Gophers coach Jerry Kill said former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne was one of the first people to call him after Minnesota athletics director Norwood Teague stepped down in August.
"We talked about the athletics director's job. I was going to hire Tom, but we didn't have enough money," Kill joked.
The Gophers (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) will play Nebraska (2-4, 0-2) on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.
Kill offered his Osborne anecdote Tuesday as an example of why he has such high regard for the Cornhuskers' program, now under first-year coach Mike Riley. Kill is close with current Ohio coach Frank Solich, who succeeded Osborne in 1998 and coached Nebraska through 2003.