High on the hog: Hawks walk away with win, Floyd at Metrodome

Marcus Paschal flopped facedown in the plastic grass and kitty litter that is the Metrodome field. He had no idea and was afraid to even look.

Paschal took a dive at Rhys Lloyd's 51-yard field goal attempt. Facedown, he had no idea and was afraid to even look.

"I looked over at (linebacker) Abdul Hodge," Paschal said. "When I saw him

pounding his fist on the turf, I still didn't know for sure. That could've meant he made it, too. But then I saw that he was smiling, and then I finally knew."

With 28 seconds left, Lloyd's kick sailed some 10 or 20 feet left, and the Iowa Hawkeyes somehow found a way.

"I just missed it," Lloyd said. "I can't do anything about it now. I let the team down. I hold the whole loss on me."

Minnesota outrushed the Hawkeyes, 337 yards to 6. Iowa squeezed just six points out of two golden first-and-goals inside the Golden Gophers' 10. The Hawkeyes even poked themselves with a few untimely and brain-dead penalties.

Somehow, someway, the Hawkeyes found a way, 29-27, Saturday before a thoroughly Iowa crowd of 64,719.

"A big part of winning football games is not losing them," Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

And that pretty much says it all for the No.-19 Hawkeyes (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten), who have won six straight and have all but parked their bowl RV in Florida going into next week's season finale against Wisconsin.

Minnesota (6-5, 3-5 Big Ten) continued its late-season slide, dropping its third straight and fifth of its last six games.

Yogi Berra couldn't have said it any better. A big part of winning football games is not losing them.

To not lose, the kicker can't miss. Sophomore Kyle Schlicher made five of five field goals and set an Iowa record with 17 points. His last field goal, a career-long 49-yarder, gave Iowa a 29-20 lead with 5:40 left in the fourth quarter.

To not lose, the quarterback has to be the best offensive player, especially when a fifth running back goes out with an injury. Sophomore Sam Brownlee sprained his ankle in the first quarter, leaving Iowa with freshman Damian Sims as its only true running back.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Tate completed 24 of 39 for 333 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The no interceptions is a big deal. Iowa had no turnovers. The Gophers had four, and three turned into Schlicher field goals.

Iowa didn't hurt itself. And when you average 0.2 yards on 27 rushes, that matters big time.

"Somehow, someway, we're sitting here with a win and they can't take it back," Ferentz said. "We're taking (traveling trophy) Floyd (of Rosedale) home with us. We're the first team to beat them at home. I'm proud of that."

Iowa held up its end of bringing ESPN's College Gameday pregame show to Iowa City next week. Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) didn't come through.

Iowa Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby said Chris, Lee and Kirk were on their way if Iowa and Wisconsin won. The Badgers went down in flames at Michigan State, 49-14.

Iowa is most likely headed to Florida, either the Capital One or Outback.

Orlando (Capital One) or Tampa (Outback) is up for grabs next Saturday.

Well, that and a share of the Big Ten title, pending Michigan at Ohio State next week.

"I think we continue to be alive for all the options that start in Tampa and go on upward," Bowlsby said.

The Hawkeyes scored on their first five possessions, capped by Tate's 60-yard bomb to sophomore wideout James Townsend that gave Iowa a 23-10 halftime lead.

The Gophers weren't going anywhere, not with Cadillacs Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney in the backfield.

With 8:04 left in the second quarter, Maroney broke a 79-yard touchdown run that pulled the Gophers to 16-10. That was just a taste.

Barber finished with 167 yards on 29 carries. Maroney carried 19 times for 156 yards and three TDs. Barber spurred a drive for a field goal and Maroney finished the Gophers' next drive with a 37-yard run to pull Minnesota within 23-20 with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

Iowa entered No.-4 in the nation in rush defense, allowing 68.2 rushing yards a game.

Minnesota countered with the nation's No.-7 rush offense at 246.9 yards a game.

"I wouldn't call it a wake-up call for us. We haven't been sleeping out there, c'mon," linebacker Chad Greenway joked. "You have to give them credit. We knew they were going to be good, and they were good."

But the Gophers were also painfully one-dimensional.

"I couldn't be happier with how we ran the football today," Minnesota Coach Glen Mason said. "I'm disappointed with how we threw the football."

With five minutes left, on third-and-11 at Iowa's 15, Iowa stopped Maroney. But Iowa

tackle Tyler Luebke was called for a personal foul facemask, giving the Gophers first down at the 5. Maroney scored a play later.

The Hawkeyes answered with a quick three-and-out. Minnesota took over at its 46 and marched to Iowa's 31 with less than a minute left.

On second-and-8 from Iowa's 31, Greenway stopped Barber for a 4-yard loss, stretching the degree of difficulty for Lloyd's field goal attempt. On third-and-1, Barber rushed up the middle for a yard.

"I asked Rhys where we had to get to and he told me he could hit it from there," Mason said.

This is where Iowa's flameouts in the redzone started to haunt the Hawkeyes.

"Those just pissed me off," Tate said. "We're down there twice, we get field goals. If we score, that changes things at the end."

This is where the dome went almost silent, the knuckles went white. Floyd of Rosedale went up for grabs.

"I got myself directly across from where he (Lloyd) was," Schlicher said. "As

soon as he kicked it, I knew. I started jumping up and down. You could tell from the rotation of the ball. He tried to kick it too hard."

A big part of winning football games is not losing them. Move over, Yogi Berra, here comes Kirk Ferentz.