Minnesota (4-3 overall, 1-3 B1G) at Iowa (4-3 overall, 1-3 B1G)
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. CT – Iowa City, Iowa
Stadium: Kinnick Stadium (70,585)
TV/Radio: FS1, KFAN 100.3 FM
Coach: Kirk Ferentz (19th season)
Spread: Iowa -7, o/u: 42½
INSIDE THE GAME
Hawkeyes at a Glance
The battle for Floyd has been pretty one sided, recently. Iowa has won 12 of the last 16 meetings, including a seven-game winning streak at Kinnick Stadium. The good news? Minnesota still leads the all-time series 62-46-2.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, linebacker Josey Jewell is back for the Hawkeyes. Jewell, who missed last week with an injury, leads the Big Ten with 70 tackles. The redshirt senior is averaging nearly 12 tackles per game, which ranks fourth in the country.
Keep an eye on the matchup between Iowa defensive back Josh Jackson and Tyler Johnson. Jackson leads the conference in passes defended (13) and pass breakups (11). The 6-foot-1, 192 pounder has also nabbed two interceptions.
Sophomore quarterback Nathan Stanley has an impressive 16-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Coach Speak
“When you actually start to think about the history, Floyd of Rosedale and 1935 and how it originated, and what it was made from and the Governors and the bets–the bet they had, it’s just very special. This is why you play in the Big 10 and this is why you coach in the Big 10. This is why you come to the University of Minnesota to play in all these historic rivalries. It’s very important.” – P.J. Fleck
“Every game is important, but trophy games are significant. We’re going to fight hard to keep Floyd in our building, that is important to us. It’s always great to be back home; it is a challenge to win on the road, but if you are going to be a good team, you have to learn how to do that. It’s great to be in Kinnick at night time — the atmosphere will be great.” – Kirk Ferentz
STORYLINE CENTRAL
Marc Morehouse with The Gazette takes a look at every facet of the game. Honestly, it’s a great overview of the matchup, except for the prediction of Iowa winning the game 31-17. Nope.
Scott Batterson of the Quad City Times has an interesting profile on Hawkeye’s defensive tackle Matt Nelson. The 6-foot-8 monster has just recently made the switch from defensive end.
In the middle of the season, no team is fully healthy. Like the Gophers, Iowa is struggling with injuries at key positions. Chad Leistikow of the Press Citizen goes in-depth with the Hawkeyes’ health issues.
On the good side of things, Randy Johnson of the Star Tribune dives into the Hawkeyes for his preview.
WHO WINS?
The Gophers Win If…
They can make life hard on Iowa’s two fill-in offensive tackles. The Hawkeyes will start a redshirt freshman and true freshman at tackle on Saturday, good news for a Gopher defense that’s started to increase pressure. Last game, Carter Coughlin had his most productive outing at defensive end recording two sacks. If the Gophers can bring added pressure off the edge to test the young tackles, it can be a big boost for their depleted secondary.
The Hawkeyes Win If…
They can expose said Gopher secondary. For an Iowa offense, it’s surprising how the passing game has been the focus. The Hawkeyes are near the bottom of the Big Ten at just 131 yards a game, while they’re in the top half of the conference throwing 218 yards per contest. It’s an understatement to say the Gophers secondary is shorthanded, which will help an adequate Iowa aerial attack.
“It’s very difficult to do with how many people he’s lost,” said P.J. Fleck. “We were thin to begin with, you know. Talk about what happened in January and when we first got here and the suspensions and that was mostly all the secondary that played last year. And now all of a sudden, you had Shenault down and you had Antoine Winfield, your best player on defense, down and you’re thin to begin with as it is and you’re starting to look down the depth chart saying, ‘Oh, my goodness.”