Minnesota didn’t just beat Iowa on Saturday. It completed a rare sweep of its rivalry hardware.
With a 13-10 win at home over the No. 14 Hawkeyes, the Gophers now own Floyd of Rosedale, The Little Brown Jug and Paul Bunyan’s Axe at the same time for the first time since 1978. The finish came late, with Drake Lindsey hitting Jalen Smith for a 39-yard gain to put Minnesota in position for Luke Drzewiecki’s game-winning field goal.
That last connection was the difference in a game shaped by defense, special teams and a whole lot of field-position football. Minnesota blocked a punt, won the turnover battle and got just enough from its offense to edge Iowa for only the second time in 10 tries for PJ Fleck.
The game started with a jolt. Iowa opened with the ball, ran three scripted plays and then had to punt - only for Minnesota to get a hand on it and block the kick. That gave the Gophers the ball at the Iowa 12, but the drive went nowhere fast, ending in a Luke Drzewiecki 31-yard field goal.
Iowa answered by moving deep into Minnesota territory, down to the 10-yard line, but Jeremy Hecklinski threw into the middle of the field and Joey Gerlach came away with the interception after diving for it.
From there, the first half settled into a grind. Both teams traded punts through the second quarter, and a Lindsey interception eventually set Iowa up at the Minnesota 14.
Even then, the Hawkeyes couldn’t capitalize fully and settled for a Caden Buhr field goal. By halftime, the score sat at 3-3 in a game that looked and felt like old-school Big Ten football.
Minnesota finally found some rhythm to start the second half, at least for one drive. Javon Tracy lined up at running back on the first play of the third quarter and ripped off 23 yards.
Lindsey kept the possession moving with a third-down completion to Tracy, then added a 12-yard throw to Tracy and a 23-yard strike to Roman Voss down to the 2. From there, Darius Taylor eventually punched in a direct snap for a touchdown and a 10-3 lead.
That one series produced 71 yards and more than doubled Minnesota’s offensive output to that point.
Iowa’s offense never looked comfortable for most of the afternoon. Hank Brown returned to the QB1 role in the second quarter, but the Hawkeyes still struggled to generate much of anything.
Kamari Moulton left midway through the second quarter, and Iowa’s ground game lost its edge. Their biggest play of the third quarter was a 15-yard pass interference penalty.
Still, Iowa managed one burst that changed the game. With 5:44 left and Minnesota leading 10-3, the Gophers punted from deep in their own end.
Tom Weston hit a high, short kick, John Nestor downed it at the Iowa two, and Minnesota seemed to have Iowa pinned. Instead, the Hawkeyes went 98 yards in four plays to tie it and suck the energy out of the stadium.
That set up the final Minnesota response. After a quick Gophers punt and a quick Iowa punt, Minnesota got the ball back at its own 27 with one last chance to get in range. On third and four, Lindsey found Smith - his only catch of the game - and that play opened the door for Drzewiecki’s 46-yard field goal to win it.
PJ Fleck has spent weeks talking about complementary football, and this was the kind of game he meant. Minnesota has done it in stretches before, including at Washington and in the win over Michigan.
It didn’t happen two weeks ago at Purdue, but it did here. The Gophers were better on special teams, a little cleaner on offense and strong enough on defense to survive Iowa’s late push.
The last time Minnesota held the Little Brown Jug, Floyd of Rosedale and Paul Bunyan’s Axe together was 1978. The Gophers beat Iowa in mid-October that season after having defeated Michigan and Wisconsin in 1977. Now they have a chance to beat all three of those longtime rivals in the same stretch for the first time since 1967 if they can win in Madison at the end of November.
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Drake Lindsey Suddenly Carries Minnesotas Biggest Concern Against Iowa
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P.J. Fleck has made it clear the offense has to clean up the mistakes and be more efficient through the air, especially with Iowa next on the schedule. Lindseys next test comes with plenty of pressure attached, and Minnesota knows the margin for error at quarterback will be razor thin in a rivalry game where last seasons meeting in Iowa City turned into a long afternoon for the Gophers. [Read more 🡒]
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Still, the closer look leaves a more familiar concern hanging over the night. Starting guard Kyan Evans exited in the first half with a right hip injury and did not return, and Minnesotas sloppiness showed up in the margins with 20 turnovers and a 13-for-28 effort at the free throw line, the kind of issues that can undo a team even when the energy and compete level are there. [Read more 🡒]
P.J. Fleck Finally Delivered A Gophers Rivalry Moment Fans Craved
P.J. Flecks 10th season at Minnesota has featured plenty of talk about culture, toughness and the long climb toward relevance, but the Gophers finally got a rivalry moment that matched the message. At home against Iowa, Minnesota reclaimed the Floyd of Rosedale in a game that was ugly at times and anything but clean, yet still carried the kind of weight that can linger well beyond one Saturday in November.
For a program that has spent years trying to turn close calls and near-misses into something more durable, this was the sort of win Fleck has been chasing. Even with Iowa gifting Minnesota early chances, the Gophers had to grind through the kind of messy, error-filled night that usually leaves a team wondering what might have been, and instead walked off with a result that matters in the rivalry and in the larger story of where this program is trying to go. [Read more 🡒]