The bronze pig is back in play, and the way Minnesota handles Iowa may come down to three very specific things.
First and foremost: stop the run. That has been the make-or-break issue for Minnesota’s defense this season.
The Gophers smothered Michigan on the ground for 79 yards and held Washington to 40, but Purdue gashed them for 305 and Mississippi State piled up 252. Those results line up neatly with the wins and the multi-score losses.
Now they draw the Big Ten’s leading rusher in Kamari Moulton, and if he gets rolling, Iowa can control this game in every sense.
Special teams could also tilt the day. Minnesota has a reliable placekicker, and Javon Tracy has sparked the best punt returning since Antoine Winfield.
Iowa, meanwhile, has watched its kicker miss two field goals and two extra points. The Hawkeyes still bring a strong return game, but this is an area where Minnesota has a real chance to win the phase.
Then there’s tempo. The clearest path for the Gophers might be to speed things up just enough to keep Iowa from settling in.
That doesn’t mean turning this into a frantic two-minute drill or opening up the whole playbook. It means going no huddle, letting Drake Lindsey run the offense, and forcing a very good Hawkeye defense to stay on its heels.
The players Minnesota has to worry about are easy to spot. No. 28 running back Kamari Moulton is “Probably the best back in the Big Ten and I am very scared.” No. 33 linebacker Cam Buffington is the other name to know; he leads Iowa with 52 tackles, 17 more than the next man on the list, and he added two sacks against Washington.
Minnesota also knows what it is up against beyond the matchup itself. Iowa has been playing Iowa football and is having a very good season, one that could still become elite. There is a path for the Hawkeyes to reach the college football playoff, and a loss to Minnesota would put that dream in serious jeopardy.
Still, one line remains the bluntest summary of where this rivalry stands right now: I will never pick Minnesota over Iowa until PJ Fleck proves to me that he can beat Kirk Ferentz.