Iowa edges Minnesota 13-10 to keep Floyd, control B1G West
MINNEAPOLIS — Drew Stevens made a 21-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to lift Iowa over Minnesota for a 13-10 victory on Saturday, after the Hawkeyes forced two late turnovers to take control of the Big Ten West with their eighth straight win over the Gophers for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.
Jack Campbell caused a fumble and came up with an interception off a tipped pass to thwart Minnesota drives in the closing minutes for Iowa (7-4, 5-3), which would repeat as division champions and return to the conference title game by beating Nebraska next week.
Iowa got a break before the game when No. 3 Michigan came back to beat Illinois and push the Illini out of first place. Purdue stayed tied at the top, but the Hawkeyes own the tiebreaker after beating the Boilermakers two weeks ago.
Mohamed Ibrahim trampled a dominant Hawkeyes defense by rushing for a career-high 263 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries, but the sixth-year star lost just his second fumble of the season with 5:07 remaining on a third-and-4 run that would've given the Gophers a first down at the 9. Campbell knocked the ball out, and Deontae Craig recovered it.
Minnesota (7-4, 4-4) forced a three-and-out and took over at its 45 with 4:11 to go, when Ibrahim ripped a 19-yard run off the right side to put the Gophers right back in scoring range. But on third-and-7 from the 33, Athan Kaliakmanis — making his third career start — threw a slant to fellow redshirt freshman La'Meke Brockington that Riley Moss reached to deflect. Campbell snagged it in the air, returned it 30 yards and almost scored — but his right foot was ruled out at the 45.
Spencer Petras, who scored on a first-quarter quarterback sneak and went 15 for 24 for 221 yards, hit Luke Lachey for 33 yards on the next play. That put the Hawkeyes well within range for their freshman kicker, who made a 38-yarder in the first quarter.
Matthew Trickett hit a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter for Minnesota, but he pulled a 34-yard try wide right with 38 seconds left before halftime. On the previous play, Kaliakmanis rolled left on third-and-1 and, under pressure by Campbell, missed a wide-open Brevyn Spann-Ford at the sideline. Moss almost intercepted the throw that went near the goal line.
The over-under fell to 31½ points on Friday, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, the lowest ever posted for an FBS game.
TROPHY HOGS
This was Iowa's 14th straight win in November, a streak that started by beating Minnesota at home in 2019 after a loss at Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes are on their longest winning streak in the history of the series against the Gophers, who still lead 62-52-2. Minnesota last kept the bronze pig with a 51-14 victory here in 2014.
Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is 18-6 against the Gophers. He pulled into a tie for third place in Big Ten history with 115 conference wins, matching Amos Alonzo Stagg (Chicago) and still trailing Woody Hayes (152) and Bo Schembechler (143).
STILL SIDELINED
Kaliakmanis started again for Tanner Morgan, who suffered an unspecified upper body injury while taking a sack two weeks ago at Nebraska after a similar hit forced him out at Illinois on Oct. 15 and kept him from playing the following game at Penn State. Morgan, who's in his sixth year and second in program history in passing yards, was one of 15 departing players honored with their families in the traditional senior day ceremony.
ON TARGET
Petras hit Sam LaPorta, the Big Ten's leading receiver among tight ends, four times for 95 yards in the first quarter including a 58-yard gain off a middle screen on Iowa's first snap. LaPorta suffered a leg injury, however, and did not return. Backup Luke Lachey had five receptions for 77 yards.
BUNDLE UP
This was the second-coldest kickoff temperature (17 degrees) for a Gophers game since they opened the stadium in 2009, behind a 15-degree afternoon in 2015 against Ohio State. The windchill factor at the start was 1 degree. Stevens needed a holder for his second kickoff.
THE TAKEAWAY
Iowa: The Gophers gashed the Hawkeyes at the line of scrimmage all game long, but their nose for the ball is part of playing defense, too, and proved to be the ultimate deciding factor.
Minnesota: Ibrahim had his 19th straight 100-yard rushing game and would have won the game by himself, but too many times this year when the Gophers needed a completion they couldn't get it.
UP NEXT
Iowa plays at Nebraska on Friday. The Hawkeyes have beaten the Huskers seven straight times.
Minnesota plays at Wisconsin next Saturday. The Gophers haven't beaten both the Hawkeyes and the Badgers in the same season since 1990.
