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It's been a difficult season for Minnesota coach Jerry Kill, whose epilepsy has caused more seizures and forced him to spend the past few weeks upstairs rather than on the sidelines.
Luckily, the Gophers haven't folded under interim coach Tracy Claeys. Instead, they continue to win.
After beating Penn State Saturday, Minnesota is now 8-2, its most wins in a season the 2003 team went 10-3 under Glen Mason. The Minnesota students chanted ''Jer-ry!'' as the final seconds of the game ticked down, and the Gophers players sprinted across the field to repossess the Governor's Victory Bell trophy for the first time since 2004. Penn State won the previous four meetings.
That's reason in Minneapolis to dance.
Take it away, coach Kill.
"We've been in the profession for a long time," Kill said after his team out-manned and outlasted a second traditional conference power in three weeks. "We love kids and we love watching them grow and get better. It's neat to see. I'm so happy for the kids, because they've been through a lot of adversity and so forth. And I'm also happy for the kids that played here our first two years, because they're just as big a part of it as anybody. They had to go through a lot of tough things."
Minnesota has two difficult games to end the regular season — home against Wisconsin and at Michigan State — and can add to its terrific season.
Regardless, good for Kill to enjoy a heartfelt moment with his team in a season of full of personal false starts.
