Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck spoke from his heart after the 23-10 season-opening win over Buffalo on Thursday.

His nearly 3-minute opening statement didn’t have anything to do football; he wanted to address the mass shooting that killed two children and injured 18 at Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis on Wednesday.

“We’ve been through a demonic tragedy over the past few days, and that’s felt by every single person in our city, in our state,” Fleck said. “I’m a husband and a father first, so are our coaches. Our players are sons. And I think I speak for everyone when we say that our thoughts, our hearts, our prayers are with every single family that is going through an unthinkable, horrific tragedy. Unimaginable.”

The Gophers football team discussed the tragedy after

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