The Minnesota Golden Gophers aer coming off back-to-back shutout victories and now will turn their attention to rival, Iowa on Saturday as they play host to the Hawkeyes with the Floyd of Rossdale once again on the line.
Below, Gophers Nation takes a first look at the Iowa Hawkeyes ahead of their matchup on Saturday evening at Huntington Bank Stadium.
GAME/BROADCAST DETAILS
Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Television: NBC
Odds: Iowa opened as a 2.5-point favorite with the over/under opening at 36.5 points. .
HAWKEYES COMING OFF REBOUND WIN IN WEEK 3
The Hawkeyes will enter this weekend with a 2-1 record after a 38-21 win over Troy this past Saturday. It was a solid rebound win for Kirk Ferentz's program after a 20-19 loss to rival Iowa State in week two. The Hawkeyes this past weekend saw their rushing attack total 284 yards on the ground across 45 carries, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. Starting quarterback Cade McNamara was efficient as well, completing 19-of-23 passing attempts for 176 yards. The Hawkeyes defense was as expected strong, allowing just 253 total yards in the game and stifled the Troy rushing attack to the tune of 24 yards on 21 carries.
IOWA'S RUN DEFENSE HAS BEEN FANTASTIC
Through the first three weeks of the season, the Hawkeyes run defense has been fantastic. On top of their 24 rushing yards allowed last week against Troy, the Hawkeyes also allowed just 56 rushing yards to Illinois State and a 89 yards to Iowa State. Opponents are averaging just 2.1 yards per rushing attempt so far this season. Last fall, the Hawkeyes did a great job of slowing down the Gophers, allowing just 113 total rushing yards on 45 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per carry.
THE KALEB JOHNSON SHOW
After putting together good 2022 and 2023 seasons, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson has been fantastic so far this season with 61 careries for 479 yards and six touchodwns. His 479 rushing yards leads the country through three weeks. It hasn't been one huge performance that has put Johnson at the top of the leaderboard through three weeks. The former four-star has been consistent over Iowa's first three geames with 119, 187, and 173 rushing yards respectively. His average of 6.9 yards per carry against Troy was his lowest average yards per carry of the season. The Hawkeyes will look to feed Johnson on Saturday and the Gophers run defense will need to come with their A game.
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