A little less than one year ago, Jerry Kill was hoping that a team from the Metro Athletic Conference could go into TCF Bank Stadium and knock off the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This season, he's hoping for quite the opposite outcome.
In 2010, Coach Kill led his Northern Illinois Huskies into Minnesota and emerged with a 34-23 victory over the Gophers. This year, he's the head man in Minnesota, and with his team off to a surprising 0-2 start, he's hoping for a spark to propel his team to their first victory of the season as the Gophers host the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks at TCF Bank Stadium.
The Golden Gophers lost their opener against the University of Southern California by a score of 19-17, which was expected. However, last week's loss to New Mexico State University. . .a team that had gotten pummeled by Ohio University in their first game of the year. . .was a shock, to say the least. The results became markedly less relevant, however, as Coach Kill suffered a seizure on the sideline at the end of the game. He has had a history of seizures, and a combination of the heat in Minnesota last weekend and dehydration helped to trigger the event, according to team doctors.
The Redhawks, the team that upset Kill's Northern Illinois team in last year's MAC Championship Game (as a 17-point underdog), have played just one game so far this year, as they went on the road and fell 17-6 to 21st-ranked Missouri. The Miami defense played well, holding the Tigers' offense under 300 total yards and a mere 129 yards passing. The Miami offense was also held under 300 yards, and scored just one touchdown on the afternoon.
Kickoff for today's game is scheduled for 2:30 PM Central time at TCF Bank Stadium.