Game Report: Minnesota 51, Iowa 14

OPENING SALVO

MINNEAPOLIS - In Mark Weisman's previous two games against Minnesota, the Iowa running back powered for 324 yards in a pair of routs. Minnesota Coach Jerry Kill targeted the Iowa senior and the Hawkeyes' run scheme in the off-season, and that diligence paid off Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

Weisman carried 14 times for just 21 yards in a Gophers 51-14 victory. Weisman's longest carry was five yards. He rushed nine times for 11 yards in the first quarter and barely found any cracks in the formidable Minnesota front wall.

'You know he's going to get the football, and you know they're going to run a lot of outside zone,” Kill said. 'We practiced all the way back in spring ball on two-back zone. We prepared. When you're not very good at something, you prepare for it. Way back, we had trouble stopping it the last three years, so we'd better do something about it.”

Weisman carried six times on Iowa's first series for four yards, but he drove Minnesota linebacker Everett Williams into the end zone on a third-down carry to give the Hawkeyes a 7-0 lead. After that carry, however, Weisman barely found any running room the rest of the game.

'We knew they were strong and tough up front,” Weisman said. 'I just think we didn't execute at all.”

It was as much the Gophers' defense as Iowa's lack of execution. Minnesota's defensive linemen stayed in their gaps and the linebackers filled in. The Gophers were disciplined, and Iowa failed to exploit any openings.

BY THE NUMBERS

0 - Third-down conversions for Iowa after the first quarter

1 - Out of four traveling trophies in Iowa's possession

3 - Out of four traveling trophies in Minnesota's possession

21 - Mark Weisman rushing yards on 14 carries

291 - Minnesota rushing yards

51 - Points, most for Minnesota against Iowa since 1949

51 - Points allowed by Iowa, its most in 19 years

REPORT CARD

F - You can't totally turtle in a game that had so much riding on it and expect anything better than 'F.” This was an F, across the board.

- Marc Morehouse

F - Iowa scored first and last. It was like taking a limo to and from a burned-out warehouse.

- Mike Hlas

F - The Gophers wiped up nicely with Iowa's toilet-paper soft defense.

- Scott Dochterman

GAME BALLS

Minnesota TE Maxx Williams and QB Mitch Leidner. Williams caught three touchdown passes from Leidner, but his most impressive reception was hauling in a 25-yard strike in the second quarter that set up Minnesota's third score. Williams finished with five catches for 46 yards.

The Gophers' passing game ranked last in Big Ten play entering Saturday, but Leidner played well beyond Minnesota's paltry statistics. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 138 yards and four touchdowns.

'No doubt that this is Mitch's best game,” Kill said. 'He's getting more confident, and he's been on target with the deep ball.”

Leidner also rushed for 77 yards on 11 carries.

'When they took it (the zone read) away, he ran it,” Kill said. 'I don't know if he missed a read. That's hard to do.”

WORST QUARTER EVER?

One could make a strong case that Iowa's second quarter was the worst in recent football history. The Hawkeyes were outscored 28-0 and outgained 195-19. Iowa was 0-for-3 on third down while Minnesota was 3-for-4 (with a fourth-down conversion). Iowa punted three times with one blocked and had three turnovers (two fumbles and an interception). Tackling is nebulous, but Iowa struggled there, too.

'We got beat in every facet of the game,” Weisman said.

KEY STAT

Iowa was 5-for-5 on its first five third-down opportunities. The Hawkeyes failed to convert their last eight third-down chances.

Minnesota was 10 of 15 on third down.

'I said all week that third down was going to be critical,” Kill said. 'Don't get into third and long; we've got to get off the field on third down. We didn't in the first series, but after that we did a great job.”

TROPHY LIVES

Before the season, Iowa held possession of three traveling trophies. That includes the Cy-Hawk (Iowa State), Floyd of Rosedale (Minnesota) and Heroes (Nebraska). Wisconsin has possession of the Heartland Trophy.

Minnesota entered the season with just one trophy, the Governor's Victory Bell (Penn State).

But the teams have flipped numbers based on this year's results. Iowa lost both the Cy-Hawk and Floyd of Rosedale. Minnesota, which claimed Floyd on Saturday, earlier won The Little Brown Jug (Michigan) for the first time since 2005. In fact, this is the first time Minnesota held both Floyd and the Jug in the same season since 1967.

Gophers players rushed across the field to grab Floyd of Rosedale and students rushed the field chanting 'Who Hates Iowa? We Hate Iowa.”

'It's been fun to see them when they find the Brown Jug,” Kill said. 'I asked several of them over there, ‘Have you figured out where that pig's at?' ‘Coach It's over there.' There's nothing better in college football. These are historical games. It's neat to have the privilege to coach in them, it's neat to play in them and certainly more fun when you win them.”

'It's huge for us,” Leidner said. 'Really, it's big for this state, the state of Minnesota.”

Iowa plays both Wisconsin (Nov. 22) and Nebraska (Nov. 28) in trophy games. Minnesota plays Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan's Axe on Nov. 29.

EL SID

Minnesota Star Tribune legendary columnist Sid Hartman celebrated his 70th anniversary with the newspaper this week. He's an old friend of former Iowa Coach Forest Evashevski. Hartman praised Kill for preparing his team against Iowa after the Gophers lost 28-24 at Illinois two weeks ago.

'I've seen some coaching jobs that have been close to as good but no better than this one,” Hartman said.

That's heavy praise considering Hartman covered the Gophers back in 1960, when it won its last national title.

UP NEXT

Iowa (6-3, 3-2 Big Ten) plays at Illinois (4-5, 1-4) next Saturday. The teams last played in 2008, when Illinois beat Iowa 27-24.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com