Game Notes: Iowa at Minnesota

1st and 10

1: DT Daviyon Nixon leads the Big Ten with 6.0 tackles for loss. He averages 2.0 tackles for loss per game, tied for seventh in the country. Nixon leads an Iowa defense that ranks No. 1 in the conference in rush defense (102.0) and No. 3 in scoring defense (17.3). He has 21 tackles, more than any other Big Ten defensive linemen and No. 3 on the team.

2: P Tory Taylor ranks second the Big Ten and 13th in the country averaging 46.0 yards per punt. The freshman has downed 10 of his 17 inside the 20. He has seven punts of 50-plus yards, with a career-high 61 yard punt Week 3 vs. Michigan State. Iowa leads the country in punt defense. Only one of Taylor’s 10 punts has been returned, and it went for minus-eight yards and a lost fumble.

3: TE Sam LaPorta leads Iowa in receptions (13) and receiving yards (128). Only twice since 1992 has a tight end led Iowa in season receiving yards. Alan Cross in 1992 (55-640) and T.J. Hockenson in 2018 (49-760).

4: RB Tyler Goodson has started the last seven games at running back and has seven rushing touchdowns during that stretch. Goodson leads Iowa in rushing attempts (43) and rushing yards (233). In Iowa’s 23-19 win against #7 Minnesota in 2019, Goodson became the first true freshman to start at running back under Ferentz since 2012 (Greg Garmon).

5: K Keith Duncan is Iowa’s all-time career leader in field goal percentage (84.0). He has made 42-of-50 career field goal attempts. He is 20-of-20 in his career inside 30 yards, and has made 47 consecutive PATs. Duncan has 207 career points, 11th all-time and three points shy of tying Akrum Wadley (210) for No. 10 all-time.

6: QB Spencer Petras has 116 pass attempts through three weeks, the second most by any Big Ten quarterback. He entered the season with 11 career pass attempts. The Hawkeyes are averaging 29.7 points per game, their highest total since 2002 (36.5).

7: Iowa has 59 interceptions since 2017, tied for the most in the country over the last three-plus years (Appalachian State). The Hawkeyes have at least one interception in 10 straight games. They have 14 total interceptions during that stretch. DB Riley Moss returned his interception 54 yards Week 3 against Michigan State to extend the Hawkeyes’ streak of consecutive seasons with a pick-six to 13. Iowa has had at least one interception returned for a touchdown in 18 of the last 20 seasons.

8: Iowa has two of the country’s best punt returners and kickoff returner. Junior Charlie Jones leads the country averaging 50.0 punt return yards per game. His 15.0 punt return average leads the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the nation. He has one punt return for a touchdown (54 yards vs. Michigan State). Senior WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette averages 24.5 yards per kickoff return in 2020, No. 1 in the Big Ten and 21st in the country.

9: The Hawkeyes are 16-4 in their last 20 rivalry trophy games (Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin). As a result of a bet between the governors of the two states in 1935, possession of Floyd of Rosedale is at stake Saturday.  The trophy is currently in possession of Iowa.  Minnesota holds a 42-41-2 advantage in the series with Floyd of Rosedale on the line. Iowa has won 15 of the last 19 meetings.

10: Kirk Ferentz moved into sole possession of fourth place among Big Ten coaches in career wins following a Week 3 win against Michigan State. Ferentz has 163 wins in all games coached as a member of the Big Ten Conference. He is one of five coaches in Big Ten Conference history to win at least 150 games as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The top five includes Woody Hayes (202), Amos Alonzo Stagg (199), Bo Schembechler (194), Ferentz (163) and Joe Paterno (162).

WARMING UP THE ARM

QB Spencer Petras has 116 pass attempts through three weeks, the second most by any Big Ten quarterback. He entered the season with 11 career pass attempts. The Hawkeyes are averaging 29.7 points per game, their highest total since 2002 (36.5).

Petras threw for 481 yards in Weeks 1-2, the most by an Iowa quarterback since Jake Rudock passed for 572 yards in the first two games of 2014. His 265 passing yards Week 1 were the most by a Hawkeye quarterback making his first career start since Jon Beutjer in 2000 (380 yards). Petras was the fifth Hawkeye quarterback under Ferentz to make his first career start on opening day. He led the Iowa offense to 460 total yards, its highest total in a Big Ten game since 2018 against Indiana (479).

Petras threw 50 times Week 2 in his Kinnick Stadium debut. The last Iowa quarterback to throw the ball 50 or more times in a game was Jack Rudock, who attempted 56 passes against Maryland in 2014.

Petras has two career passing touchdowns. He connected with WR Brandon Smith for his first career touchdown (7 yards) Week 2 against Northwestern, and hit Smith again for a 14-yard scoring strike Week 3 vs. Michigan State.

LAPORTA LEADS ALL PASS CATCHERS

TE Sam LaPorta leads Iowa in receptions (13) and receiving yards (128). Only two times since 1992 has a tight end led Iowa in season receiving yards. Alan Cross in 1992 (55-640) and T.J. Hockenson in 2018 (49-760).

Iowa wide receivers account for 35 of the team’s 64 receptions. WR Nico Ragaini, WR Brandon Smith, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette and WR Tyrone Tracy combine for 34 receptions and 371 receiving yards. Smith has both of the Hawkeyes’  touchdown receptions (7, 14).

THAT’S NOT A PUNT, THIS IS A PUNT

Melbourne, Australia, native Tory Taylor ranks second the Big Ten and 13th in the country averaging 46.0 yards per punt. The freshman has downed 10 of his 17 inside the 20. He has seven punts of 50-plus yards, with a career-high 61 yard punt Week 3 vs. Michigan State.

Iowa leads the country in punt defense. Only one of Taylor’s 10 punts has been returned, and it went for minus-eight yards.

GOODSON LEADS GROUND GAME

RB Tyler Goodson has started the last seven games at running back and has seven rushing touchdowns during that stretch. He recorded his first career multi-touchdown game (3, 9) Week 3 vs. Michigan State. He had 113 yards rushing against the Spartans, his second career 100-yard effort. Goodson leads Iowa in rushing attempts (43) and rushing yards (233). His three rushing touchdowns (15, 3, 9) tie for Mekhi Sargent (1, 2, 6) for the team lead.

Goodson started the final four games of 2020 and became the first true freshman in program history to lead the team in single-season rushing yards (638). The last redshirt freshman to lead Iowa in single-season rushing yards was Ladell Betts in 1998 (679 yards). Goodson led the team with five rushing touchdowns (1, 10, 2, 55, 1), and had 24 receptions for 166 yards. His 158 combined touches led the team.

In Iowa’s 23-19 win against #7 Minnesota in 2019, Goodson became the first true freshman to start at running back under Ferentz since 2012 (Greg Garmon).

RETURN TO SENDER

Iowa has two of the country’s best punt returners and kickoff returner. Junior Charlie Jones leads the country averaging 50.0 punt return yards per game. His 15.0 punt return average leads the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the nation. He has one punt return for a touchdown (54 yards vs. Michigan State). Senior WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette averages 24.5 yards per kickoff return in 2020, No. 1 in the Big Ten and 21st in the country.

Smith-Marsette is the top kickoff returner in Big Ten history. Smith-Marsette averages 29.4 yards on 49 career kickoff returns, the best in school and Big Ten history. Smith-Marsette has 1,442 kickoff return yards, fifth all-time in program history (Douthitt 1,762; Johnson-Koulianos 1,575; Hill 1,509; King 1,458).

Smith-Marsette has 1,354 career receiving yards, 28th all-time in program history. He has 3,034 all-purpose yards, 16th all-time.

In 2019, Smith-Marsette became the first player in school history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same season. He did it in consecutive games to end the season. He had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Nebraska, tying for the 10th longest in school history, and a 98-yard return against USC at the Holiday Bowl, the seventh longest in school history, an Iowa bowl record, and tying a Holiday Bowl record.

Smith-Marsette had a team-high 10 touchdowns in 2019; five receiving, three rushing, and two kickoff returns.

Smith-Marsette scored three touchdowns at the 2019 Holiday Bowl (all in the first half), tying Shonn Greene’s Iowa bowl record. He is the second Hawkeye in program history to score a touchdown via rush, reception, and kickoff return, in a single game (George Rice, vs. Purdue in 1951). He is the first college player since 1998 (Deuce McAllister, Independence Bowl) to score a touchdown via rush, reception, kickoff return in a bowl game.

TROPHY COLLECTION

The Hawkeyes defend Floyd of Rosedale on Friday in their first of three trophy games in 2020. Iowa defends the Heroes Trophy on Nov. 27 vs. Nebraska, and tries to reclaim the Heartland Trophy on  Dec. 12 vs. Wisconsin. Iowa will maintain possession of the Cy-Hawk Trophy vs. Iowa State due to the Big Ten’s decision to play a conference-only schedule.

The Hawkeyes were 4-1 in trophy games in 2019, including 3-1 in rivalry games and 1-0 in the postseason. Iowa defended the Cy-Hawk Trophy at Iowa State, the Floyd of Rosedale trophy against #7 Minnesota, and the Heroes Trophy at Nebraska. The Hawkeyes fell at #16 Wisconsin in a battle for the Heartland Trophy.

The Hawkeyes are 16-4 in their last 20 rivalry trophy games (Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin), with all four losses coming to Wisconsin, and have won three straight bowl games.

DUNCAN GETTING HIS KICKS

Senior K Keith Duncan is Iowa’s all-time career leader in field goal percentage (84.0). He has made 42-of-50 career field goal attempts. He is 20-of-20 in his career inside 30 yards, and has made 40 consecutive PATs.

Duncan has 207 career points, 11th all-time and three points shy of tying Akrum Wadley (210) for No. 10 all-time.

Duncan led the country with a Big Ten single-season record 29 field goals made in 2019, and was a consensus first-team All-American, the 26th in program history. Duncan was named the Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year in the Big Ten Conference in 2019, and was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award.

Duncan has two game-winning field goals in his career. He kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to defeat No. 2 Michigan, 14-13, at home in 2016. He connected on a 48-yard attempt to give Iowa a 27-24 lead with one second left at Nebraska in 2019.

NIXON EMERGES AS BIG TEN’S BEST

Junior DT Daviyon Nixon leads the Big Ten with 6.0 tackles for loss. He averages 2.0 tackles for loss per game, tied for seventh in the country. Nixon leads an Iowa defense that ranks No. 1 in the conference in rush defense (102.0) and No. 3 in scoring defense (17.3). He has 21 tackles, more than any other Big Ten defensive lineman and tied for third on the team.

Nixon set career highs in tackles in Week 1 and Week 2. He registered seven stops in the season opener at Purdue, and bested that with 11 tackles in the home opener against Northwestern.

Nixon had one career start and 13 games played entering 2020. His career totals included 39 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, and three sacks. He is one of three new starters on Iowa’s defensive line. Senior Chauncey Golston is the lone returning frontline starter on a defense that ranked in the top 20 in scoring, rushing, passing, and total defense in 2019.

In 2019, Iowa’s scoring defense (14.0) was the second lowest total of the Ferentz era (13.0 in 2008). The Hawkeyes allowed just 16.6 first downs per game, 12th fewest in the country and third in the Big Ten, and just 21 touchdowns, third fewest in the country (San Diego State 19, Georgia 20).

BENSON STARTS AND FINISHES

Sophomore LB Seth Benson made his first two career starts Weeks 2-3 and was Iowa’s leading tackler in each game. He recorded a career-high 13 tackles in his first career start Week 2 against Northwestern. It was Benson’s first appearance of the season. He missed the opener with an injury. He had a team-high eight tackles Week 3 vs. Michigan State. His 21 tackles tie Daviyon Nixon for third on the team.

Benson appeared in all 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2019, and saw limited action in three games as a true freshman in 2018. He entered his first career start with 11 career tackles.

GOING THE OTHER WAY

Iowa has 59 interceptions since 2017, tied for the most in the country over the last three-plus years (Appalachian State).

The Hawkeyes have at least one interception in 10 straight games. They have 14 total interceptions during that stretch. Iowa intercepted two passes in the season opener, one in Week 2, and three more in Week 3. LB Barrington Wade and FS Jack Koerner lead Iowa with two interceptions. CB Matt Hankins and CB Riley Moss each have one.

Moss returned his interception 54 yards Week 3 against Michigan State to extend the Hawkeyes’ streak of consecutive seasons with a pick-six to 13. Iowa has had at least one interception returned for a touchdown in 18 of the last 20 seasons.

THE SERIES

Saturday will be the 114th meeting between Iowa and Minnesota. The Hawkeyes have won five straight, and 15 of the last 19.

Minnesota holds a 62-49-2 advantage in a series that began with a 42-4 Gopher victory in 1891. The Golden Gophers won the first 12 games in the series before Iowa earned a 6-0 win in 1918.  The Hawkeyes are 31-26-1 against Minnesota in games played in Minneapolis.

HAWKEYE HISTORY

Iowa has played 1,262 games since beginning football in 1889. Iowa’s overall record is 661-562-39 (.539). That includes a 412-223-16 (.645) record in home games, a 248-339-23 (.425) record in games away from Iowa City, a 336-383-25 (.468) mark in Big Ten games and a 296-188-15 (.609) record in Kinnick Stadium.

HAWK TALK WITH KIRK FERENTZ

Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is featured on “Hawk Talk with Kirk Ferentz” each week during the regular season. This year’s show will be held virtually and streamed live from 6:30-8 p.m. (CT) on the Hawkeye Radio Network, KCRG 9.2 and the Hawkeye Radio Network YouTube channel.