Game Preview: Big Ten Opener at Minnesota

• The Hawkeyes have won four straight games over the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis and eight of the last nine meetings overall. The last three and seven of the last nine games have been decided by seven points or less.
• Iowa is 27-10 in its last 37 rivalry trophy games in games against Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
• Iowa is 8-4 in its last 12 Big Ten openers and 13-12 under head coach Kirk Ferentz. The last time the Hawkeyes opened league play against the Gophers came in 2013 — a 23-7 road win. It is the second straight year Iowa has opened Big Ten play on the road (Penn State).
• The Hawkeyes have rushed for 200+ yards in three consecutive games for the first time since 2013. The Hawkeye offense is averaging 243 rushing yards per game — 18th nationally — with seven rushing touchdowns.
• Junior RB Kaleb Johnson has posted three straight 100-yard games (seven career 100-yard contests). He has an NCAA-leading 479 rushing yards — surpassing his 2023 total — averaging 159.7 yards and 7.85 yards per attempt. He has six touchdowns in three games, ranking fourth in FBS.
• Johnson is the first Hawkeye since 2015 (Jordan Canzeri) to have three straight 100-yard contests and the first player since 2015 (LeShun Daniels, Jr.) to have two or more TDs in three consecutive games.
• Big play KJ2… Johnson has seven runs of 25+ yards, including two runs of 50+ yards in 2024. Iowa has nine 20+ yard rushes in 2024.
• Iowa has played seven games decided by a single possession since the start of the 2023 season. The Hawkeyes are 5-2 in such games.
• The Hawkeyes are averaging 32.2 points and 419 yards of total offense through the first three weeks of 2024, which ranks 58th and 54th nationally, respectively. Iowa’s 33:39 time of possession is 12th in the nation.
• Senior LB Jay Higgins has led the team in tackles in all three games. He has a team-high 25 tackles (11 solo, 14 assisted), which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. He had his 12th career 10+ tackle game in Week 2 against Iowa State.
• The Hawkeyes have forced five turnovers in three games — three interceptions, two fumble recoveries. The five takeaways are fifth in the Big Ten and 26th in FBS.
• Iowa’s rushing defense has allowed fewer than 100 yards in each of the first three games, including just 24 yards in Week 3 against Troy. The 24 yards were the fewest allowed by the Hawkeyes since 2022. The unit allows 56.3 rushing yards per game, fifth fewest in the nation.
• Don’t beat yourself! Iowa didn’t commit a penalty in Week 3 against Troy. It was the third game since the start of the 2023 season where the Hawkeyes didn’t commit a penalty. Iowa leads the Big Ten in fewest penalties per game (3.33).
• Iowa has had 400+ yards in two of the first three weeks of the 2024 season under first-year OC Tim Lester. The last time the offense had 400+ yards twice in a season came in 2021.
• Iowa’s defense allowed just 189 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers to pitch its first season-opening shutout since 2005. Iowa has eight shutouts since 2018, second most in the FBS in that span (Georgia, 9).
• Iowa’s defense has allowed fewer than 400 yards in 31 consecutive games — the longest active streak nationally. The unit has allowed 14 or fewer points in 20 of their last 30 games and it has held 10 teams without a touchdown since the start of the 2022 season.
• Head coach Kirk Ferentz has 198 career wins as a member of the Big Ten Conference — third most all-time. He trails only Woody Hayes (205) and Amos Alonzo Stagg (199).
• Since the start of the 2015 season, Iowa is 73-3 when leading by eight points at any point in a game.
• Since 2009, Iowa has 231 interceptions — tied for the third-most in the nation. The team’s 35 interception returns for a touchdown are the fourth-most in the nation in that span.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will be the 118th meeting between Iowa and Minnesota. The Hawkeyes have won eight of the last nine and 18 of the last 23 in the series. Seven of the last nine meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less.
• The Gophers snapped an eight-game losing streak to Iowa with a 12-10 win in Kinnick Stadium in 2023. The Hawkeyes appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but the punt return was overturned on an invalid fair catch signal by Cooper DeJean.
• The Hawkeyes have won four straight on the road against the Gophers. Minnesota’s last home win in the series came in 2014 (51-14).
• Minnesota is only school that Kirk Ferentz has squared off against every season during his Hawkeye tenure as both an assistant coach (1981-89) and head coach (1999-present).

SERIES RESULTS

11/2/1891 L 4-42 (H)
10/26/1901 L 0-16 (A)
10/25/1902 L 0-34 (H)
10/17/1903 L 0-75 (A)
11/24/1904 L 0-11 (H)
10/21/1905 L 0-39 (A)
10/2/1909 L 0-41 (A)
10/28/1911 L 6-24 (A)
10/26/1912 L 7-56 (A)
10/24/1914 L 0-7 (H)
10/23/1915 L 13-51 (A)
11/4/1916 L 0-67 (A)
11/2/1918 W 6-0 (H)
10/25/1919 W 9-6 (A)
11/13/1920 W 28-7 (H)
11/5/1921 W 41-7 (A)
11/11/1922 W 28-14 (H)
11/17/1923 L 7-20 (A)
10/25/1924 W 13-0 (H)
11/14/1925 L 0-33 (A)
11/6/1926 L 0-41 (H)
10/22/1927 L 0-38 (A)
10/24/1928 W 7-6 (H)
11/9/1929 W 9-7 (H)
10/24/1931 L 0-34 (A)
10/22/1932 L 6-21 (H)
10/28/1933 L 7-19 (A)
10/28/1934 L 12-48 (H)
11/9/1935 L 6-13 (H)
11/7/1936 L 0-52 (#2) (A)
11/6/1937 L 10-35 (#14) (H)
11/5/1938 L 0-28 (#12) (A)
11/18/1939 W 13-9 (#20) (H)
10/26/1940 L 6-34 (#6) (A)
11/15/1941 L 13-34 (#1) (H)
11/14/1942 L 7-27(#16) (A)
11/13/1943 L 14-33 (A)
11/18/1944 L 0-46 (H)
11/17/1945 W 20-19 (H)
11/16/1946 L 6-16 (A)
11/15/1947 W 13-7(#20) (H)
11/13/1948 L 21-28 (#14) (H)
11/5/1949 L 7-55 (A)
11/4/1950 W 13-0 (A)
11/13/1951 T 20-20 (H)
11/11/1952 L 7-17 (A)
11/14/1953 W 27-0 (#15) (H)
11/13/1954 L 20-22 (#13) (A)
11/5/1955 W 26-0 (H)
11/10/1956 W 7-0 (#6) (A)
11/9/1957 W 44-20 (H)
11/8/1958 W 28-6 (A)
11/7/1959 W 33-0 (H)
11/5/1960 L 10-27 (#3) (A)
11/11/1961 L 9-16 (#5) (H)
11/10/1962 L 0-10 (#10) (A)
11/9/1963 W 27-13 (H)
11/7/1964 L 13-14 (A)
10/16/1965 L 3-14 (H)
10/15/1966 L 0-17 (A)
11/4/1967 L 0-10 (H)
11/2/1968 W 35-28 (A)
11/1/1969 L 8-35 (H)
10/31/1970 T 14-14 (A)
10/16/1971 L 14-19 (H)
10/21/1972 L 14-43 (A)
10/20/1973 L 23-31 (H)
10/19/1974 L 17-23 (A)
10/25/1975 L 7-31 (H)
10/23/1976 W 22-12 (A)
10/8/1977 W 18-6 (H)
10/14/1978 L 20-22 (A)
10/20/1979 L 7-24 (H)
10/25/1980 L 6-24 (A)
10/24/1981 L 10-12 (H)
10/23/1982 W 21-16 (A)
10/19/1983 W 61-10 (H)
11/17/1984 L 17-23 (A)
11/23/1985 W 31-9 (H)
11/22/1986 W 30-27 (A)
11/21/1987 W 34-20 (H)
11/19/1988 W 31-22 (A)
11/25/1989 L 7-43 (H)
11/24/1990 L 24-31 (A)
11/23/1991 W 23-8 (H)
11/21/1992 L 13-28 (A)
11/20/1993 W 21-3 (H)
11/19/1994 W 49-42 (A)
11/25/1995 W 45-3 (H)
11/23/1996 W 43-24 (A)
11/22/1997 W 31-0 (H)
11/21/1998 L 7-49 (A)
11/20/1999 L 21-25 (#17) (H)
11/18/2000 L 24-27 (A)
11/17/2001 W 42-24 (H)
11/16/2002 W 45-21 (A)
11/15/2003 W 40-22 (#19) (H)
11/13/2004 W 29-27 (A)
11/19/2005 W 52-28 (H)
11/18/2006 L 24-34 (A)
11/10/2007 W 21-16 (H)
11/22/2008 W 55-0 (A)
11/21/2009 W 12-0 (H)
11/27/2010 L 24-27 (A)
10/29/2011 L 21-22 (A)
9/29/2012 W 31-13 (H)
9/28/2013 W 23-7 (A)
11/8/2014 L 14-51 (A)
11/14/2015 W 40-35 (H)
10/8/2016 W 14-7 (A)
10/28/2017 W 17-10 (H)
10/6/2018 W 48-31 (A)
11/16/2019 W 23-19 (#8) (H)
11/13/2020 W 35-7 (A)
11/13/2021 W 27-22 (H)
11/19/2022 W 13-10 (A)
10/21/2023 L 10-12 (H)