Iowa football vs. Minnesota score: Live updates, highlights, analysis

No. 20 Iowa hung on to beat Minnesota 27-22 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, winning the Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the seventh year in a row and staying alive in the Big Ten West race.

The Hawkeyes improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference, tied with Wisconsin atop the division, although the Badgers own the tiebreaker. The Gophers are now 6-4, 4-3.

“They don’t come easy, and this is certainly an example of that,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz told BTN after the game.

» Box score: No. 20 Iowa 27, Minnesota 22

» Recap: No. 20 Iowa outlasts Minnesota to stay in Big Ten West title hunt

» Hlas column: A win for some Hawkeyes who weren’t supposed to be here

» Game Report: Numbers, notes and more from Iowa’s win over Minnesota

» Feature: Iowa QB Alex Padilla not perfect, but impressive in first career start

» Gallery: 19 photos from Iowa’s win over Minnesota

» Podcast: Postgame thoughts on The Final Score

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4th Quarter updates

Final: Iowa 27, Minnesota 22

Tanner Morgan threw a 22-yard completion to Michael Brown-Stephens, then converted a fourth-and-10 with a 10-yard pass to Brown-Stephens to the Iowa 39. After a spike, Joe Evans stripped Morgan. The Gophers recovered, but time ran out.

0:41 4th: Iowa 27, Minnesota 22

Iowa got the ball at Minnesota’s 3 after the turnover on downs, but ran two QB sneaks, then a handoff to Tyler Goodson that lost yardage. The Hawkeyes intentionally took a delay of game penalty, then Caleb Shudak kicked a 29-yard field goal. So one more opportunity for the Gophers.

2:18 4th: Iowa 24, Minnesota 22

Zach VanValkenburg came up with Iowa’s first sack of the game at a perfect time, dropping Tanner Morgan for a 7-yard loss to the Minnesota 3 on second-and-10. He pressured Morgan in the end zone on the next play, too, to force an incompletion. The Gophers had to go for it on fourth-and-17 with 2:24 left and Matt Hankins broke up Morgan’s downfield pass in one-on-one coverage.

3:08 4th: Iowa 24, Minnesota 22

Huge decision for Iowa to go for it on fourth-and-1 from its 34, and Alex Padilla converted with a 1-yard QB sneak. But the Hawkeyes didn’t get much farther and punted, giving Minnesota a chance to take the lead. Tory Taylor backed the Gophers to their 10 with a 51-yard punt.

5:28 4th: Iowa 24, Minnesota 22

A Gophers passing game that struggled all game came through with two huge plays. First, Tanner Morgan fit in an 11-yard pass to Christ Autman-Bell to convert on third-and-7 from the Minnesota 21. Two plays later, Morgan pump faked and delivered a 68-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Autman-Bell down the sideline. Minnesota went back to the air for the 2-point conversion, but Dane Belton tipped the pass behind the line of scrimmage.

8:28 4th: Iowa 24, Minnesota 16

Iowa went three-and-out and gave the ball right back to Minnesota. The Gophers take over at their 18.

10:01 4th: Iowa 24, Minnesota 16

The Gophers converted a fourth-and-1 from their 34 with a Ky Thomas 3-yard run but ultimately punted anyway. A false started created a third-and-14 and Tanner Morgan’s pass sailed out of bounds. Iowa gets it back at its 30.

12:49 4th: Iowa 24, Minnesota 16

Iowa freshman Keagan Johnson had a couple drops earlier in the game, but he definitely made up for it. Johnson somehow broke away from multiple Minnesota tacklers on a screen pass from Alex Padilla and raced 27 yards for a touchdown.

14:54 4th: Iowa 17, Minnesota 16

Minnesota sent in a new kicker for a 53-yard field-goal attempt, and Dragan Kesich’s kick was blocked by Logan Lee. Zach VanValkenburg made a key third-and-6 stop, dropping Mar’Keise Irving for a 3-yard loss on a swing pass.

3rd Quarter updates

4:44 3rd: Iowa 17, Minnesota 16

A potential intercepted went through Justin Walley’s hands on third down. Still, the Gophers get the ball back after an Iowa three-and-out at their 38.

6:14 3rd: Iowa 17, Minnesota 16

Matthew Trickett cut into the Iowa lead with his third field goal of the game, this one from 29 yards. It was an 11-play, 64-yard drive for the Gophers but their third red-zone trip of the game that ended with a field goal instead of six.

11:51 3rd: Iowa 17, Minnesota 13

Alex Padilla. Charlie Jones. 72-yard touchdown. It was a perfect pass from Iowa’s new starting QB after a double move from Jones on the first play of the drive to give the Hawkeyes the lead.

12:02 3rd: Minnesota 13, Iowa 10

Minnesota picked up a first down on Tanner Morgan’s 11-yard pass to Ko Kieft, but the Hawkeyes came up with a third-and-7 stop from the Iowa 43 when Morgan overthrew an open receiver. Iowa took over at the 28 after a kick-catch interference penalty.

Jack Koener returned to the game after a first-half injury and Jack Campbell stayed in after a review for targeting found no foul.

14:05 3rd: Minnesota 13, Iowa 10

Not the way Iowa wanted to start the second half. The Hawkeyes punted after a three-and-out that included another Keagan Johnson drop on second down. Minnesota’s first second-half drive starts at its 28.

2nd Quarter updates

Half: Minnesota 13, Iowa 10

Matthew Trickett kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give the Gophers the lead at halftime. It was a nine-play, 32-yard drive after the Iowa fumble. Ky Thomas converted a third-and-3 from the 27 with a hard-nosed 4-yard run but Minnesota still ultimately settled for three after Kaevon Merriweather and Jack Campbell stopped Mar’Keise Irving on third-and-2 from the 15.

Iowa safety Jack Koerner left the game with an injury.

4:17 2nd: Iowa 10, Minnesota 10

A takeaway for the Gophers. Nico Ragaini caught a first-down pass from Alex Padilla, but fumbled after a 13-yard gain. Justin Walley recovered for Minnesota at the Iowa 46.

5:27 2nd: Iowa 10, Minnesota 10

The Gophers burned Iowa with play-action on fourth-and-2. Sioux Center alum Ko Kieft had no one near him and scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Cole Kramer, who the Hawkeyes were selling out to stop the run against. Matt Hankins punched the ball out at the goal line but it was ruled a TD.

8:43 2nd: Iowa 10, Minnesota 3

Iowa went three-and-out with a 4-yard Gavin Williams run and two incompletions. The third-down throw was low but it bounced off Keagan Johnson’s hands. Minnesota gets it back at its 42 after an uncharacterstic 31-yard punt from Tory Taylor.

9:41 2nd: Iowa 10, Minnesota 3

Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell brought down a scrambling Tanner Morgan for a gain of just 1 on third-and-9 to force a Minnesota punt. Ky Thomas converted a third-and-1 with a 4-yard gain but the Gophers then dug a hole with a first-down holding penalty. Iowa begins its next drive at its 24.

13:32 2nd: Iowa 10, Minnesota 3

The second quarter started with a bang for the Hawkeyes. Alex Padilla went deep on third-and-2 and Charlie Jones made a diving catch for a 34-yard gain to the Minnesota 5. Tyler Goodson stretched for the goal line and appeared to score on a 5-yard run on the next play, but it was overturned after replay. So Padilla did it himself with a 1-yard QB sneak on second-and-goal for his first career touchdown.

1st Quarter updates

2:07 1st: Iowa 3, Minnesota 3

Matthew Trickett evened the score with a 20-yard field goal for the Gophers. It was a 15-play, 73-yard drive dominated on the ground. Mar’Keise Irving ran five times for 36 yards and Ky Thomas had 37 yards on seven attempts. Seth Benson and Zach VanValkenburg teamed up to keep Thomas out of the end zone with a 1-yard gain on third-and-goal from the 3.

9:49 1st: Iowa 3, Minnesota 0

Caleb Shudak kicked a 50-yard field goal to open the scoring for the Hawkeyes. It was a 10-play, 39-yard drive that started with a 12-yard Tyler Goodson run and was lucky to not end with a pick that was dropped by Minnesota’s Mariano Sori-Marin. Alex Padilla had to throw it away on third-and-7 but was otherwise solid, completing a 6-yard pass to Sam LaPorta to convert on third-and-6 and rolling out to find Arland Bruce IV for an 11-yard gain.

13:36 1st: Iowa 0, Minnesota 0

It’s a three-and-out on Minnesota’s first possession. Matt Hankins broke up a first-down pass and Jack Koerner limited Brevyn Spann-Ford to a 1-yard gain on a third-and-6 completion. Iowa took over at its 29 after the punt.

Minnesota-Iowa pregame storylines

It’s Alex Padilla time. The Iowa backup quarterback replaced Spencer Petras against Northwestern after the starter was injured the prior week against Wisconsin. Padilla completed 18 of 28 passes for 172 yards and is listed as the starter this week with Petras off the depth chart. John Steppe analyzed his performance against the Wildcats earlier this week.

John notes that this will be a more challenging test for Padilla and an Iowa rushing attack that had a resurgence against Northwestern.

While the Gophers aren’t spectacular at defending quarterbacks — they are also tied for last in interceptions — they have limited quarterbacks to a 57.2 percent completion rate.

Iowa and Minnesota are also playing to stay alive in the Big Ten West, with both teams in a four-way tie atop the division with Wisconsin and Purdue. The Badgers are expected to play there after playing Northwestern this week, but the Boilermakers have to face fourth-ranked Ohio State.

Of course the rivalry is a factor, too, and that’s only enhanced after last year. You’ll remember that’s when Kirk Ferentz decided to take Floyd and leave the timeouts in Minnesota. The Iowa coach’s willingness to be looser verbally the last two years was the subject of Mike Hlas’ GameDay column this week.

(Minnesota Coach P.J.) Fleck knows you can’t win battles of words against someone you haven’t beaten on the field. When you do win, you can talk about leaving the gun and taking the cannoli, er, taking Floyd home and leaving the timeouts.

The Hawkeyes, like in their 2019 win over the Gophers, will be wearing all-black uniforms with an American flag Tigerhawk on their helmets.

Here are some Minnesota-Iowa Fun Facts and our predictions.

This one should be fun at a cold, cloudy Kinnick.

How to watch Iowa vs. Minnesota

Time: 2:30 p.m. CT

TV: Big Ten Network

Live stream: FoxSports.com

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Listen online: The Varsity Network