Special teams remains a fixer-upper

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz clicked off all the things the Hawkeyes need to fix before they embark on whatever bowl game they get.

One of the items near the top if not at the top of the list is special teams.

The meltdown began Saturday on Minnesota's kickoff following Eric Ellestad's 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the game. Ellestad executed a perfect onsides kick, basically dribbling the ball 10 yards up the field to himself.

First down, Minnesota. The Gophers turned it into MarQueis Gray's 14-yard TD run and a 10-0 lead.

"We knew they were going to do that onside kick," Iowa tight end Allen Reisner said. "We practiced it, first play in practice. We knew they were going to have some trick up their sleeve and that was it. Obviously, we weren't ready for it. We should've been and that's our fault."

Iowa did get a big spark in special teams with Derrell Johnson-Koulianos' 88-yard kick return, but the Hawkeyes tried to avoid kicking to Minnesota's Troy Stoudermire, who came into the game as the Big Ten's career leader in kick return yards.

Trent Mossbrucker executed the squib kick philosophy, but the Gophers put it to use with an average starting field position of their own 37 (it was Minnesota's 42 in the first half).

So, that didn't work, either.

"We weren't feeling real confident with our kickoff team," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We haven't been the most consistent group there. So, that's one of things on this list for December. We're going to see if we can't put together a little better kickoff team."