Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota Gophers: Game Thread

The Iowa Hawkeyes are atop the Big Ten West standings after knocking off the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison a week ago. Now they control their own destiny and simply need to avoid the types of late-season bumbles they fell victim to a season ago.

That all starts today as they play host to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Nobody hates Iowa more than the Gophs and nobody would like to ruin Iowa’s chances at being the very last Big Ten West division champions than Minnesota.

The Gophers enter the day at 3-3 overall and have struggled on both sides of the ball at different times this year. But Minnesota gets their star running back Darius Taylor back today and look capable of moving the ball on this stout Iowa defense. On the other side of things, Minnesota will play 11 players on defense so their odds of slowing the Iowa offense to a near halt are pretty decent.

Can the Hawkeyes find enough in the run game to control the clock and win the field position battle as they did a week ago? Will Brian Ferentz look to dial up the passing game a bit more and build some trust in Deacon Hill? Or will it be the Minnesota Gophers who play the role of spoiler in Kinnick?

We’ll know soon enough as the Hawkeyes and Gophers face off to bring home the bacon!

Here’s a quick reminder on the details for tonight’s matchup:

Date: Saturday, October 21st
Time: 2:30 pm CT
Matchup: Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-3, 1-2) at Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1)
Location: Kinnick Stadium - Iowa City, IA
TV: NBC
Weather Forecast: sunny with temps in the lower-60s, winds gusting up to 20mph
DraftKings Sportsbook Line: Iowa -3.5, O/U 31

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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Go Hawks!