Minnesota lost its second game of the season, 28-21, on Saturday, but lost something more serious, too: Its coach.

Gophers coach Jerry Kill suffered a seizure on the sidelines with 20 seconds remaining in the Gophers' game against New Mexico State on Saturday, rolling around on the ground as paramedics tried to hold him down.

The Gophers were driving towards a potential game-tying score when Kill first knelt, then fell to the ground, his legs kicking and his head thrashing back and forth as medical personnel rushed to his side. It took nearly five minutes for the seizure to pass.

Kill was in stable condition after the game, team physician Dr. Pat Smith said. And the coach's longtime defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, who has worked for Kill for 17 seasons, assured the team that "we've been through the situation before. It looks worse than what it is."

Kill has a history of seizures, Smith said, and has controlled them with medication. But he suffered a similar seizure in 2005, while coaching at Southern Illinois, during a game against Illinois State, "and he didn't miss a game," Claeys said. "We told the kids, don't panic."

In fact, the players said they had been briefed on Kill's history, which made it easier to accept the no-need-to-worry diagnosis. But that didn't make it any less frightening to watch. The crowd of perhaps 30,000 fans who remained in TCF Bank Stadium fell silent as medics rushed to his side, and the players knelt on the field and sidelines.

"I said a quick prayer to myself," said safety Kim Royston. "It's good the doctor told the team he's stable. It shows [Kill's] fiery-ness, his will to compete."

Across the field, the Aggies -- on the cusp of one of the biggest victories in the program's recent history -- grouped together, too. "We got the whole team together and we said a prayer for him," said New Mexico State coach DeWayne Walker, a former Gophers player.

After about 15 minutes, Kill was loaded onto a stretcher, a strap binding him to a board, and carted off the field as fans applauded, then chanted "Jerry, Jerry."

When the game finally resumed, the Gophers were left to try to convert a fourth-and-10 situation at the Aggies' 25 to save the game. Not surprisingly, they looked like a distracted team, and quarterback MarQueis Gray was harassed into a desperation throw that was batted around before falling to the turf.