The Gophers big focus this week has been tackling. It's something they failed to do both at Purdue a week ago and at Illinois, Saturday's opponent, last season.

Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said he didn't feel like it was a trend, more just a one--off lapse. But ahead of facing Illinois at TCF Bank Stadium, wrapping up became a priority.

"We attacked it three ways. We attacked it with unit drills. We attacked it with individual drills. And then we attacked it in how we practiced," Rossi said earlier this week. "So it can't just be, hey, we did one drill, it's fixed. It's got to be a constant point of emphasis in meeting rooms and film study, in the drills and the unit drills and the system. And we've attacked and our guys embraced it."

Rossi added if the Gophers can tackle better and keep their rush lanes, then they'll "keep everyone's blood pressure down at the end of the game." That would be welcome for a team that's been in one-possession games in all four games so far this season.

I'll update this after warm-ups with anything unusual I might see. Otherwise, it's looking like a misty, foggy, windy but not full-on rainy day for football.