One of Jerry Kill's favorite maxims as he roams the Gophers football practice field speaks to the importance of minimizing turnovers: "Ball security, job security!"
The Gophers ranked tied for 15th nationally in turnover margin last season at plus-10. This season they are minus-2, tied for 88th nationally.
Their troubles holding onto the ball almost cost them last week's game against Ohio, as the Gophers fumbled six times, recovering all but one. Kill knows improving in this area will be crucial to his team's success in Big Ten play, starting Saturday.
"We turn over the ball against Northwestern, we won't win the game," Kill said Tuesday.
The No. 16 Wildcats have the nation's third-best scoring defense, allowing only 8.8 points per game, and are tied for 28th in takeaways, with eight.
What makes this especially challenging for the Gophers is they have a host of underclassmen who frequently handle the football.
Their top two running backs (Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks) and three of their emerging receivers (Rashad Still, Isaiah Gentry and Melvin Holland Jr.) are freshmen. Those five, in fact, accounted for 63 percent of the yardage gained against Ohio.
Smith has yet to fumble in 73 times toting the ball. Brooks fumbled twice against Ohio but recovered both, and those came on the kickoff return, where he was subbing for the injured Antonio Johnson.