Maxx Williams extended his 6-4 frame, grabbed the football and kept his left toe dragging as he dived out of bounds. The tight end's spectacular catch was the signature moment of the Gophers' 51-14 drubbing of Iowa in 2014, a game in which Minnesota players frolicked to the end, then celebrated with Floyd of Rosedale.
P.J. Fleck's quest: Can the Gophers coach finally beat Iowa and bring home Floyd of Rosedale?
Iowa has claimed the Floyd of Rosedale trophy seven consecutive times. Here's how the Gophers can end that streak Saturday.
November 17, 2022 at 12:38PM
Since Williams' catch, the Gophers have watched Iowa hoist that bronze hog statue seven straight times, including after a 35-7 pounding in 2020, when Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz called three timeouts in a row after Gophers coach P.J. Fleck used one with 19 seconds in hopes of avoiding a shutout. "We figured we'd take Floyd with us and leave the timeouts here,'' Ferentz said afterward.
Payback, as the saying goes, can be a … difficult experience.
On Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, the Gophers will try to end Iowa's seven-year headlock on Floyd in a game with Big Ten West title implications. Seven times since 2014, the Gophers have tried to grab the pig, and seven times they have failed, sometimes in excruciating fashion, other times in blowouts.
The Gophers (7-3) and Hawkeyes (6-4) are two of four teams tied for first in the West with 4-3 Big Ten records, along with Purdue and Illinois. For Minnesota, there's a path to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game: Beat Iowa and Wisconsin, and have Purdue and Illinois each lose a game.
For the Hawkeyes, the route to Indy has fewer potholes: Beat the Gophers and Nebraska, and have Illinois, which plays No. 3 Michigan on Saturday, lose a game.
"Our players know how important this game is, what this game means to our program, what this means to our state,'' said Fleck, who is 0-5 against Iowa.
The game's importance hasn't translated into recent success for the Gophers, who twice in Fleck's tenure have been denied the West's spot in the conference title game because they lost to the Hawkeyes: 23-19 in 2019 and 27-22 last year. They'll try to flip that script Saturday.
"This is a really special game; it's a historic rivalry,'' Gophers linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin said. "When you look at Big Ten football, this is what it's all about.''
To break Iowa's hold on Floyd, here's what the Gophers can do:
Take an early lead
Striking first has served the Hawkeyes well in their seven-game win streak against the Gophers. In every game, Iowa has scored first, and five times they've scored touchdowns on their first possession of the game. In the streak, they've outscored Minnesota 51-13 in the first quarter and 106-46 in the first half.
"We've talked about that, but it's not anything special that you have to do,'' Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said. "You've just gotta come out ready to play, but more importantly, come out ready to execute.''
The Gophers this season have allowed first-possession touchdowns to Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska. They lost to the Boilermakers and Fighting Illini and needed a comeback to beat the Cornhuskers. Playing from behind is not the Gophers' forte.
Avoid giving up big plays
Last year, Rossi's defense tied for the national lead in giving up the fewest plays of 20 yards or longer, with 35. Two of those, though, were especially costly in the loss at Iowa. Charlie Jones got free for a 72-yard TD reception, and Keagan Johnson spun out of a couple of tackles for a 27-yard TD catch that made it 24-16. Those big plays overcame a Gophers offense that outgained Iowa 409-277 and held the ball for 40:02.
Four other Iowa wins in the streak featured scoring plays of 45 yards or longer.
"We've got to do everything in our power to eliminate explosive plays,'' Rossi said. "We've got to do everything in our power to create takeaways.''
Don't feed the Iowa defense
Iowa's offense ranks 130th out of 131 FBS teams with an average of 251.1 yards per game. So, how do the Hawkeyes keep winning? Their defense and special teams are outstanding.
In last week's 24-10 win over Wisconsin, Iowa mustered only 146 yards of offense but got an interception return for a TD and a 41-yard punt return to set up another score from Cooper DeJean.
"I don't know if I've seen that in college football, where the defense creates the majority of the points throughout the year,'' Fleck said. "… Their defense scores an awful lot like an offense.''
The Hawkeyes have 18 takeaways this season and 48 points off turnovers. Drew Stevens is 13-for-15 on field goals. Tory Taylor has 21 punts of 50 yards or longer.
Be patient but aggressive
Gophers running back Mohamed Ibrahim has rushed 104 times for 465 yards and eight TDs over the past three games. However, the Gophers will need some balance. Presumptive starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis must be sharper than he was in going 7-for-13 for 64 yards against Northwestern.
"How do you respond when it's an incompletion on one that you know that you're gonna hit it 19 out of 20 times?'' Gophers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca asked. "Does that put you in a little bit of a shell? Or do you sit down and smile and say, 'Wow, I'm gonna hit the next 19.' That's how I want the quarterback to respond when he misses a throw.''
Projected Gophers starting center Frank Mitchell will miss Wednesday’s opener against Oral Roberts with a shoulder injury and will be revaluated next week.
