Coach Kill's comments and responses to Sid and Dave's questions on today's Sports Huddle are as follows:
1) Sid opened with a comment saying he was confident that the Gophers had prepared good offensive and defensive plans for the Badgers: "There's no question we had good plans," replied Kill. However, he gave credited where credit is due; he said Wisconsin is a great team and will be in the top ten in a couple weeks.
Kill said the second quarter was Minnesota's undoing, "Didn't take advantage of opportunities and turned the ball over." He went on to say that at the start of the second half, "Wisconsin came out and scored." He added, "(Gophers) Played hard . . . didn't execute against a very good team . . . turnovers killed us."
2) Sid criticized the officials for a "terrible interference call:" Kill responded, "Our defense played very well." However, he also acknowledged they didn't tackle well at times, which he said can happen when you take time off (bye week). He said the same thing happened in the early parts of the Northwestern game. Nevertheless, he was quick to credit Wisconsin's running game and their athletes: "Abberderis, your not going to shut him down."
On Minnesota's team effort: "We played well enough on defense to win . . . offense in the first quarter played well . . . second quarter turnovers - fumbles - good football play by Wisconsin," was the difference according to Kill. He specifically cited the play of Badger linebacker, Chris Borland. He said Borland is a great player and did a good job of ripping the ball from David Cobb and recovering the fumble. He also mentioned the move of Borland toward the line of scrimmage that caused an illegal procedure penalty against the Gophers. It was a big penalty at a crucial time.
Kill cited missed opportunities due to dropped passes and missing some open players. He specifically mentioned missing an open Maxx Williams down the middle. Had Williams had a chance to catch the overthrown ball, "He would've scored or at least got to the five." There was about five minutes left in the game and had they connected, Kill said they'd be back in the game.
3) Sid mentioned the absence of Derrick Engel: "We loss some good players, that's part of the game," said Kill. He said he felt bad for Derrick Engel and mentioned his importance as a receiver and catching punts (sounded down and it's questionable whether he'll see anymore action this year (bowl game??) and that his career as a Gopher has ended).
Again, he mentioned the effort of the players in yesterday's game and that a lot of freshmen and sophomores saw playing time. He also cited the Nebraska and Penn State games when they possessed the ball at length and did not turn the ball over, "Need to get back to that type of play."
4) Mona mentioned that he had two texts- one about Aaron Hill's play and whether or not he considered playing Mitch Leidner: Kill quickly responded at length (didn't specifically mention Hill's name) about the importance of the senior class and the respect he has for them as individuals and what they've done for the program. He talked about the adversity that they've faced and that they continued to fight: "Transition of coaches . . . death of a teammate (Gary Tinsley) . . . Zach Mottla injury."
He was pleased with the fan support (53,000) given to the seniors on Senior Day.
As to the question about Leidner: "Quarterback situation - kids understand how we do things . . . Phil did a great job." (Again, he cited dropped balls and good coverage by the Wisconsin defenders.)
5) Sid followed up mentioning Chris Streveler's name: "Never want to be short at that position (quarterback)," said Kill.
He then talked about the importance of depth and competition, "Competition makes you better . . . the better players we get will make us better . . . better have depth and trust in people."
He cited Ed and Tommy Olson's injuries, not giving up, and playing different positions. He sounded proud and pleased with their play.
6) Sid was impressed with the play of Minnesota's offensive and defensive lines: "Did a great job," replied Kill. He then focused on the miscues that occurred in the second quarter that impacted the game's outcome.
He praised the defense that Wisconsin put on the field and their 3-4 scheme. There are eight seniors on the Badgers defensive side of the ball.
Regarding Minnesota's play and effort: Kill received texts from Wisconsin's coaches and their impressions on how this year's Gopher team is different from previous contingents.
7) Dave Mona asked about the weather and recruiting. Did the weather have an effect on warm-weather recruits and redshirts playing bowl games?: Kill said Saturday's game was "true football . . . ton of recruits in on official visits . . . kids from cold and warm weather." (The weather did not come up in their discussions.) He then focused on the (selling) attributes of the Twin Cities, the U, and said he met with the recruits yesterday afternoon, last night and will meet with them today. He sounded very positive about recruiting and hinted some good news (my take) would be coming down soon.
Kill briefly talked about redshirts playing bowl games (still a hope). His take, the bowl season is the start of the next season. Additionally, many teams are beat up and some teams have serious injuries and playing redshirts would be a big help. He closed saying there will be a lot of changes coming down in January, "Pushing to take better care of the student athlete." He was probably talking about steps to prevent serious injuries.
8) Sid mentioned yesterday's big crowd and how Minnesota ticket office kept the Wisconsin fans attendance down: Kill, again, said he was pleased with the crowd, especially on cold, cold day. (Question to GopherHoler's in attendance: I've read reports that possibly 25-30% of the crowd was in Red. Your thoughts.)
9) Mona asked about recruits getting on campus early (second semester): Kill said it depends on the track of the recruit and where they stand in terms of graduation from high school. He said he hopes 3 or 4 of this year's recruiting class can report early.
He closed the show saying they need to get ready for Michigan State and the upcoming bowl game. He said the Gophers played and will play two of the top three teams in the Big Ten in the last two weeks (Wisconsin and Michigan State). He said they'll look at the film of yesterday's game, learn from it and then put it to rest and get ready for the Spartans.
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid opened with a comment saying he was confident that the Gophers had prepared good offensive and defensive plans for the Badgers: "There's no question we had good plans," replied Kill. However, he gave credited where credit is due; he said Wisconsin is a great team and will be in the top ten in a couple weeks.
Kill said the second quarter was Minnesota's undoing, "Didn't take advantage of opportunities and turned the ball over." He went on to say that at the start of the second half, "Wisconsin came out and scored." He added, "(Gophers) Played hard . . . didn't execute against a very good team . . . turnovers killed us."
2) Sid criticized the officials for a "terrible interference call:" Kill responded, "Our defense played very well." However, he also acknowledged they didn't tackle well at times, which he said can happen when you take time off (bye week). He said the same thing happened in the early parts of the Northwestern game. Nevertheless, he was quick to credit Wisconsin's running game and their athletes: "Abberderis, your not going to shut him down."
On Minnesota's team effort: "We played well enough on defense to win . . . offense in the first quarter played well . . . second quarter turnovers - fumbles - good football play by Wisconsin," was the difference according to Kill. He specifically cited the play of Badger linebacker, Chris Borland. He said Borland is a great player and did a good job of ripping the ball from David Cobb and recovering the fumble. He also mentioned the move of Borland toward the line of scrimmage that caused an illegal procedure penalty against the Gophers. It was a big penalty at a crucial time.
Kill cited missed opportunities due to dropped passes and missing some open players. He specifically mentioned missing an open Maxx Williams down the middle. Had Williams had a chance to catch the overthrown ball, "He would've scored or at least got to the five." There was about five minutes left in the game and had they connected, Kill said they'd be back in the game.
3) Sid mentioned the absence of Derrick Engel: "We loss some good players, that's part of the game," said Kill. He said he felt bad for Derrick Engel and mentioned his importance as a receiver and catching punts (sounded down and it's questionable whether he'll see anymore action this year (bowl game??) and that his career as a Gopher has ended).
Again, he mentioned the effort of the players in yesterday's game and that a lot of freshmen and sophomores saw playing time. He also cited the Nebraska and Penn State games when they possessed the ball at length and did not turn the ball over, "Need to get back to that type of play."
4) Mona mentioned that he had two texts- one about Aaron Hill's play and whether or not he considered playing Mitch Leidner: Kill quickly responded at length (didn't specifically mention Hill's name) about the importance of the senior class and the respect he has for them as individuals and what they've done for the program. He talked about the adversity that they've faced and that they continued to fight: "Transition of coaches . . . death of a teammate (Gary Tinsley) . . . Zach Mottla injury."
He was pleased with the fan support (53,000) given to the seniors on Senior Day.
As to the question about Leidner: "Quarterback situation - kids understand how we do things . . . Phil did a great job." (Again, he cited dropped balls and good coverage by the Wisconsin defenders.)
5) Sid followed up mentioning Chris Streveler's name: "Never want to be short at that position (quarterback)," said Kill.
He then talked about the importance of depth and competition, "Competition makes you better . . . the better players we get will make us better . . . better have depth and trust in people."
He cited Ed and Tommy Olson's injuries, not giving up, and playing different positions. He sounded proud and pleased with their play.
6) Sid was impressed with the play of Minnesota's offensive and defensive lines: "Did a great job," replied Kill. He then focused on the miscues that occurred in the second quarter that impacted the game's outcome.
He praised the defense that Wisconsin put on the field and their 3-4 scheme. There are eight seniors on the Badgers defensive side of the ball.
Regarding Minnesota's play and effort: Kill received texts from Wisconsin's coaches and their impressions on how this year's Gopher team is different from previous contingents.
7) Dave Mona asked about the weather and recruiting. Did the weather have an effect on warm-weather recruits and redshirts playing bowl games?: Kill said Saturday's game was "true football . . . ton of recruits in on official visits . . . kids from cold and warm weather." (The weather did not come up in their discussions.) He then focused on the (selling) attributes of the Twin Cities, the U, and said he met with the recruits yesterday afternoon, last night and will meet with them today. He sounded very positive about recruiting and hinted some good news (my take) would be coming down soon.
Kill briefly talked about redshirts playing bowl games (still a hope). His take, the bowl season is the start of the next season. Additionally, many teams are beat up and some teams have serious injuries and playing redshirts would be a big help. He closed saying there will be a lot of changes coming down in January, "Pushing to take better care of the student athlete." He was probably talking about steps to prevent serious injuries.
8) Sid mentioned yesterday's big crowd and how Minnesota ticket office kept the Wisconsin fans attendance down: Kill, again, said he was pleased with the crowd, especially on cold, cold day. (Question to GopherHoler's in attendance: I've read reports that possibly 25-30% of the crowd was in Red. Your thoughts.)
9) Mona asked about recruits getting on campus early (second semester): Kill said it depends on the track of the recruit and where they stand in terms of graduation from high school. He said he hopes 3 or 4 of this year's recruiting class can report early.
He closed the show saying they need to get ready for Michigan State and the upcoming bowl game. He said the Gophers played and will play two of the top three teams in the Big Ten in the last two weeks (Wisconsin and Michigan State). He said they'll look at the film of yesterday's game, learn from it and then put it to rest and get ready for the Spartans.
Go Gophers!!
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