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Big Ten Notes: Rutgers offensive coordinator recovers from seizure

Rutgers offensive coordinator Jerry Kill was hospitalized after suffering a minor seizure Sunday morning. But coach Chris Ash said Tuesday that he has returned to work.

Rutgers offensive coordinator Jerry Kill is back on the sidelines after suffering a minor seizure.
Rutgers offensive coordinator Jerry Kill is back on the sidelines after suffering a minor seizure.Read moreJulio Cortez

Last weekend, Rutgers may have had more to worry about than an 11-game losing streak.

Offensive coordinator Jerry Kill was hospitalized after suffering a minor seizure Sunday morning. But coach Chris Ash said Tuesday that he has returned to work.

"Jerry is fine. He's back to work," Ash said. "He's was in our office [Monday] working. As usual, he'll coach this week, coach the game and move forward."

Kill didn't address the team and won't. Ash said there's no reason to when dealing with a medical issue.

Against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Kill took a hit on the sideline when a play stretched out of bounds. He didn't get a concussion, but the hit may have been a trigger. However, the doctors said a number of events could have led to the episode.

One of them could have been stress. Ash said stress levels go up when the season begins, and it's difficult to get a good amount of sleep.

In 2015, Kill retired from his head coaching job at Minnesota due to medical concerns. He hadn't had a seizure in two years before Sunday.

"No concerns at all," Ash said. "It was a minor setback. We're excited Jerry is fine and back in the office and back working with our football team."

Penn State plays Georgia State for first time in history

For Penn State coach James Franklin, it's not a challenge to play team he's never faced. The challenging part is playing a team with a new coaching staff at the beginning of the season. In other words, Penn State doesn't have much film to study on Georgia State.

It also doesn't help that Georgia State has played only one game so far this season.

"That's why early-season games can be so challenging and difficult," Franklin said.

But that doesn't mean the coach is discounting Georgia State. He mentioned the team's game at Wisconsin last year, when Georgia State held the lead into the fourth quarter then lost by only six points. Wisconsin went on to clinch the Big Ten West then lost in the Big Ten Championship to Penn State.

"Obviously, they're going to be used to playing in these types of environments," Franklin said, "and we have to be ready to go."

Ohio State playing hard but not smart

After suffering a loss to Oklahoma last weekend, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer noticed his team is playing "hard," but not necessarily "smart."

One instance is defensive players stepping out of their roles attempting to make big plays instead of sticking to what they're taught to do.

"So just understand that this is a very different week," Urban said. "It's very hard to work on your base fundamentals because this is such a unique offense, and every waking moment is going to spent on preparing for the wishbone.

"But throughout the next several weeks, it's all about getting better and improving and doing exactly what you're coached to do."