MINNEAPOLIS — For nearly eight months, P.J Fleck has exuberantly advertised and tirelessly recruited for the program he has taken over in Minnesota.

Game time has finally arrived.

The Gophers are about to become more than simply the subject of offseason intrigue and speculation about their 36-year-old whirlwind of a head coach . They’ll soon begin producing on-field evidence, for better or worse, of Fleck’s ability to translate unprecedented success at Western Michigan to the mighty Big Ten.

Ready or not, here comes the unrelenting power conference experience.

“You get to be one of the 14 head coaches in that league and be with some of the greatest football coaches that have ever lived,” Fleck said this week. “That’s an honor. I am humbled and honored to be in this conference, but just running out in the stadium, that’s not the time to think about it. There is a game to play, and that’s how I’ve always approached it.”

The Gophers host Buffalo, one of Fleck’s former Mid-American Conference foes, in their season opener on Thursday night.

“He brings the juice every single day for practice. If he turns it up a little bit more for a game, that’s just like forbidden energy,” senior defensive tackle Steven Richardson said. “It’s crazy to even think he can go a little bit higher.”

The Gophers would settle for some elevation by Demry Croft and Conor Rhoda, the raw duo dispatched for the quarterback job share in succession of Mitch Leidner. Perhaps either Croft, a sophomore, or Rhoda, a senior, will separate from the other with a standout performance against Buffalo. With a combined eight career appearances by the two, including only one start by Rhoda last year, Minnesota’s collection of quarterbacks is the most inexperienced of any power conference team.

“As you go through the season, whoever is playing better is probably going to get more playing time,” Fleck said, adding: “I want to be able to make sure they can play, run the system, and if they make a mistake, have the opportunity to respond to the mistakes.”