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Iowa Football Preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann7 hours agoHuesmannKyle
The Hawkeyes will face the Gophers in Iowa City on Saturday. (Photo by Matt Krohn-Imagn Images)
The Hawkeyes will face the Gophers in Iowa City on Saturday. (Photo by Matt Krohn-Imagn Images)

It’s Floyd of Rosedale week! One of, if not the greatest trophy in all of college football will be up for grabs, as the Hawkeyes and Gophers will go head-to-head for the 119th time. The trophy has not exchanged hands much over the last decade plus, as Iowa has won 11 of the last 13 meetings, including a 31-14 win in Minneapolis last season.

Minnesota enters this week with an identical record to Iowa, sitting a 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play. After opening the year with wins over Buffalo and Northwestern State, the Gophers wrapped up the non-conference slate with a 27-14 loss to California. In conference play, it had been a less than convincing start, needing two missed fields to beat Rutgers and a 4th and goal stop to avoid OT with Purdue, while they loss to Ohio State 42-3 in Columbus. All that being said, they grabbed their best win of the season last week, upsetting #25 Nebraska 24-6, including sacking quarterback Dylan Raiola nine times.

Last Week: Minnesota 24 Nebraska 6

As previously mentioned, the Hawkeyes have dominated this series. Kirk Ferentz is 7-1 against PJ Fleck, while Iowa has won 19 of the last 24 meetings dating back to 2001 when the Hawkeyes snapped a Gophers three-game series winning streak. Iowa opens as an 8.5-point favorite (per BetMGM), which puts Iowa in a spot that they have been successful in as of late. Iowa is 19-13-2 against the spread and 27-7 straight up as a favorite in Big Ten play over the past five seasons, including their 25-24 win over PSU this past weekend. As for Minnesota, they are 12-9-1 against the spread and 9-13 straight up as an underdog in Big Ten play over that same time frame, including a 24-6 win over Nebraska this past weekend as a 6.5-point underdog.

GOLDEN GOPHERS OFFENSE

2025 Numbers: 26.9 PPG, 122.9 RUSH, 217.7 PASS, 340.6 TOTAL

Quarterback

For the second consecutive week, the Hawkeyes will face a freshman quarterback. Last week, it was redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer for PSU, while it will be true freshman Drake Lindsey taking the snaps for Minnesota this week.

A three-star quarterback out of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Lindsey won the starting job out of fall camp and has been the Gophers starter for all seven games. He has played nothing like a quarterback that had just one Power 4 offer out of high school. In seven starts, Lindsey has completed 129-of-208 passes (62.02%) for 1,437 yards and ten touchdowns to three interceptions.

He’s been a little uneven at times, completed just 15-of-26 passes (57.7%) for 94 yards at Ohio State, while he was 21-of-45 (46.7%) against Purdue. However, in wins over Rutgers and Nebraska, Lindsey combined to complete 47-of-61 passes (77.0%) for 477 yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions.

Of note, blitzing the true freshman hasn’t forced him into mistakes. Although he has completed just 50.5% of his passes when blitzed, he has thrown seven touchdowns and has just one interception.

Running Back

When healthy, which it appears the Gophers are heading into the week, they lean heavily on their top back Darius Taylor, with redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi earning the secondary touches. On the season, Minnesota’s top three backs have combined for 732 yards on 162 carries (4.52 ypc).

The Gophers lead back, Darius Taylor, has been banged up, but was back at full strength against the Huskers, tallying 20+ carries for the first time since the opener against Buffalo. He has tallied 367 yards on 79 carries (4.5 ypc) but has found the end zone just one time. After missing two games due to injury, he was limited to 44 yards on 22 carries against Ohio State and Purdue. However, Taylor broke out for 148 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries (6.2 ypc) in the win over Nebraska. He’s a big threat out of the backfield as a pass catcher, averaging 3.5 receptions and 25.04 yards per game over the course of his career.

Expect Taylor to earn the majority of the carries, as he has earned 54-of-73 (74.0%) carries against Buffalo and Nebraska. Redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi has been the #2 back, rushing for 272 yards on 56 carries (4.6 ypc). He’s gotten 10+ carries in three games, including a season-high 85 yards against California. Washington transfer Cameron Davis is RB3, tallying 175 yards on 39 touches (27 rush, 12 rec), including a season-high 44 yards against California.

Wide Receiver / Tight End

Minnesota ranks 68th in the country in pass attempts per game (30.9) and they spread those targets out to a number of pass catchers, including receivers, tight ends and running backs. Their top three have earned 96-of-201 (47.8%) targets, but seven players have caught at least ten passes. Running backs has taken up 18.4% of targets.

The Gophers top pass catcher is senior Le’Meke Brockington who is having a breakout year, after totaling just 34 catches over his first three season. He leads the team in targets (36), receptions (25), receiving yards (285) and touchdowns (3), including a season-high eight catches for 106 yards against California. Rarely a downfield target, the average depth of target for Brockington is just 9.4 yards.

Miami Ohio transfer Javon Tracy (30 targets) and redshirt freshman Jalen Smith (30 targets) have been the WR2/WR3 options for quarterback Drake Lindsey. Tracy has caught 18 passes for 260 yards (14.4 ypr) and two touchdowns, including a season-high six catches for 54 yards against Rutgers. Meanwhile, Smith has been a big YAC guy, catching 13 passes for 271 yards (20.8 ypr) and two touchdowns, averaging 11.9 yards after catch per reception.

At tight end, senior Jameson Geers is the name to know. He has earned 24 targets, catching 15 passes for 129 yards and team-high tying three touchdowns. Geers is averaging just 2.0 catches and 17.2 yards per game against Power 4 opponents, with his season-high four receptions for 38 yards coming against Buffalo in the opener.

Offensive Line

Through seven games, the Golden Gophers front ranks 23rd in run blocking grade (68.8) and 49th in pass blocking (70.0). The offensive line has given up 67 pressures on 229 drop backs (29.3%), which ranks 11th in the Big Ten, just behind Rutgers (29.0%). Minnesota ranks 107th in rush yards per game (122.9).

The Minnesota offensive line does not have a single player ranked inside the top 25 in the Big Ten in overall PFF grade, with tackle Greg Johnson (71.0) ranking 28th, guard Dylan Ray (69.7) ranking 32nd, while tackle Nathan Roy (68.5) ranks 34th.

GOLDEN GOPHERS DEFENSE

2025 Numbers: 19.0 PPG, 97.7 RUSH, 197.0 PASS, 294.7 TOTAL

Defensive Line

The Minnesota defensive front has been impressive through the first half of this season, ranking 8th in the country in sacks per game (3.14). They’ve also limited opponents to 97.7 rush yards per game, which ranks 19th in the country.

Leading the way in the pass rushing department, junior Anthony Smith (330 snaps) is well on his way to All-Big Ten honors, with 18 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, a Big Ten leading 7.0 sacks and a team-high 28 quarterback pressures. Over his last two games (Purdue, Nebraska), Smith has generated 12 pressures, including three sacks against the Huskers. The other two edge rushers to know are sophomore Jaxon Howard (228 snaps) and sophomore Karter Menz (169 snaps). They’ve combined for 32 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Despite totaling just 19 combined pressures, they still gotten to the quarterback, turning 34.2% of their pressures into a sack.

On the interior, junior nose guard Deven Eastern (249 snaps) is the top name to know. He has tallied 20 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 12 stops, which is a tackle that constitute a “failure” for the offense per PFF. He is tied with Anthony Smith (12) for the most of anyone on the defensive line. Stony Brook transfer Rushawn Lawrence (185 snaps) and senior Jalen Logan-Redding (174 snaps) will be the other two interior lineman getting major snaps. Lawrence has totaled 15.0 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and eight pressures. Meanwhile, Logan-Redding registered a stop/pressure on 5.12% of snaps last season, but has seen that drop to 2.87% this season, tallying just six tackles and one tackle for loss.

Linebackers

Although the Gophers best defensive player is in the secondary, the strength of the Minnesota defense is at linebacker. Junior Maverick Baranowski (79.5) and junior Devon Williams (74.2) rank 3rd and 6th in the Big Ten in overall grade per PFF.

The #2 leading tackler last season, Maverick Baranowski (318 snaps) averaged 5.9 tackles per game and is on track to surpass the 65 tackles he tallied a year ago. In seven starts, Baranowski is averaging 6.9 tackles per game, totaling 48 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss, including a career-high tying ten tackles against Purdue and Buffalo. Alongside of him, Devon Williams (375 snaps) is the team-leader in tackles (56), averaging 8.0 tackles per game, while tallying 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He has put up 10+ tackles in two games, finishing with 11 tackles against Purdue and a career-high 13 tackles against Rutgers.

Those two won’t leave the field very often, but when they do, redshirt sophomore Matt Kingsbury (105 snaps) and freshman Emmanuel Karmo (76 snaps) will see some time. They’ve combined for 26 tackles on the year, while Kingsbury has 17 tackles and registered a sack in their win over Nebraska.

Defensive Backs

The Minnesota secondary, through seven games, has allowed opponents to complete 63.05% of passes for 1,379 yards (10.78 ypr), allowing nine touchdowns and grabbing six interceptions. They’re 84.6 coverage grade ranks 47th in the country.

At corner, the Gophers could be without their top cover man, a guy that Hawkeye fans will be very familiar with. Iowa transfer John Nestor (335 snaps) missed the Nebraska game with an injury. He has 21 tackles this season and has been great in coverage, allowing 21 catches on 38 targets (55.2%) for 174 yards (4.58 ypt), including a team-high three interceptions and two touchdowns given up. If Nestor can’t go, it will be former TCU transfer Jai’Onte’ McMillan (139 snaps) getting the start. He saw very limited snaps early in the year, but has 99 snaps over the last two games, tallying seven tackles, while allowing five catches on ten targets for 43 yards (4.3 ypt).

Whether it’s Nestor or McMillan, sophomore Za’Quan Bryan (324 snaps) will be the opposite corner starter, while senior Darius Green (192 snaps) has started at slot corner the last two games. Bryan is fourth on the team in tackles (28), while he has allowed 19 catches on 29 targets (65.5%) for 254 yards (8.8 ypt) and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Green has ten tackles of the year, while he has allowed ten catches on 14 targets (71.4%) for 70 yards (5.00 ypt).

Wrapping up the Minnesota defense with the safaties, sophomore Koi Perich (408 snaps) has played 95.6% of snaps this season and has drawn comparisons to Cooper DeJean after being named a Second Team All-American as a freshman last season. He’s third on the team in tackles (38) but hasn’t been as lock down in coverage as he was a year ago, allowing 16 catches on 19 targets (84.2%) for 233 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. He gave up just 4.78 yards per target last season but has seen that number inflate to a team-worst 12.3 yards per target this season.

The other two names to know at the safety position are sophomore Kerry Brown (333 snaps) and junior Aidan Gousby (202 snaps). The third-leading tackler for the Gophers as a freshman last season (63 tkls), Brown has shifted around playing snaps at strong safety, free safety and slot corner. He’s tallied 24 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and two interceptions, but has allowed 15 catches on 20 targets (75.0%) for 228 yards (11.4 ypt). As for Gousby, he missed two games due to injury, but returned for the Nebraska game last week. He has tallied 14 tackles, but has faced just eight targets in 124 coverage snaps.

GOLDEN GOPHERS SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker Brady Denaburg: 9/12 FG, 21/21 PAT, LNG 46

Punter Tom Weston: 31 punts, 1,389 yards, 44.8 AVG, 11 In20, 59 LNG

Kick Returner Koi Perich: 8 returns, 177 yards, 22.1 AVG, 56 LNG

Punt Returner Koi Perich: 11 returns, 82 yards, 7.5 AVG, 21 LNG

FINAL THOUGHT

This series has been dominated by the Hawkeyes and had it not been for a blown call on a Cooper DeJean punt return touchdown, they’d be riding a ten-game winning streak against the Gophers. Since PJ Fleck took over at Minnesota, the Iowa offense is averaging 25.5 points per game, including three games with 30+ points. Meanwhile the Hawkeye defense has allowed just 15.6 points per game, including five games allowing 14 points or fewer. Iowa has a chance to clinch bowl eligibility this week, but more importantly, with a win, they’d go into the bye week with a 6-2 record and three-game winning streak, with a big game against Oregon at Kinnick Stadium on deck.

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