Gophers fall to No. 10 in College Football rankings after Iowa loss

The Gophers fell just two spots to No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, following their first loss of the season last week at Iowa.

Minnesota (9-1) was the only top 10 team to lose last week, though the Gophers showed some mettle in Iowa City, falling behind by 17 points before making things close in the second half of a 23-19 defeat.

The top four spots in the CFP rankings remained unchanged: 1. LSU, 2. Ohio State, 3. Clemson and 4. Georgia.

The next five go: 5. Alabama, 6. Oregon, 7. Utah, 8. Penn State and 9. Oklahoma.

The full rankings are here.

The Nittany Lions (9-1) jumped Minnesota despite losing to the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium just 10 days earlier.

Iowa's win over the Gophers lifted the Hawkeyes three spots to No. 17.

Wisconsin climbed two spots to No. 12. The Badgers (8-2) play host to Purdue this week before coming to Minnesota for a Nov. 30 game that could decide the Big Ten West title.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said two starters are still "day-to-day" with their injuries. True freshman kicker Michael Lantz has missed the past two games after experiencing what Fleck called leg tightness.

Sophomore Curtis Dunlap Jr. was not at his usual right guard spot at Iowa after a team spokesman said he was "banged up" playing against Penn State despite finishing that game.

Without Lantz, redshirt freshman Brock Walker has been the placekicker. He missed two critical kicks at Iowa, a 50-yard field goal and an extra point on the final touchdown that could have put the Gophers within three points of Iowa.

The Gophers have six starting-caliber offensive linemen they've rotated throughout the season, so Dunlap's absence meant John Michael Schmitz started at center with Conner Olson moved to right guard.