That off week apparently did Iowa’s offense some good.

Nate Stanley threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns as the Hawkeyes defeated Minnesota in a 48-31 shootout to keep Floyd of Rosedale in Iowa City. It was the fourth-straight victory in the series. It was also Iowa’s largest offensive output of the season.

Iowa jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and maintained a two-score lead for most of the game. Minnesota did pull within a touchdown midway through the third quarter at 31-24. On the following possession, the Hawkeyes used a nine-play, 51-yard drive to push the lead back up to two scores, and ended up being the game-winner.

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Of all the ways to win a game, nobody would’ve expected Iowa in a shootout.

Through the first four weeks of the season, Iowa’s defense has been the staple. It’s what pushed the Hawkeyes to a 3-1 start and them on the verge on knocking off reigning B1G West winner Wisconsin two Saturdays ago. Dropping 48 points in a conference game, on the road, was a pretty unlikely scenario.

The absence of Antoine Winfield Jr. in the Gophers’ secondary obviously made a difference. Stanley was able to pick apart a depleted and inexperienced secondary all afternoon. But the offense had struggled against nearly every defense it faced this season. It finally showed some promise.

Kirk Ferentz got creative, too. Late in the second quarter, he dialed up a fake field goal play, giving the ball to T.J. Hockenson on a 4th-and-goal situation. The play caught Minnesota off guard and Hockenson plowed ahead four yards for the score.

Iowa typically isn’t the most fun offensive team to watch on Saturdays. This was fun.

And it’ll continue to be fun if Stanley continues to perform at the level he did against Minnesota. While he’s played well at certain points throughout the year, this was by far his best outing in 2018.

The big question now is whether he can continue to play at that level. If he can, Iowa is very much still alive in the B1G West.