PJ Fleck gave Minnesota plenty to celebrate on Saturday night, but the postgame moment that went viral had almost nothing to do with the box score.
The Golden Gophers walked out of Washington with a 27-24 win in their Big Ten opener, improving to 3-1 after a night that featured an early spark from quarterback Drake Lindsey and a late finish from linebacker Maverick Baranowski. Lindsey threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and Baranowski delivered the clutch tackle on the final play to lock down the road victory.
Then came the scene everyone kept replaying.
Baranowski was bleeding from his mouth after taking a hit from a cleat on the game’s final play, and in the emotional postgame embrace, Fleck grabbed the senior linebacker’s head with both hands. He wiped the blood from around Baranowski’s mouth and smeared it onto his own face, creating one of the strangest celebration clips of the season.
Even the broadcaster sounded stunned.
Fleck later laughed off the moment and called Baranowski his genuine “blood brother.” He said that, back in the day, that was likely what frontiersmen out West did in similar moments. Baranowski said he enjoyed the exchange even while calling his coach “a crazy man.”
Javon Tracy also weighed in on the moment, saying, “I would never do that, but P.J.-he’s different, man. Like, he’s crazy. He’s very energetic.”
With Fleck at the helm, Minnesota has put together multiple winning seasons and won seven straight bowl games. The Gophers now return home to face Michigan after the wild 27-24 road win at Washington.
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