Gophers Prepare For Iowa As Claeys Is Set To Be Named Head Coach
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It would be a monumental upset for the Gopher football team to go to Iowa City and beat the unbeaten Hawkeyes this Saturday.
But as MIke Max reports, there is a rallying cry in the Gopher locker room: "Remember last year."
Much has changed in a year but if you recall, it was the Gophers who routed Iowa last season 51-14 at TCF Bank Stadium. You could have named the score, they put 51 up. That's got to be good for something.
"We came out hot right away and it was a fun game," Quarterback Mitch Leidner said. "Things went our way and we're hoping to get the same result this year."
See this pig thing, the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale, matters to this team. They flat out don't like Iowa much, at least when it comes to football.
"It exceeds the locker room and the football field. This game is for the state," punter Peter Mortell said. "I didn't know about it as much before I got here but no one likes Iowa. No one inside the locker room and outside it."
The problem is this Iowa team has benefitted from a good schedule and has met every challenge. That's why they're unbeaten.
"With it being a trophy game our kids will be excited and I expect us to play well but it'll be a tough environment," interim coach Tracy Claeys said. "But I'm a big believer that previous games have nothing to do with this week's game as long as you go through the process of preparing."
As for coach Claeys' contract status, multiple sources have told WCCO's Mike Max that he has interviewed with everybody he needs to interview with and they are working towards a multi-year deal that they think could be completed by the end of this week.