Kill tries to heal team's psyche for home stretch

Jerry Kill reads his emails. He knows how much this one stung Gophers fans.

One day after losing 28-24 to Illinois — arguably the worst team in the Big Ten — Kill tried absorbing as much blame as he could Sunday, hoping to spare his disconsolate players.

"We didn't execute well in all three phases [offense, defense and special teams], and I certainly didn't coach well enough," Kill said on 830-AM. "… I guess it's a good time for me to apologize to the whole state for me letting them down."

The Gophers had a chance to be 7-1 — and 4-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967 — heading into the Nov. 8 game with Iowa. But Illinois had other plans.

Kill gathered the players for a morning meeting Sunday and went to work on their collective psyche.

"I believe we're 6-2, and the season isn't over," Kill said, recounting his message later for reporters.

Kill noted that Penn State had pushed Ohio State to overtime on Saturday, citing that as more proof of Big Ten parity. The Gophers sat alone atop the Big Ten West before losing to the division's last-place team.

It was a message designed to reset the team's mind-set for November, when the matchups won't look nearly as favorable on paper as the Illinois game did.

After Iowa (5-2) visits, the Gophers play host to Ohio State (6-1) before finishing the regular season with road games at Nebraska (7-1) and Wisconsin (5-2).

"This is a new season now," Kill said. "We've got to approach it that way, with the off week. So we've got a couple weeks of camp to get ready for a new season."

One priority will be making sure the Gophers' most valuable player doesn't hang his head. Nobody seemed to take the Illinois loss harder than David Cobb, who fumbled away a fourth-quarter lead.

It was Cobb's third lost fumble of the season, joining the one he had at TCU and the one against Purdue. But that's out of 211 rushing attempts for Cobb, who ranks No. 2 in the nation in that category and seventh with 141.4 rushing yards per game.

"It can't happen, and [Cobb] knows that," Kill said. "I know what kind of competitor he is, and you know what, I haven't said anything to him, at all. I'll pull him aside and tell him, 'Hey, I love you kid. Let's go get 'em this week.' "

Cobb was hardly the only one to blame Saturday. The defense had a sluggish start, allowing Illinois to take a quick 14-0 lead. The offensive line had trouble opening holes against the Big Ten's worst rushing defense. Mitch Leidner passed for a career-high 240 yards but completed just 12 of 30 passes, with one interception and four sacks.

Sensing fatigue, Kill set the schedule so the Gophers will practice Wednesday and Thursday, then not again until Sunday. He thought their preparation was excellent last week, but knows they came out flat.

"Sometimes you can look at a kid and you go, 'Man, they're tired mentally.' So I think it's important for them to get some time away from it," he said.

By Sunday, Kill hopes the team is refreshed and ready for an intense week, getting ready for Iowa. He reminded the players how much better they'll feel if they can win that one.

"The only thing that bothers me sometimes is we're changing a long history and culture here, and everybody wants it right now," Kill said. "We're working our tails off to get it, but it isn't that easy. It took the Royals about 30 years.

"But the people of our state — anytime something gets going, they get so fired up because they just haven't had it. And when the stuff doesn't go right, they hit rock bottom again. And I feel terrible for that."