Iowa keeps landing on the right side of kickoff chaos this season, and its matchup with Minnesota looks like another break in the Hawkeyes’ favor.
The latest scheduling wrinkle has Iowa set for a 2 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday, October 24, when the Hawkeyes head to Minneapolis to face the Golden Gophers.
For a Big Ten road game, that matters. It keeps Iowa out of a night environment and avoids one of the tougher settings in the league.
That’s been the theme for Iowa’s slate. The Hawkeyes got Iowa State at night in Kinnick, avoided a night trip to Michigan at the Big House, and played Washington on a Friday night, which gave them a full 14-day stretch through the bye week. So far, the schedule has treated them well.
The Minnesota trip fits right into that run. The Gophers are 63-54-2 all-time against Iowa, but the recent history tilts heavily toward the Hawkeyes.
Since 2000, Iowa is 20-6 against Minnesota, including 10 wins in the last 11 meetings. Minnesota’s only win in that stretch came after an extremely questionable invalid fair catch signal erased a Cooper DeJean punt return touchdown.
The last time these teams met, Minnesota came to Iowa and left with a 41-3 loss in a game Iowa controlled from start to finish.
This year’s matchup also comes with some extra juice on the Minnesota side. It’s the Gophers’ homecoming game and a “Maroon Out,” which should crank up the atmosphere in Minneapolis. That only makes the early afternoon kickoff more valuable for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes avoid the kind of road night game that can turn into a grind in the Big Ten, and this one had the feel of a contest that could have landed in NBC’s night slot. Instead, it looks more likely to end up in CBS’s national window, especially with Indiana at Michigan set as FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff and USC at Wisconsin also in the mix.
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