It was a tale of two halves for the Minnesota Gophers and Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday night.
Despite a costly turnover, the Gophers played like the better football team in the first half , taking a 14-7 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Hawkeyes pounded the rock and pummeled the Gophers, sending Minnesota’s 10th-largest home crowd in the past 15 years home unhappy.
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The Hawkeyes managed only 107 net yards total in the first half. In the final 30 minutes, they accumulated 227, outscoring the Gophers 24-0 en route to a 31-14 win in which they reclaimed Floyd of Rosedale for the 19th time in the past 24 years. It’s also the seventh time the Gophers have lost to Iowa in eight games under head coach P.J. Fleck.
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara threw for just 62 yards all night but the running game was all the Hawkeyes needed. Star running back Kaleb Johnson, who entered the night leading the FBS in rushing yards with 479, an average of 160 per game, the seventh-highest yards per carry in the country (7.85) and fourth-most rushing touchdowns (six), went off again.