Luke Drzewiecki walked Minnesota into a rivalry win as the clock hit zero, and the Gophers left with the Floyd of Rosedale for the first time since 2023.
His 46-yard field goal as time expired gave Minnesota a 13-10 victory over No. 15 Iowa on Saturday in Minneapolis, a finish that capped a tense final drive and handed the trophy to the Gophers for just the second time in 12 years.
Minnesota had to earn the closing shot first. On third down from the Minnesota 33 with 39 seconds left, Drake Lindsey found Jalen Smith for 39 yards to set up the decisive kick.
Lindsey said, “I told the offense we were going to go win the game, but I told Jalen, ‘You’re going to make a big play right here.’ He made a big-time play in a big-time moment,’”
The Gophers did not need a fireworks show to get it done. They finished with a season-low 209 yards of offense, but the defense and special teams kept handing them chances. Darius Taylor scored a third-quarter rushing touchdown after an offsides penalty on Iowa erased a fourth-down stop on the previous play.
Iowa managed to tie it late, but not finish it. Hank Brown came on midway through the second quarter and threw for 136 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown to Reece Vander Zee with 3:46 remaining to knot the score. The Hawkeyes, however, never found enough offense to survive the rest of the game.
Minnesota’s defense limited Iowa to 163 yards through three quarters and kept the Hawkeyes in a bind all afternoon. Iowa finished with 288 yards, but the bigger number was the one that kept climbing in the wrong direction: turnovers.
The Hawkeyes had three interceptions, four fumbles and only lost one of those fumbles. They also went 4 of 16 on third down and were held to 90 rushing yards, well below their season average of 194.
“This is maybe one of the best defensive performances I’ve been around at the University of Minnesota,” coach P.J. Fleck said.
“I knew we had to win the turnover battle and we did that, we dominated that. And then if we didn’t score we had to (win) field position which we did do that and trust our defense.
We tackled really well.”
The start of the game did Iowa no favors either, with a blocked punt right away. Ferentz put the bigger picture bluntly afterward: “You give up a blocked punt right off the bat and have four turnovers, it’s unrealistic to think that you’ll win a conference game like that,”
Kamari Moulton, Iowa’s top rusher coming in at 103.8 yards per game, had just 22 yards before leaving midway through the second quarter with an undisclosed injury. Ferentz said he had no update after the game.
At quarterback, Iowa rotated through two options. Jeremy Hecklinski started for the second straight week and went 9 of 16 for 62 yards and an interception before Brown replaced him midway through the second quarter.
Ferentz said, “I simply thought he gave us our best chance the way things were going,” Brown had started the first five games before spraining his shoulder in the Oct. 3 loss to Ohio State. Hecklinski had thrown for 202 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in the Oct. 9 win at Washington.
Drzewiecki had already put points on the board with a 31-yard field goal, and he kept his perfect season intact by going 12 for 12 with a long of 51 yards. Fleck didn’t hide how much that matters. “I’m very thankful we have a kicker like that,” he said.
The kicker joined Minnesota in August after spending the 2022-25 seasons at New Mexico, where he became the program’s career scoring leader among kickers. He made 51 of 65 field goals and 118 of 120 extra points there.
For Iowa, the missed opportunity cuts deeper because of where the season sits now. The Hawkeyes were chasing a College Football Playoff berth, but the loss delivered a major blow.
Minnesota, meanwhile, now holds all three of its primary rivalry trophies at once - Floyd of Rosedale, the Little Brown Jug and Paul Bunyan’s Axe - for the first time since 1978. They lost to Michigan and Wisconsin later that year.
Minnesota heads to No. 6 Indiana on Oct. 31, the second of three straight games against ranked opponents.
In Other News...
UConn Football Just Put One Big Idea Back In Play
Barstool Sports personalities, including Dave Portnoy, made the trip to Rentschler Field for UConns game against UMass and spent time mingling with fans while taking in the scene around the program. Portnoy also used the stop to celebrate New Haven-style pizza and talk up the energy around Huskies football, a reminder that the program still has a way of drawing attention when the setting and the stakes line up.
The bigger takeaway was the conversation he wanted to have about what UConn football could become if the right pieces fall into place. The event also had a bit of a novelty hook attached to it, thanks to the Southwick Jug trophy created in 2024, which the group planned to present to the winning team. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Just Took Control Of A Rivalry Fans Care About
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UMass had some stability back at quarterback with William "Pop" Watson III returning from injury, and he finished with 205 passing yards and a touchdown on 22 completions. But the Minutemen never found enough answers to keep pace once UConn started piling up plays on both sides of the ball. For a game that carried more history than the average nonconference meeting, the Huskies left with the kind of result their fan base will remember when this rivalry comes up again. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Just Gave Huskies Fans A Rivalry Win Worth Celebrating
The scoreline at Rentschler Field was the sort UConn fans have been waiting to see in this matchup, a comfortable 35-16 win over UMass that came with a little more meaning than your average nonconference result. The Huskies controlled the game behind a strong day on the ground from Cyncir Bowers, who ran for 131 yards and a touchdown, while Kalieb Osborne kept the offense moving with 173 passing yards and two scores.
UMass did get quarterback William Watson III back from injury, and he finished 22 of 38 for 205 yards and a touchdown, but the Minutemen never found enough rhythm to threaten the outcome after another uneven offensive showing. For UConn, the win was the kind that matters beyond one afternoon, the latest reminder that this rivalry has been tight for years and that every meeting still carries a little extra weight. [Read more 🡒]