Gophers have an uphill climb after their second loss in a row

His team had just lost its second consecutive game, and P.J. Fleck tried to offer his players some encouragement in his postgame remarks.

"I told them, 'We didn't lose the world, we lost this game,' '' Fleck said after No. 24 Illinois beat the Gophers 26-14 on Saturday in Champaign, Ill.

No, the world hasn't caved in on the Gophers, but in a two-game stretch with a bye week sandwiched in between, a season that started with so much promise sits on the precipice of disappointment.

First, the Gophers lost 20-10 to Purdue on Oct. 1, when the absence of Mohamed Ibrahim because of an ankle injury decimated their bread-and-butter rushing attack. Then, a defense that ranked as the nation's best in third-down efficiency "just couldn't get off the field,'' Fleck said, against an Illinois offense that ran 86 plays.

Halfway through the season, the Gophers sit at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. Their chances of winning the West Division are clinging to a thread because co-leaders Purdue and Illinois are each 3-1 in the conference and own tiebreakers over Minnesota.

On Saturday, the Gophers got an added complication: Their quarterback situation might be uncertain for Saturday night's game at No. 16 Penn State. Sixth-year senior Tanner Morgan left in the fourth quarter Saturday after taking a fist to his helmet from Illini linebacker Gabe Jacas. Morgan was tended to on the field, walked to the sideline and was examined in the injury tent. He later was taken by cart to the locker room and then to a local hospital for evaluation. Medical personnel cleared him to fly back to Minnesota with the team.

Postgame, Fleck didn't have many details on Morgan's injury, saying it was "upper body." It also should be noted that Morgan's left foot was awkwardly pinned to the turf when Jacas and Isaac Darkangelo tackled him, but he didn't appear to be limping when he walked to the sideline.

Morgan's status will play out this week, but should he be sidelined, redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis appears in line to replace him. Kaliakmanis took over after Morgan was injured, converting a fourth-and-1 situation with a 4-yard run but completing only two of six passes for 17 yards with two interceptions. It was an all-around bad day for the Gophers passing attack, with Morgan going 4-for-12 for 21 yards with a pick.

"You've got to find ways to get some type of rhythm going," Fleck said. "And we'd get rhythm going in the run game, and then the pass game would hurt us."

Saturday night's game will be Penn State's "White Out" contest, with some 107,000 white-clad fans packing Beaver Stadium. That would be quite the challenging atmosphere for a quarterback making his first career start, but it might be the reality that the Gophers face. Cole Kramer, a fourth-year sophomore who has played in 16 career games, was not available to play at Illinois because of a "small injury," according to Fleck.

"Athan has an opportunity," Fleck said. "It's hard for a redshirt freshman to be put in that environment, that situation, but he's only going to continue to get better from that. We'll get him ready, keep preparing him. I know he'll bounce back and be ready to go if that's what it takes."

Fleck needs his entire team to bounce back, something it did last year with a three-game winning streak to close the season after back-to-back November losses to Illinois and Iowa. His plan for that goal: execute better than they have the past two games.

"We have to be able to make plays," Fleck said. "And we're really good when we're doing that. It's simple."