Jerry Kill suffers seizure before halftime, carted off field

Gophers’ head coach Jerry Kill appeared to have suffered a seizure as the team headed into the locker room at the end of the second quarter. Kill, who has had a history of epilepsy, was carted off the field during halftime.

Kill collapsed near the 30-yard line soon after the Gophers took a knee to end the first half. While he was being attended to by Minnesota personnel, the band played on the field yards away.

Following the incident, defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys will be the acting head coach in the second half with special teams coach Jay Sawvel acting as the coach on the field.

Mitch Leidner playing quarterback following Philip Nelson injury

Redshirt freshman Mitch Leidner made an early appearance in Saturday’s matchup against Western Illinois after starting quarterback Philip Nelson hurt his knee midway through the second quarter.

Nelson, who was 3-of-4 for 19 yards before being sidelined, was hurt on a seven-yard scramble. In addition to his yards passing, the sophomore rushed five times for 26 yards.