There was a lot of head-scratching in Minnesota when former Gophers coach Jerry Kill took over moribund the New Mexico State football program before last season.

The Aggies were conference nomads and had a 8-39 record over the previous four years.

After health issues ended his Minnesota tenure in 2015, it looked like the ol’ ball coach just couldn’t give it up. He came back to Minnesota in September 2022 and left with a 38-0 loss to the Gophers. Two weeks later, Wisconsin beat his team 66-7.

But Kill stuck with it, reached bowl eligibility and beat Bowling Green to win the Quick Lane Bowl last December. The program had been to three bowls since 1959.

Then on Saturday, Kill and New Mexico State improved to 9-3 with a stunning 31-10 victory at Auburn (6-5). The Aggies were 25-point underdogs and came out with the program’s first win against a Southeastern Conference team.

Kill told reporters what he said to his players when he walked into the visiting locker room after the game.

“I probably shouldn’t ’t say this,” he was quoted by al.com. “But life’s short and I may not be here tomorrow, so I walked in and said, ‘Hey, we just got $1.7 million (payment) to play a (SEC) team. So how about $1.7 million and winning the game.’

“So the kids, they’re all fired up, wondering when they’re going to get it. They want it all to be NIL (name, image and likeness) money.”

Kill went 29-29 in four-plus seasons at Minnesota from 2011-15. Three big wins at the U came in 2014, a road victory over  Michigan for the Little Brown Jug, a home blowout of Iowa and late drama in a road victory at No. 21 Nebraska during an 8-5 season.

Kill was asked Saturday where the Auburn win ranks for him in his career.

“I’ve had a lot of great moments, but I’m not going to take this lightly,” he said. “It’s a huge win and it goes down as one of the greatest wins that I’ve been a part of.”

Up 17-7 in the third quarter, Kill called for a fake punt on fourth and 2 from New Mexico State’s 42-yard line. Ron Taivaasue converted with a 23-yard rush. The Aggies scored a touchdown on the drive to extend the lead to 24-10.

“You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” Kill said of the fake punt. “And in a game like this, you’ve gotta keep momentum, and I just felt that it was a great time to call it and the coaches trust me, and it ended up being a big play in the game.”

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