Gophers’ Kill: ‘A heck of a lot of psychology work’ in this week’s plans

MINNEAPOLIS — Quarterback Mitch Leidner and a few other players telephoned coach Jerry Kill on Saturday night to reiterate their commitment to rebound after the Gophers barely beat Kent State, 10-7 at TCF Bank Stadium.

"There were two or three kids that called and said, 'Hey, coach, we're gonna get going. We're going to get it right,'" Kill relayed Sunday. "They care. They work their butts off."

Kill said he will be more of a psychologist than tactician this week after his offense compiled 288 total yards, averaged 2.4 yards per rush and committed three turnovers against the Mid-American Conference opponent.

"My job is to get them feeling better, and that's not easy," Kill said. "That's the biggest thing I got to do is ... a heck of a lot of psychology work."

The biggest point of emphasis, Kill said, is reminding his players they are 2-1 and not the losing record players sometimes act as if they have.

But what were the offense's positives Saturday? Kill said there weren't many.

"I think the biggest positive is that this isn't the last game of the season, and we won the game," Kill said.

Leidner completed 62 percent of his passes for 184 yards. He threw a touchdown but had two interceptions. Freshman backup quarterback Demry Croft warmed up on the sideline but didn't play.

On three occasions during the news conference after Saturday's game, Kill declined to comment about his quarterback situation or even assess Leidner's play.

On Sunday, he deferred questions on the position beyond the news conference set for noon Tuesday.

"I can tell you I'm not going to answer any of them," Kill said. "You can ask me Tuesday, and I'm not going to answer any of them, so I'm just not going to answer any of them. Everybody will spin it the way they want to. They did last week, anyway."

"That might be a question more for Thursday," Kill added. "I can't answer it on Tuesday though" because the news conference precedes the week's first practice.

Kill said there were a lot of issues on offense to try to solve, including the porous offensive line.

"We got whipped up front," Kill said. "We didn't protect our passer very well, and we didn't handle some of the blitz stuff that we should be able to handle. We just didn't execute very well."

Injuries continue to hobble the O-line, with left guard Joe Bjorklund playing on an injured knee.

"He's not going to be healthy all year," Kill said. "He had major knee surgery (more than a year ago) where he has bone on bone, and he is playing out of will to play."

Ideally, Bjorklund would split snaps with Jon Christenson, but Christenson is out a month after knee surgery Sept. 14. Also, tackle Jonah Pirsig played Saturday with a shoulder injury suffered in the 23-20 overtime win over Colorado State.

The injuries might force the Gophers to pull the redshirt on freshman Tyler Moore and have him play backup center or guard and maybe move Josh Campion from tackle to guard.

"The only other way to solve it is work here day and night and try to get it figured out on what we can do," Kill said.

The Gophers gave up two sacks and had four holding penalties and a false start against the Golden Flashes. Pirsig, Campion, Ben Lauer and Nate Wozniak were whistled for infractions.

"We haven't had those things since I've been here, not even when we haven't been that good," Kill said.

This Saturday, the Gophers will play Ohio (3-0) and former Nebraska coach Franck Solich. The Bobcats went 6-6 in 2014.

"They've been a powerhouse in the MAC, too, so there is no gimmee games," Kill said. "I said that very early in the year. You've got to come to play."

Kill categorized his offense's performance as "ugly" on Sunday and said this week he'll preach the mantra: "Look good, feel good, play good."

"I've always said that," he said.

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