Rivalries can get twisted in a hurry, and the Iowa-Minnesota one has had its share of moments. There was the fair-catch situation with Cooper DeJean in 2024.
There was the timeout episode in 2020, when Iowa was up 35-0 with 19 seconds left and Minnesota used a timeout at the Hawkeyes’ 4 while trying to score. Kirk Ferentz answered by taking three straight timeouts of his own.
“No sense taking them on the bus with us,” Ferentz famously said after that game. “You guys have reminded me of that a couple of times over the last 22 years. Figured we’d take Floyd with us and leave the timeouts here.”
Yet heading into this year’s meeting, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck chose a very different tone.
“I think he’s arguably one of the greatest football coaches of all time. You can make an argument for that,” Fleck said. “Definitely in the Big Ten.”
Fleck kept going when asked about Ferentz, crediting the Iowa coach’s long-term steadiness and how he has adapted as the sport has changed.
“It’s the consistency that he has won with,” Fleck said. “He’s been doing it for so long, you can’t just talk about ‘since Covid’ with him.
You go all the way back, right? With how much the game has changed every five years, it has evolved and changed.
If there is one person who has changed with it the most, it has been him.
“It might look as consistent with ‘Hey, this is what they do.’ But they have changed a lot internally based on how the game has changed.”
Fleck also made the case that building and maintaining a program both take serious work, and he pointed to Ferentz’s run at Iowa as one of the sport’s top coaching feats.
“People always ask if it’s harder to build it or sustain it. It’s both,” Fleck said.
“But when you are sustaining it for 28 years, and the consistency of what you pull out of that program and what (Ferentz) has done, that’s why I think it’s one of the greatest feats. He is one of the greatest coaches of all time, because he’s done it with such consistency.
And not at one place where you’re supposed to go 12-0 every year. Ton of respect for him and what they do.”
The latest chapter in the series comes Saturday, when Minnesota hosts 15th-ranked Iowa at Huntington Bank Stadium with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on FS1.
The Hawkeyes arrive at 5-1 and likely need to win out to keep playoff hopes alive. Minnesota is 4-2 after a bye, with its other loss coming at home against Mississippi State, 38-13. The Golden Gophers were also thumped at Purdue two weeks ago, 41-31, while Iowa comes in off a solid win at Washington on a Friday night two weeks ago.
Ferentz called Minnesota a veteran, physical group with plenty of experience on both sides of the ball.
“They're a veteran team,” Ferentz said. “I think they have nine seniors on the defense.
Then offensively it's basically all seniors and juniors with a couple of exceptions. But a veteran team, big team, physical team, and very well-coached.
They play extremely hard. We'll have our work cut out.”
In Other News...
Iowa Gets A Needed LJ Phillips Jr. Update Before Minnesota
Iowa got a useful bit of injury news heading into its rivalry game against Minnesota, with running back L.J. Phillips Jr. expected to be available after re-aggravating a previous ankle issue. Phillips has been limited by injuries this season, but when he has been on the field, he has shown the kind of play that can give the Hawkeyes a needed spark in the backfield.
The timing matters because Iowa is coming out of the bye week with a chance to reset and, ideally, bring back its full skill-position group in a healthier state. For a team that has had to manage personnel concerns through stretches of the season, getting Phillips back in the mix gives the offense another reason to feel better about where it stands entering a game that always carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa's Secondary Could Get A Needed Boost Before Minnesota
Zach Lutmers status is one of the quieter but more important developments as Iowa gets ready for Minnesota. The safety was hurt against Washington, but after the bye week he said he was feeling significantly better, which matters for a defense already operating without another starting safety in Tyler Brown. For an Iowa unit that leans so heavily on sound coverage and tackling, getting even a little healthier in the back end can change how the whole defense functions.
The timing is especially relevant with Minnesota next on the schedule, because the Hawkeyes are built to make teams work for every yard and to force opponents into a style they prefer. Stopping the run remains the first priority, but Iowa also needs its secondary to hold up if the game becomes about limiting space and winning late downs. Lutmers progress gives the Hawkeyes at least a reason to think the back end could be closer to full strength when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa's Minnesota Formula Comes Down To 3 Hawkeyes
Iowas prep for Minnesota has settled into the kind of rivalry-week basics the Hawkeyes trust most: run the ball, get steadier play at quarterback and try to create the turnover or two that can swing a close game. In a matchup with that kind of margin for error, the spotlight naturally lands on a few players who can shape the tone on both sides of the ball, starting with quarterback Drake Lindsey and running back Xavier Williams.
Lindseys ability to keep Iowa moving on offense, Williams importance in the ground game and Deshaun Lees role in the secondary all feel central to how this one could unfold. With Minnesota looming, Iowas path looks tied to whether those three can tilt the game in the areas the Hawkeyes value most, even if the final answer will only come once the rivalry kicks off. [Read more 🡒]