Halftime thoughts: Minnesota 35, Iowa 7

MINNEAPOLIS - Floyd of Rosedale just headed off to the nearest post office to get a change-of-address form.

Mitch Leidner, passer.

Count me among those who those who was unimpressed with the passing skills of Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner entering this game even though Leidner had touchdown passes of 37 and 52 yards in the previous two games.

I saw the Minnesota-Illinois game on television two weeks ago. It wasn't too pretty from a Gopher point of view or an objective point of view.

Count me among those who have changed their minds today. Leidner made some fine throws on a windy day to help stake the Gophers to a 35-7 halftime lead.

It helps, of course, to have receivers who can make unbelievable plays. Tight end Maxx Williams did just that on a pass the officials originally ruled incomplete. But the more we all looked at the replay review and saw Williams leave rubber marks on the turf on that second-quarter 25-yard pass over Iowa safety John Lowdermilk, the more we realized the Gopher sophomore had just made one of the plays of the year, surely a SportsCenter Top 10 play.

Williams did a superb job on his second TD grab, too, dragging a foot in the back of the end zone on a 4-yard throw from Leidner with 31 seconds left in the half. That was a big pouring of salt in the Hawkeyes' open wounds.

But Leidner has been very good, and he did what Jake Rudock didn't on Rudock's hurtful interception, which was keep it from being intercept-able, if that's a word.

Leidner has three first-half TD passes, a career-high for him. He had six over his first eight games.

Before the game, Minnesota Coach Jerry Kill said his team would have to 'outkick ‘em” and 'out punt ‘em.” I tweeted that out, and a lot of people had fun with it.

But the Gophers blocked an Iowa punt - though it officially wasn't a punt since it went forward 14 yards - and Leidner hit Donovahn Jones on the next play for a 44-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 two minutes into the second quarter.

Momentum was fully on Minnesota's side, and stayed there for the rest of the half.

We were told Minnesota's offense was running back David Cobb. He had 11 carries for 50 yards, a decent half. That put him second on his team in rushing, behinds KJ Maye's 53 yards. And, it was less than 20 percent of Minnesota's 253-yard output.

Iowa has 115 yards, much of it on a great first drive that seems so long ago now.

The Hawkeye defense just isn't there. I could pick on individuals, but it's 11-on-11. Minnesota has used both muscle and athleticism on offense. It's running the jet sweep beautifully. The blocking has been terrific. You have to hand it to the Gophers, who are doing everything in their power to make their home game against Ohio State next Saturday deeply meaningful.

Minnesota has been greatly helped by great field position because of the pick, the bad punt, et al, but 253 yards are 253 yards.

As for the Hawkeyes, in the words of Mike and the Mechanics, all they need is a miracle.

You didn't see the crazy cold-weather slipperiness on the TCF Bank Stadium field that was prevalent in the Iowa-Minnesota game the first time the Hawkeyes played in this facility four years ago in very cold conditions.

This year, coils were installed under new athletic turf on the field. They coils carry antifreeze heated by the stadium's steam plant, enabling the field to remain soft on frigid days. Not warm, but soft.

The stadium got $6.6 million in upgrades covered by the NFL's Minnesota Vikings as part of the Vikings' deal to call the stadium their home this season and next until the Vikings' new stadium is ready in 2016.

It always seems funny/odd to me to see college football stadiums that are used just seven (OK, eight if you count the spring game) times per 365 days and take up such space.

But, besides this two-year deal with the Vikings, the U. of Minnesota has had a college hockey game, a soccer doubleheader that included Manchester City, and a concert featuring Imagine Dragons.

Imagine Dragons will be playing at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Dec. 11, and if the Hard Rock wants to comp me for that free plug, that would be a wonderful gesture.