Instead of fighting the pink motif in the visiting locker room at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, P.J. Fleck has embraced it ahead of Saturday’s rivalry game against the Hawkeyes. As of Tuesday morning, the Gophers adopted the color scheme in the locker room at their practice facility.

“Pink banners, pink everything,” said Minnesota cornerback Kunle Ayinde.

While the Hawkeyes are known for the attempt to pacify opponents with the color, the Gophers (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) want to acclimate themselves to those surroundings before they face Iowa (4-3, 1-3) in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Iowa City. Related Articles September 19, 2020 Gophers open 2020 football season vs. Michigan

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Former Iowa coach Hayden Fry, who held a Masters degree in psychology, made the color switch in 1979. It has endured.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh tried to cover up the pink with a variety of maize-and-blue flyers and signs before the No. 2 Wolverines played the Hawkeyes last season. Michigan lost 14-13 on a last-second field goal.

When Harbaugh played quarterback for the Wolverines in 1985, then-coach Bo Schembechler had the walls covered in butchers’ paper. The Hawkeyes won that game, too, 12-10.

If attention was paid to the pink before kickoff, Fry chalked up as a small victory for the Hawkeyes.

“When I talk to an opposing coach before a game and he mentions the pink walls, I know I’ve got him,” Fry wrote in his book, “A High Porch.” “I can’t recall a coach who has stirred up a fuss about the color and then beat us.”

Aesthetics aside, how the Gophers attune to the Hawkeyes’ running game will be more important than not being thrown off by pink urinals and lockers. Iowa running back Akrum Wadley is sixth in the Big Ten with an average of 82 yards per game.

“They are always a tough team,” the Gophers’ Ayinde said. “It’s going to be a physical game. They have a good offensive line and a very good running back.”

In Minnesota’s first three Big Ten games this season, they allowed at least 4.6 yards per carry and lost all three. In the 24-17 win over Illinois, the Gophers’ defense cut that number to 3.4 yards per rush.

Minnesota got crucial stops, including Merrick Jackson and Jacob Huff’s stuff on fourth down when holding a 10-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

But the Gophers continued to allow outside runs when cornerbacks couldn’t contain. The Illini pulled the center and the backside guard to the outside, with the Gophers cornerback needing to come up, create a pile, and most importantly, force the running back inside.

“I think we were a little bit tip-toeing and trying to see it all in front of us instead of just reacting to our job,” Fleck said.

The Illini, like Michigan State two weeks ago, attacked the outside early and often. On Illinois’ first-quarter touchdown, RaVon Bonner easily scored from six yards out to tie the score 7-7. Cornerback Kiondre Thomas was late to read the play.

Before Gophers cornerbacks come and go in their temporarily pink locker room at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex, they is working on attacking outside runs in practice.

“We’ve put a big emphasis on how to set the edge and how to attack it, so our coaches have done a real good job of teaching us and coaching us on how to do it,” Ayinde said.

Opponents have been hitting where the Gophers have been hurting. With a slew of injuries to an already thin unit, the Gophers have had to mix and match defensive backs this season.

Cornerback Zo Craighton is out for the season with a knee injury, and Thomas and Antonio Shenault also have been hurt. They remain without safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who reinjured his hamstring Sept. 30.

To fill the gaps, Ayinde has had to move from safety to corner, and Minnesota removed the redshirt of freshman Justus Harris against Illinois. Before making the switch full time, Ayinde tested out cornerback in spring practices.

“I would like to be able to say that has been by his choice, but it’s not,” Fleck said. “It’s our choice. We have no other choice. We’ve got to put him all over the place.”

Fleck praised Ayinde, a former walk-on and now fifth-year senior from Blaine. “He cares,” Fleck said. “… He plays so hard. He’s so selfless to go from safety to corner and learn the techniques and do all those things.”

While the Gophers have made accommodations to their home locker room before going to Iowa City, what really matters are the things they do the field.

GOPHERS’ RUN DEFENSE >

vs. Maryland: 47 carries, 264 yards, 5.6 yards per carry, 2 TDs

vs. Purdue: 29 carries, 132 yards, 4.6 avg., 1 TD

vs. Michigan State: 50 carries, 245 yards, 4.9 avg., 3 TDs

vs. Illinois: 36 carries, 121 yards 3.4 avg., 1 TD