Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson racked up over 200 yards on the ground and ran wild on the Minnesota defense, particularly in the second half, and helped hand the Gophers (2-2) a 31-14 loss on their home field on Saturday night.
The game was a tale of two halves as Minnesota looked well in control of the game on both sides of the ball during the first 30 minutes.
However, it was Iowa that struck first on the scoreboard.
On the Gophers second drive of the game, Max Brosmer would be picked off by Hawkeyes star linebacker Jay Higgins as he looked for a short pass to Darius Taylor. The turnover gave the Hawkeyes advantageous field position, taking over at the Gophers 38-yard line.
Five plays later, Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson would score from one-yard out to give the Hawkeyes the early lead.
While the Gophers defense was off to a strong start in the game outside the short yardage situation, their offense struggled.
Through their first four drives of the game, the Gophers offense was only able to muster up drives of 21, 20, 5, and 28 yards.
The Hawkeyes led by defensive coordinator Phil Parker had a strong gameplan, focusing on slowing down Darius Taylor and forcing quarterback Max Brosmer to beat them through the air.
Brosmer started off completing three of his four attempts but would struggle following his interception, only completing two of his next six attempts. Those struggles would disappear, however, on the Gophers sixth drive of the game late in the second quarter.
The Gophers, noticing that Iowa was begging Brosmer to beat them, let the transfer quarterback fire away. He would complete 7-of-7 passing attempts on the drive for 64 yards before ending the drive with a perfectly thrown ball to Jameson Geers in the back of the endzone who made a fantastic catch going over the top of a Hawkeyes linebacker to make the reception. The touchdown tied the game at 7-7 with under five minutes to play in the first half.
The drive was also aided one player earlier by a nearly equally as phenomenal reception, this time Brosmer finding Le'Meke Brockington down the sideline who made the catch and getting one foot in bounds before being pushed at the Iowa three yard line.
The Gophers firmly with momentum on both sides of the ball following the touchdown, would quickly force an Iowa three-and-out on the ensuing Hawkeyes possession, narrowly missing a pick-six in the process.
Looking to take the lead before half, the Gophers would be aggressive, forcing their way downfield once on the arm of Brosmer completing four of six attempts on the drive for 49 yards.
The drive would result in a second straight Gophers touchdown as Brosmer hit Elijah Spencer on a perfectly blocked screen pass. Spencer had a tremendous effort of his own on the touchdown, working his way through multiple Iowa defenders to get into the end zone.
The late touchdown would give the Gophers a 14-7 lead heading into halftime. A once quiet first half quickly became an impressive one for the Gophers as they totaled 222 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes of play, 132 coming on their final two drives of the half.
In the second half, the Hawkeyes wasted no time in flipping the script to the game flow, marching down the field in five plays and getting into the endzone on a 15-yard run from Johnson to tie the score at 14 apiece.
The Gophers would stall on their first drive of the third quarter and give the ball back to the Iowa offense at its own 27-yard line after a punt.
Again, the Hawkeyes made easy work of the Minnesota defense, with Johnson making another house call from 40-yard out with 5:52 left in the third to make the score 21-14 Iowa.
Trailing in the game for the first time since the first quarter, Minnesota's offense needed to put together a drive to get some momentum back in the game after the long touchdown run from Johnson.
Instead, the offense went three-and-out and gave the ball back to Iowa as the Hawkeyes would drive the ball again and this time settle for a field goal with 45 seconds remaining in the quarter to make it 24-14.
Another three-and-out from the Minnesota offense ended the third quarter as Iowa regained possession early in the fourth. Again, the Hawkeyes found the endzone, this time on a Brendan Sullivan quarterback keeper from a yard out to give Iowa a 31-14 lead and put the game away for good.
In the second half, the Gophers were outgained in total yards 227-66, averaged just three yards per play compared to Iowa's 6.5, and were on the short end of time of possession by nearly nine minutes.
Brosmer finished the game completing 22-of-37 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and threw his second pick of the game midway through the fourth quarter when the Gophers were desperately trying to move the ball down the field to get back in the game.
Darius Taylor was the team's leading rusher with just 34 yards on 10 carries.
For Iowa, Johnson racked up 206 yards on the ground on 26 carries and three scores. Quarterback Cade McNamara was 11-of-19 for just 62 yards.
NEXT UP
The sheule won't get any easier as they'll take on the Michigan Wolverines who will rise in the rankings this week after dispatching No. 11 USC in Ann Arbor on Saturday 27-24.
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