Sid Hartman: Coach's pride swells after unlikely rally

How important was the Gophers' 22-21 upset of Iowa to coach Jerry Kill, whose team had been outscored 144-31 in three previous Big Ten losses to Michigan, Purdue and Nebraska?"I have never been more proud of a group of players and a coaching staff in my 29 years as a coach," Kill told players and coaches after the game in the locker room.

This team needed a victory probably more than any Kill had previously coached after getting pounded consistently to start the Big Ten season.

Yes, nobody gave the Gophers a chance to win with the Hawkeyes up 21-10 with 13 minutes to go.

But they turned it around big time in the fourth quarter, limiting Iowa to 95 seconds of possession.

Maybe the Gophers' biggest play was the successful onside kick with Iowa leading 21-16 with 8:22 left.

"I had a kid from Florida teach that," Kill said of a kick handled perfectly by walk-on Jordan Wettstein, substituting for injured Chris Hawthorne.

The kick was recovered by sixth-year senior safety Kim Royston, who also had 16 tackles -- eight solo, eight assists -- on defense.

Kill said the Gophers practice the kick every Friday, and if they do well, they consider trying it -- and fortunately, they practiced it well this Friday.

MarQueis Gray came into his own in the second half. For the game, the Gophers quarterback ran for 11 times for 62 yards with one touchdown, and completed 11 of 17 passes for 193 yards and another score.

There were other heroes in the game, including Kyle Henderson, a walk-on transfer cornerback who was just put on scholarship and forced the big fumble that led to a Gophers touchdown. And freshman Devin Crawford-Tufts, who hadn't played until recently, wound up catching two long passes for 100 yards in all.

Give the defense some credit. Iowa's Marcus Coker ran for 187 yards in the first half but only 65 the second.

Iowa is not a great team by any means, but this Gophers team will be a lot better the rest of the season because of what happened Saturday.

Ponder expects smoother start Christian Ponder, the Vikings rookie quarterback who started his first NFL game against the Packers last week, said he expects to be a lot more at ease in his second start against Carolina, certainly a team that's not of the caliber of the Super Bowl champions.

"I think I will be more comfortable," the first-round draft pick said of Sunday's game in Charlotte, N.C. "I think getting that first game out of the way and those butterflies and everything, it was just good to get that under my belt."

Absent will be the restlessness that Ponder felt leading up to last week's contest. He said that he could not could wait for the time to come to get his chance to start an NFL game.

"I had a lot of butterflies and was just anxious to get it done and get out there and play and get that first snap done," Ponder said.

A second week of practice with the first team will make a difference, according to Ponder.

The former Florida State standout said he appreciates the fan support, but at the same time he felt that the boos aimed at veteran Donovan McNabb in previous games were uncalled for.

About his relationship with McNabb, Ponder said: "He's been really great to me. He's helped me out ever since he got here. Even last week before my first start, he was staying late with me to watch film, and he's always had a ear open for me and been there to answer any questions that I've had.

"This is his 13th year to play in the league, so he knows what it takes to be successful. He's had a lot of great words for me."

And Ponder said he has had great support from his teammates, adding, "This is a unique team to be a part of and everyone has been so supportive, it's really been fun."

Not complaining about sitting to start Ponder was asked if, looking back, he would have preferred to get the starting job from Week 1.

"I think it changes the whole circumstance of me trying to start the first game, obviously," he said. "We talked about bringing Donovan in, and that's what happened, but I can't complain now. I'm playing now, and I'm happy about it.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter now. We don't have to worry about that."

Obviously, Ponder doesn't have a lot of experience to fall back on, but the Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had indicated before last week's game that the team wouldn't shrink the playbook for him. Ponder was asked if he is allowed to check off at the line and call an audible.

"We have certain plays where we can make some different checks, but there's not a whole lot right now," he said. "I mean, we don't have a whole lot of checks. Coach Musgrave has done a good job of keeping it simple for us. This is our first year in the offense, so he hasn't made it too complex on us."

Ponder said that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had some encouraging words after the loss: "He said that he thought I played well, and wished me luck. I told him I'd see him in a couple Mondays."

Jottings

• New University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler talking about the NCAA's plan to pay athletes: "Well you know, it's a complicated issue in lots of ways. I think the comments about a blanket $2,000 thing are pretty out there. I could see some payments, as long as they were associated with a demonstrated financial aid need. But there certainly are athletes on campus who don't need that kind of supplement. I think that would be a bad idea to pay them. It's a big hit. We have … 322 full scholarships, so $2,000 a pop, $650,000, that's a lot of money."
• Now that Jerry Kill has a seven-year contract, the two Gophers coordinators, Tracy Claeys on defense and Matt Limegrover on offense, will be awarded multiyear deals, and after that occurs, financial details will be worked out for all the other assistants.
• Vikings left guard Steve Hutchinson was asked what new offensive line coach Jeff Davidson has done for the team. "I think he's great," the perennial Pro Bowl player said. "If you ask anybody in our room, everybody respects him. I think he does a good job of getting us ready to play each week."
• Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love told the Los Angeles Times last week that the NBA lockout is going to hurt the Wolves especially hard, saying: "It's going to be tough to really get our team on the same page, because we have such a young group of guys, a young unit of guys, where we're the youngest team in the NBA with a new coach."
• Blake Hoffarber got off to a hot start for Fos Ouest Provence in France, but the former Gophers standout cooled off in a 91-78 loss to Bologne on Friday, scoring three points and making only one of eight three-pointers. He's averaging 12.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in four games.