Game Report: Iowa Hawkeyes 13, Minnesota Golden Gophers 10

MINNEAPOLIS — A look at the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 13-10 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Turning point

Iowa’s Deontae Craig recovered a fumble by Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim at the Hawkeyes 9 with 5:07 left. Iowa’s offense went three and out, with Minnesota taking over at its 45 following a Tory Taylor punt.

Ibrahim and the Gophers moved the football to the Iowa 33. On a third-and-7 play, Minnesota freshman quarterback threw a slant pass to receiver Lemeke Brockington that Iowa cornerback Riley Moss got a hand on, the ball deflecting in the air to linebacker Jack Campbell, who intercepted it and returned it to the Minnesota 45 with 2:06 to go. Campbell was ruled to have touched the sideline out of bounds at the 45, though replay showed he didn’t hit the sideline and should have been given credit for a pick-6 touchdown.

Nevertheless, Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras dropped back on the first play following the turnover and connected deep over the middle with tight end Luke Lachey for 33 yards to the Minnesota 12. The Gophers burned their two remaining timeouts as Iowa ran three straight times to advance the ball to the Minnesota 3.

Freshman kicker Drew Stevens then made a 21-yard field goal with 28 seconds left for the win.

By the numbers

8 — The Hawkeyes got their eighth-straight win over the Gophers, their series high.

8 — Iowa held an opponent to 10 or fewer points for the eighth time this season.

14 — Iowa won its 14th-straight November game.

19 — Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim had his 19th-straight 100-yard rushing game.

58 — Iowa’s first play was a 58-yard catch-and-run by tight end Sam LaPorta. It was the Hawkeyes’ longest pass play of the season. The Hawkeyes went from one 21-yard line to the other 21 on the play, then settled for a field goal.

115 — This was Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz’s 115th Big Ten Conference victory, tying him with Amos Alonzo Stagg for third all time in the league.

263 — Rushing yards for Ibrahim. That came on 39 carries. The last running back to run for 200-plus yards against Iowa was Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor (205 in 2019). Ibrahim’s yardage set a Huntington Bank Stadium record. It was his fifth-career 200-yard game.

Notebook

* The door to a second-straight Big Ten West title was open wider to Iowa at 2:33 p.m.

That was when Jake Moody made his fourth field goal of the game with nine seconds left to give Michigan a 19-17 win over Illinois in Ann Arbor. It put Illinois at 4-4 in the Big Ten, leaving Iowa and Purdue atop the West Division at 5-3.

This Iowa win means the Hawkeyes need only to beat Nebraska next Friday to repeat as the league’s West representative in the Big Ten title game. Iowa owns the tiebreaker over Purdue because it beat the Boilermakers a couple of weeks ago.

* The temperature and over/under were below freezing. The temperature at kick off was 17 degrees Fahrenheit. The over/under was a college football all-time low of 31.5 points.

Floyd of Rosedale said the last time he was this cold, a pound of bacon sold for 31 cents.

Several Minnesota players came out shirtless for initial pregame warmups. The purpose of that was unclear. Maybe they lost a bet. Maybe they lost their minds.

Injury report

Hawkeye tight end Sam LaPorta hobbled off the field after a catch-and-run play for 24 yards in the first quarter to the Minnesota 12. He did not return because of what appeared to be a knee injury.

Iowa fullback Monte Pottebaum apparently was injured on the same drive and was replaced by redshirt freshman Eli Miller.

Iowa wide receiver Arland Bruce returned after a one-game absence due to injury. Offensive guard Beau Stephens, injured last week against Wisconsin, did not play. Nick DeJong started in his place.

Minnesota senior quarterback Tanner Morgan didn’t play, leaving duties to freshman Athan Kaliakmanis. A helmet-to-helmet hit by Iowa linebacker Seth Benson sent Kaliakmanis to the sideline for two plays to get checked for a possible consussion. Junior Cole Kramer replaced him.

Next game

Iowa plays Nebraska (3-8, 2-6) Friday at 3 p.m., at Kinnick Stadium. The Cornhuskers lost at home Saturday to Wisconsin, 15-14. The Badgers scored with 35 seconds left.