Iowa and Minnesota squared off in their annual rivalry series this weekend, albeit in an earlier than usual game from what fans are accustomed to seeing. Still, hot or cold weather in play, the battle for Floyd of Rosedale is always one of the best games of the season.

This year, the game began with Minnesota carrying a 14-7 lead into halftime with Iowa struggling on offense and the Gophers finding their way a bit. Max Brosmer tossed a pair of 2nd-quarter touchdowns to deliver the halftime lead.

However, things were all about the Hawkeyes from halftime onward. Kirk Ferentz’s squad delivered a 17-0 swing in the 3rd quarter and would finish the game on a stretch of 24-unanswered points to secure the momentum and eventual 31-14 win.

Here are the key takeaways from the game:

Kaleb Johnson continues to explosive 2024

Even when Iowa has struggled offensively, Johnson’s performances have not been subpar. In fact, he has 4 straight games with 100+ rushing yards to open the season, and Saturday’s outing was the best of the year.

Johnson went for 206 yards on 21 carries and completed a hat trick with 3 touchdowns on the evening. His 3rd touchdown of the game gave Iowa a 21-14 lead late in the 3rd quarter that the Hawkeyes would not relinquish.

Johnson entered the weekend as the nation’s leading rusher, and he did nothing to slow down his numbers for the season.

Darius Taylor shut down by Iowa defense

Darius Taylor has looked like one of the best running backs in the country when healthy. Unfortunately, Iowa has dedicated itself to limiting his output when the Hawkeyes and Gophers face off.

Last season, Taylor was limited to 59 rushing yards and 3.7 yards per carry when these two teams faced off, and his receiving output only bumped him up to 84 yards from scrimmage.

This season was even worse for Taylor. He produced just 34 rushing yards on 10 carries to go with 13 receiving yards on 2 catches. It is by far Taylor’s lowest output of the season, and only the season opener last season (1 carry for 3 yards vs. Nebraska) had a lower yardage total for Taylor in his young career.

What is Iowa’s outlook?

Iowa has looked like a 2nd-half team each of the past 2 weeks with the Hawkeyes now moving to 3-1 on the season. They will not get a chance to rest up a bit in Week 5 with a bye before a road trip vs. Ohio State, but then the schedule provides some interesting matchups for the program.

After Iowa gets past the Buckeyes, there will be just 1 remaining game against a ranked opponent (Nov. 29 vs. Nebraska) as things currently stand. That means we could be looking at another 9-10 wins during the regular season for Iowa, and how that translates to the postseason will be something to monitor.