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Rapid Reaction: Iowa’s offense does just enough to skate past Minnesota
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Final score: Iowa 17 Minnesota 10
Quick recap
Much like last year’s defensive struggle in Minneapolis, offense was absent in this season’s meeting between Iowa and Minnesota. It was an ugly, physical matchup and can be described as sloppy, at best. But, the two teams fight for a prized bronze pig, so it was almost fitting.
Iowa made just enough plays to come away with the victory. Nate Stanley completed 15-of-27 passes for 190 yards and Akrum Wadley rushed for 70 yards on 16 carries. As measly as those numbers might seem, they were actually somewhat spectacular for this contest.
The Gophers couldn’t seem to get into a rhythm offensively, especially in the passing game, completing just 9-of-29 passes for the afternoon. That’s not good enough to win many ball games in the B1G.
Really, there wasn’t much else to say about this game. Iowa did just enough to win and kept Floyd of Rosedale in Iowa City for a third-straight season.
Key play: Nate Stanley’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant
The third quarter touchdown put the Hawkeyes ahead 14-0, which felt like an insurmountable lead in the low-scoring affair. It would also be the final touchdown of the the evening for Iowa.
Even though Minnesota worked its way back into the game, it wasn’t good enough to erase a two-touchdown deficit in the final two quarters of the game.
Stat of the game: Demry Croft completed 9-of-29 passes
As stated earlier, it’s awfully hard to win games with that dreadful completion rate. Yes, Minnesota still had a chance to tie the game, but the Gophers didn’t have a reliable offensive weapon on Saturday night. As the final score reflected, that really hurt P.J. Fleck and company.
Being able to keep the defense honest is important, especially in the B1G. Croft wasn’t able to stretch Iowa’s defense in any way and couldn’t find a rhythm with any type of pass. That’s going to need to be reworked.
What it means
Minnesota is running out of opportunities for bowl eligibility. While P.J. Fleck said that isn’t his primary focus right now, it’s hard to imagine the Gophers dropping from a nine-win team a year go to falling short of bowl eligibility.
It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but considering all the hype Fleck brought with him to Minneapolis, it’d be somewhat of an underwhelming first season if the Gophers aren’t bowling.
On the other side, Iowa is still a stout defensive team in the B1G with a lot of work left to do offensively. The Hawkeyes still have Ohio Stae and Wisconsin left on the schedule, and should be able to compete in those games from a defensive standpoint.
However, if the offense doesn’t find something to help right the ship, the Hawkeyes can kiss away any hope of pulling off an upset this year.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB