Michigan's 'Best Football Still Ahead': Minnesota's PJ Fleck Takes Iowa Loss as Grain of Salt

After a loss to Iowa, Michigan heads to Minnesota for its first road game.

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It was heartbreaking for Michigan fans to see the Iowa Hawkeyes go 91 yards to score a game-winning touchdown against the Wolverines this past weekend. But it happened and Michigan suffered its first loss of the season.

Now, it's up to Michigan to bounce back and the Wolverines are set to hit the road for the first time this season. The Maize and Blue are headed to Minnesota to take on the Gophers and head coach P.J. Fleck isn't taking the Wolverines' loss to Iowa anything more than a grain of salt.

That's because when you look at the box score, Michigan dominated. Bryce Underwood had his best performance, both Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan had over 100 receiving yards, and the defense dominated — other than the last drive of the game.

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"Gosh, I tell you what, he is such a gifted athlete and he's really evolving as a really good quarterback. Both the receivers last game had over 100 yards receiving, which again, you add that to the run game, and then you had him as a runner as well. They're massive up front," Fleck said on Monday. "That's why I say that the their best football still ahead of them, and you can see it, and we're gonna have to play really sound, really aggressive, really tough on defense.

"Lots of different looks and be really disciplined with it. Because in every area, they can beat you. And when you have 200 yards receiving against that defense they played last week, plus the running game, plus his numbers they were putting up, plus the quarterback passing and running. That's a juggernaut for sure. So we've got our hands full with that."

Bryce Underwood could have an encore

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The Gophers are coming off a big win this past weekend. Minnesota traveled to Washington for a late game and came away with a 27-24 win over the Huskies. The Gophers' run game finally came alive and it was a big win under Fleck.

And if Michigan is going to fully rebound, it's going to need another big performance from Bryce Underwood. After throwing for 276 yards against Iowa, it feels like Underwood could have a big game against anyone.

The Gophers have the No. 8 passing defense in the Big Ten and allowed 227 passing yards to Mississippi State and 239 passing yards to Washington's Demond Williams this past weekend.

With a bye week on the horizon, a big bounce back is needed for Michigan with a tough slate ahead of the Wolverines.

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