2-Minute Drill

IOWA RUSH OFFENSE VS. MINNESOTA RUSH DEFENSE

Gophers head coach Tracy Claeys has mixed Minnesota defenses this season. Against TCU, a speed team with an elusive quarterback, the Gophers played a 3-4 with a defensive end replacing a tackle, an extra safety instead of a linebacker and three corners. Iowa isn't TCU. Iowa is more like Ohio State, which the Gophers fell 28-14 to last week. Claeys started a 4-2-5 defense, with a safety in for a linebacker. Iowa isn't exactly Ohio State. The Buckeyes are faster than Iowa. Iowa might be as powerful as Ohio State, but there's really no way to gauge that. So, you're probably looking at a 4-4 from the Gophers, a personnel group that more than held its own against Michigan (127 yards, 3.74 yards a carry).

The Gophers have had a mile of injuries this season. Last week at Ohio State, DT Steven Richardson (6-0 291) sat out and is questionable this week. He's been a solid contributor on a front four that held its own, relatively, against the Buckeyes. Defensive end Theiren Cockran (6-6 258) has 7.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (6-5 239) had a sack and tackle for loss against Ohio State. Linebacker Jack Lynn (6-3 238) leads UM with 9.0 tackles for loss. He had 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced a fumble against OSU.

If sophomore Akrum Wadley's ankle cooperates, the Hawkeyes could find themselves with four healthy running backs for the first time since week 2. Senior Jordan Canzeri, Iowa's leading rusher with 698 yards, returns from a high-ankle sprain. So, how will this work?

'Hopefully we can finish strong with both LeShun and Jordan, hopefully both of those guys get a chance to play the rest of the games the way they want to play,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said, 'and then I think Derrick and Akrum have certainly done a nice job of complementing. If we have all four of them healthy, we're a better football team.”

That sure sounds like hot hand. The Gophers' have had a lot of moving parts with scheme and injuries, but it's still only allowed 152.9 rushing yards per game (3.93 a carry). The 4.29 yards per carry on first down has to come down if they want to pin the Hawkeyes. Iowa isn't done with Wadley. It can't be, but his health might dictate his contributions this week.

Advantage: Iowa

IOWA PASS OFFENSE VS. MINNESOTA PASS DEFENSE

Minnesota didn't back down at Ohio State last week, especially on defense. The Gophers went after QB Cardale Jones in the first half with well-designed blitzes that got home. Jones was sacked three times in the first half, including losses of 11 and 10 yards when the Buckeyes moved into Gophers territory. Jalen Myrick hit Jones from the blind side and tackled him for an 11-yard loss in the first quarter. Campbell had a 10-yard sack on a delayed blitz in the second quarter. Overall, UM picked up four sacks and put pressure on Jones much of the game.

Myrick will likely miss the remainder of the season with a lung/rib injury. True freshman KiAnte Hardin stepped in and finished with five tackles, including one tackle for loss. Still, UM has two NFL-caliber corners in Briean Boddy-Calhoun (5-11 190) and Eric Murray (6-0 199). Minnesota still has the talent and experience to play the heavy man coverage it likes and throw in the occasional blitz. Minnesota is tied for 10th in the league with 13 takeaways (with 15 turnovers, it's minus-2 and ninth in the league compared to Iowa at plus-11 and tied for the B1G lead). UM has a secondary that is capable in the takeaway category.

Can Iowa threaten the Gophers with the pass enough to pull defenders off the line of scrimmage? Minnesota's biggest fear - has to be - is the Hawkeyes running the ball 50 times at 4-plus yards a carry. That's a slow, brutal death. Offensive coordinator Greg Davis will need to show aggression early. Last week at Indiana, specifically in the second half, you wondered why Iowa threw the ball on first down (it's way against Iowa tendency, which is 11th in the league with just 85 first-down pass attempts this season). It was because Davis and Ferentz had confidence that quarterback C.J. Beathard and the receivers would eventually ding the worst statistical secondary in the FBS. It paid off with a pair of fourth-quarter TD drives that were fueled by the pass.

With potential lockdown on the outside, that forces Iowa to attack the middle of the field. That could potentially be a favorable matchup for Iowa, but it doesn't do a lot of business there.

Then again, that screen game has been quiet for a while.

Advantage: Push

IOWA RUSH DEFENSE VS. MINNESOTA RUSH OFFENSE

Minnesota has had just two O-linemen, right guard Connor Mayes (6-5 328) and right tackle Jonah Pirsig (6-9 316), start every game this season. Last week, left tackle Ben Lauer, right tackle Josh Campion and center Brian Bobek sat out. That pushed Foster Bush (6-5 306) into the starting lineup. You know an injury situation is bad when it shows up in a team's game notes. The Gophers have had 22 players in the two deep miss a total of 81 games this season. Twelve starters have missed at least one game.

It doesn't stop with the O-line. Freshmen running backs Shannon Brooks (shoulder) and Rodney Smith (ankle) - both from Georgia, by the way - also are dealing with injuries. Claeys said Smith, who has a team-leading 574 yards rushing, and Brooks, who's added 384 yards rushing, would be evaluated as they practice this week. That might push senior Rodrick Williams, who has just 29 carries this season and only 23 yards the last six games.

Former Gophers coach Jerry Kill brought a hybrid prostyle/spread offense designed to grind out yards out of traditional prostyle alignments using zone blocking scheme, bubble screens and wide receiver jet motion, which murdered the Hawkeyes last season. The Gophers will huddle and take the snap from under center, go no-huddle and then a check–with-me pace.

The Gophers' go-to run play is the inside zone. QB Mitch Leidner reads the backside defensive end and keeps or gives to a running back. Leidner is a good runner (four TDs), but when Minnesota wins this, it does so with more bodies at the point of attack.

This will be a similar attack to what Indiana threw at the Hawkeyes last week. If Smith or Brooks are healthy, the Gophers have a chance to put a quicker running back on the field than the Hoosiers did, but IU's Jordan Howard did his damage (174 yards and two TDs) with his size and strength. Iowa put traffic in front of Howard during his great first half, but the traffic wasn't enough to stop him.

You have to think the Hawkeyes will be all over the jet sweep that stole their lunch money last season. Wide receiver K.J. Maye went for 66 yards and a TD.

Advantage: Iowa

IOWA PASS DEFENSE VS. MINNESOTA PASS OFFENSE

You've seen Iowa's offense work play-action passing game for the entirety of Ferentz's 16-plus seasons. The idea is to constrain defenses with obvious run reads and then fake into a pass to punish them for their overplay. It gives a step to offenses without hugely explosive playmakers. It tilts a team to a time of possession victory and allows the offense to take its shots with well-timed play-action.

Minnesota does exactly this. It produces passing yards off the running game. It has, however, been inconsistent. Minnesota is 10th in the league in total offense (5.10 yards per play, 359.1 a game). The Gophers top three WRs have combined for 7 TDs and just 42 yards per game.

The Gophers lost TE Maxx Williams a year early to the NFL. The tight end still has a role (Brandon Kingen has 19 catches for 270 yards), but UM has relied on outside players for big gains. Maye has come into his own as a wide receiver, leading Minnesota with 49 receptions for 524 yards and four TDs. Maye had a major-league day on a major-league stage at Ohio State with 10 catches for 116 yards and a TD.

Minnesota offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover runs several different ways to get favorable matchups for Maye.

Seeing a play-action passing game won't be anything new for Iowa's defense. It faces Iowa's offense during fall camp. The reads here should be embedded. If you want a classic example of what defenders are reading and how they can get hurt if they get it wrong, check Wadley's 65-yard TD run on the second play at IU last week. Iowa's offensive line showed 'high-hat,” which tells defenders pass. Beathard slipped a delayed handoff and that was that. Knowing keys and reading keys quickly will be premium.

And, really, Iowa's defense hasn't gotten enough credit for the leap its made this season in diagnosing plays. Part of that might be assistant coach Jim Reid's touch at linebacker, but it's also the players being invested. That example can be found in cornerback Desmond King, who, after picking off his record-tying eighth interception at Indiana (a play, in retrospect, that was pretty huge), said his football IQ has jumped by leaps and bounds because he studies video every day.

Advantage: Iowa

SPECIAL TEAMS

Minnesota has a weapon in punter Peter Mortell, who last season earned Big Ten punter of the year and first-team all-Big Ten (first Minnesota punter ever be recognized and first specialist since kicker Chip Lohmiller in 1986) after averaging 45.1 yards. He has punted 55 times this year and has 17 punts of 50-plus yards. He also has placed 20 punts inside the opponent's 20.

Mortell's career average of 44.1 yards ranks first in team history (Adam Kelly, 1983-85, is second at 43.3 yards). Iowa won't be facing an unsteady defense like it did last week. Against Indiana, 95-yard drives are possible. If Mortell can stamp some field position, he can have a big say in this game.

UM kicker Ryan Santoso is 2-for-3 in the last five minutes of games and in overtime. He made a 52-yarder against Purdue last year with 4:59 left in the game and kicked a winning 18-yarder in overtime at Colorado State this year. He's made seven of his last nine field goals after missing a 50-yarder last week at OSU.

Minnesota's punt coverage is 12th in the Big Ten, allowing 11.91 yards per return. Its kick coverage is 10th at 22.7 yards per return. Myrick was UM's top return specialist, but he's out.

Iowa return specialist Desmond King broke out of a bit of a slump. Off a touchdown that gave the Hoosiers a 17-14 lead late in the second quarter, King returned the ensuing kick 33 yards to Iowa's 35. This set up a scoring drive that gave Iowa the lead for good on Beathard's 7-yard run with 17 seconds left before halftime.

Advantage: Minnesota

INTANGIBLES

1. Setting the tone from day 1

- So many coaching firsts against the Hawkeyes this season. Against Pitt, it was Pat Narduzzi's first test against a team with teeth. With Illinois, it was the first Big Ten road game for interim coach Bill Cubit. Iowa also was Maryland interim coach Mike Locksley's first Big Ten road game. Today, it's Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys' first game as the Gophers head coach. He was promoted from defensive coordinator and interim on Wednesday, replacing Jerry Kill, who was forced to retire because of health issues on Oct. 28. Claeys doesn't mince words. If you read his news conference transcripts, there are a lot of sentences without subjects. He gets to the point. Going into the Iowa game last year, he mentioned the emails he received in how to stop Iowa's heavy run formations. Claeys throws a pugnacious vibe that probably will play well with his team. If you're going to be Minnesota head coach, is there a better way to begin than the Floyd of Rosedale game in the first Iowa-Minnesota night game at Kinnick Stadium?

2. It's probably not a thing, but it happened

- After the Illinois game, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was asked about kicker Marshall Koehn, who missed an extra point that left the door open for the Illini into the second half. Koehn has missed three PATs. It's probably not a thing, and Ferentz was kick to have the senior's back (hey, he did boot a 57-yarder to beat Pitt and kind of set up this undefeated run). So last week at Indiana while holding a 21-17 lead, Iowa drove to IU's 26-yard line. The drive stalled on a fourth-and-4. Instead of going for what would've been a 43- or 44-yard field goal, Iowa went for the first down. A Beathard pass fell incomplete and first down Indiana. Iowa could've used points. Something to file away.

3. Think Pig

- This has been a week of 'global” for the Hawkeyes. You know what that means. You can tell sometimes when players take something Ferentz says to them at a meeting into the world. You'll often hear the word 'global.” It's not a bad thing. It means all the fluff that's out of the team's control. The outside world. You and me and Paul Finebaum and all of the College Football Playoff ansty in the pantsy. Whether Iowa has wanted it or not, global knocked on the door this week, let itself in and ate all of the Oreos. Of course, the CFP playoff bid is miles and four victories away from tonight's game. Ferentz said this week his team is 'wired” right. That has to mean 'buy local,” right? Here are the local items on the table tonight: 1) Floyd of Rosedale. This is a Minnesota team that Rhonda Rousey armbar'd Iowa into submission 51-14 last season. So, Iowa has the pig in play. 2) With a victory tonight, the Hawkeyes would move within one game of clinching the Big Ten West title. It can't happen today. Iowa's magic number is two and Wisconsin, which trails Iowa by a game and a tiebreaker, is on bye this week. The 'global” is here, but the local is right in front of this team. How can you miss a 98-pound bronze pig?

IOWA WILL WIN IF

... This is a Greg Davis thing. The Iowa offensive coordinator has a few tried-and-true numbers he likes to throw out, but none has fit this Iowa team better than turnovers and explosive plays. The best example here is the Wisconsin game. Iowa lost the explosive play fight with just two 20-plus plays to three for the Badgers, but Iowa forced four turnovers and had only two. In what should be a tight, line-of-scrimmage game, these numbers have to balance out. They've done exactly that all season for the Hawkeyes.

MINNESOTA WILL WIN IF

... The Gophers can't allow Iowa to find balance on offense. Their best punch here is getting to Beathard and knocking the timing out of Iowa's passing game. To make this matter, however, the Gophers will have to keep Iowa's offense off schedule. Iowa's opponents haven't done that this year. The Hawkeyes have averaged 4.7 yards on first-down rushes this season and are third in the league with 966 rush yards on the down. That's a comfort zone. Conversely, Iowa has completed just 47.8 percent of its third-down passes (11th in the league). Third-down passing is difficult for a lot of teams, but Iowa off-schedule and out of comfortable down and distance is a big deal.

PREDICTION:

Iowa 41, Minnesota 20

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com