Kaleb Johnson ran for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns, helping lead Iowa to a 31-14 win over Minnesota in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Jaziun Patterson added 66 rushing yards for the Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten), who won the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy, given annually to the winner of the game. Cade McNamara completed 11 of 19 passes for just 62 yards, but Iowa won its ninth game in 10 contests against Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers (2-2, 0-1) led 14-7 before Iowa outscored them 24-0 in the second half. Max Brosmer completed 22 of 37 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Daniel Jackson hauled in nine passes for a game-high 112 yards for Minnesota.
Trailing by 7 points at halftime, Iowa’s five-play, 67-yard scoring drive on the opening possession of the second half was stamped with Johnson’s 15-yard score with 12:56 left.
After a Minnesota punt, McNamara found Reece Vander Zee for an 18-yard pickup on 3rd-and-6, advancing to the Iowa 49-yard line. Three plays later, Johnson reeled off his third touchdown of the game, a 40-yarder to give the Hawkeyes a 21-14 lead with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Iowa added a field goal with 48 seconds left in the third, as Drew Stevens connected on a 46-yarder.
Following the Golden Gophers’ fourth straight punt, Johnson took a 33-yard run to the Minnesota 19-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. After advancing to the goal line, quarterback Brendan Sullivan replaced McNamara for the short-yardage attempt and extended the Iowa lead to 31-14 with a one-yard rushing score with 11:13 left in the game.
After the teams traded punts on the opening possessions, Brosmer was picked off by Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins at the Minnesota 38-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, Johnson’s 23-yard run was followed by his one-yard score, giving Iowa a 7-0 lead with 8:03 left in the first quarter.
From there, each team punted on three straight drives before Minnesota tied the game on Brosmer’s three-yard pass to Jameson Geers.
Following Iowa’s fifth punt of the first half, Brosmer led the Golden Gophers on an eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive, capped with an 11-yard passing touchdown from Brosmer to Elijah Spencer with 21 seconds left in the half. Minnesota held a 222-107 edge in total yards at the break, including Brosmer’s 165-16 passing yards advantage over McNamara.
–Field Level Media
