'S E A R LY L I N E : M I N N E S O TA - 8 Tim Beckman 2012-2015: 1-2 against Purdue Terry Hoeppner 2005-2006: 0-2 against Purdue Jerry Kill 2011-2015: 3-1 against Purdue P.J. Fleck has been on coaching staffs that have faced Purdue before. As head coach at Western Michigan in the season opener for both schools in 2014, Fleck's team lost. But he was the wide receivers coach at Northern Illinois when the Huskies upset the Boilermakers in 2009. 2017 Opponent Preview 5 TOLEDO MAIMI NORTHERN ILLINOIS From MAC to Big Ten ILLINOIS INDIANA MINNESOTA