Iowa takes back Floyd in 31-14 trampling of Minnesota behind Kaleb Johnson’s 206 yards
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Kaleb Johnson rushed for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns, with two scores in a dominant third quarter that propelled Iowa past Minnesota for a 31-14 victory that gave the bronze pig trophy back to the Hawkeyes on Saturday night.
Having bitterly watched the Gophers hoist Floyd of Rosedale in Iowa last year after a controversial 12-10 loss sealed by a fair catch signal call that negated a punt return touchdown by Cooper DeJean, the Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0) had a blast in the Big Ten opener on their border-state rival’s home turf.
Johnson’s NCAA-leading four-game rushing total jumped to 685 yards after the junior tailback turned a commanding performance by Iowa’s offensive line into a personal highlight tape.
Johnson made the best of his 21 carries by outracing the Gophers to the edges on the stretch zone plays and breaking a bunch of tackles once he cleared the line of scrimmage on other runs inside.
Iowa topped 200-plus rushing yards for the fourth straight game, the longest streak for the program since 2013, in an eye-opening game against a Minnesota defense coming off consecutive shutouts of Rhode Island and Nevada.
The seasoned offensive line — left tackle Mason Richman, left guard Beau Stephens, center Logan Jones, right guard Connor Colby and right tackle Gennings Dunker — delivered a knockout punch after some recent struggles against the Gophers.
The Hawkeyes netted only 11 rushing yards in the game last season and, including the lost yardage on sacks, totaled a paltry 141 yards on 81 rushes over the last three matchups against Minnesota. Johnson was determined to reverse that trend.
The Gophers (2-2, 0-1) had the clear upper hand in the first half, taking a 14-7 lead on touchdown passes from Max Brosmer to Jameson Geers and Elijah Spencer. The only score by the Hawkeyes came after a 38-yard drive, thanks to a diving interception by linebacker Jay Higgins in the first quarter.
Iowa punted four straight times after that and went into halftime with only 107 total yards. McNamara, who finished 11 for 19 for 62 yards, had trouble finding any kind of a rhythm and had several throws glance off a receiver’s hands while luckily avoiding any interceptions.
The Hawkeyes took the second-half kickoff and scored the tying touchdown five plays. McNamara started with a bootleg completion to tight end Addison Ostrenga for 20 yards. Then Johnson did the rest, aided by a late hit penalty on Lindenberg as he ran out of bounds that provided a 15-yard gift.
Iowa’s next drive went 73 yards in six plays, capped by a 40-yard run by Johnson when he plowed through the line and sprang free into the secondary for a 21-14 lead.
Up next
Iowa: Plays at Ohio State on Oct. 5. The Buckeyes, who were ranked third in this week’s Associated Press poll, have won their last eight home games in the series. The Hawkeyes last won at Ohio Stadium in 1991.
Minnesota: Plays at Michigan on Sept. 28. The Wolverines, who were ranked 18th in the latest AP poll before beating No. 11 USC on Saturday, has not hosted the Gophers since a 33-10 win in 2017.
