Pat Fitzgerald and Chris Farley

His best running back, Tyrell Sutton, is out for at least the rest of the regular season with a broken left wrist.

His best quarterback, C.J. Bacher, is questionable at best for Saturday's trip to 7-1 Minnesota after he injured his right hamstring on Saturday at Indiana.

His Wildcats, who had been ranked No. 22 in the BCS standings, could be reeling after those injuries as well as an unexpected 21-19 loss to those Hoosiers.

So what Coaching 101 maneuver did Pat Fitzgerald pull off to start this week? He hired someone to speak at Monday's team meeting.

"I brought in a special motivational speaker this morning and the guys took to him pretty well," Fitzgerald said, deadpan. "I brought in Matt Foley, who spoke to the team this morning. So we're doing fine."

For those who missed the Chris Farley era on "Saturday Night Live," one of Farley's more memorable characters was motivational speaker Matt Foley. He'd offer some words of wisdom, some helpful observations...and then he'd use his 300-pound frame to flatten some furniture. Laughter would ensue.

Fitzgerald showed his team a Matt Foley clip to try to help them flush the Indiana loss and lighten the mood.

So did the "Foley" tape make the short trek to Ryan Field from a van down by Lake Michigan?

"Down by a river," Fitzgerald said. "He says river. I don't know if it's a lake or river."

LW