It was definitely not the start the Gophers wanted. Iowa ran 8 plays for 75 yards in 3:34 on the team’s opening scoring drive and never looked back. The Hawkeyes handed Minnesota it’s first loss of the season, with the Gophers streak of not winning at Kinnick Stadium extending back to 1999. A couple of key plays will be talked about throughout the week leading into the Northwestern game. Regardless, the Gophers are 9-1 on the season with a chance to still win the Big Ten West and face Ohio State or Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game.
39: The Gophers only gained 39 yards of offense on the ground in the first half while Iowa tallied 113 yards rushing. Tyler Goodson led Iowa’s rushing attack in the first half with 9 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown. Rodney Smith and Cam Wiley received the first snaps for the Gophers in the first half with Smith leading the team with 7 carries for 23 yards.
2-2: Both teams were perfect in the red zone in the opening 30 minutes with the Hawkeyes scoring two touchdowns and the Gophers scoring two field goals. Minnesota didn’t score at all in the first half, a rarity for them in the Fleck era.
7: Incompletions for Tanner Morgan in the first half. Rashod Bateman had one drop he usually grabs and luckily, none of the incompletions resulted in any turnovers for Minnesota. Morgan threw for 187 yards in the opening half with Tyler Johnson, Demetrius Douglas, and Bateman all topping 50 yards.
67,518: The attendance for Kinnick Stadium was an astounding 67,518. Kinnick Stadium opened in 1929.
170: Senior Tyler Johnson had 170 yards on nine catches on the day. Many fans will talk about his dropped catch in the red zone that led to coach P.J. Fleck entering the field after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Iowa. Still, the future NFL player had a fantastic game, being targeted 12 times by Morgan.
368: Tanner Morgan ended the game with 368 passing yards in the loss. Morgan did leave the game late with an injury and backup Cole Kramer came in for two plays. An update on Morgan will be given early next week heading into the game against the Wildcats.
8: While Antoine Winfield didn’t have any interceptions in this one, he did lead the team with eight tackles (five solo). The Gophers defense didn’t force any turnovers in the game, a rare occurrence this season for Joe Rossi and the Minnesota defense.
9: While the Gophers lose against Iowa, the team is 9-1 ahead of next weekend’s game at Northwestern. The Wildcats are 2-8 on the season after beating UMASS 45-6 on Saturday afternoon.