Anyone who saw last year’s dominating win by Iowa over the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium knows the Hawkeyes were more physical than Minnesota. The score, 23-7, showed domination and so did the statistics including 246 rushing yards for the Hawkeyes and just 30 for the Gophers.
“They out physicaled us,” said Gophers guard Zac Epping. “We know that and we know that’s what we gotta do this year. We gotta come out swinging, be the people that throw the first punch and get the ‘W’ that way.”
The Gophers have started slow in their last two games but perhaps the program’s intense rivalry with Iowa will cure that. Epping said the Gophers were “flat” against Illinois, a Big Ten bottom feeder that upset Minnesota in Champaign on October 25.
Iowa won the “Floyd of Rosedale” border rival trophy the last two years. “Yeah, it’s definitely one of the biggest games,” Epping said. “That’s one of the games where you look at the beginning of the year saying, ‘When do we play Iowa?’ ”
Epping grew up in Wisconsin but remembered a 2002 incident with the Hawkeyes that still rubs Gophers fans the wrong way. After Iowa’s win in the Metrodome, Hawkeye fans tore down a goal post and tried to carry pieces out of the building.
The memory stokes Epping’s emotions. “Yeah, it’s just something you think about and you just can’t let’em do it.”
Last year Wisconsin players tried to symbolically chop a goal post at TCF Bank Stadium with “Paul Bunyan’s Axe.” Gophers players this fall are wearing sweatshirts proclaiming “No one chops our goal posts down but us.”
The Gophers won the “Little Brown Jug” earlier this year with a victory over Michigan. Tomorrow presents an opportunity to win “Floyd”—the bronze pig—and later this month comes a chance to own the axe for the first time since 2003. Those are the Gophers’ most prized rivalry trophies and Minnesota hasn’t captured all three in one season since 1967.
When wide receiver KJ Maye was asked about winning back “Floyd,” he mentioned all three trophies. “It would mean a lot because we actually have a legit chance to win all the trophy games this year and that’s something we take pride in.”
Depending on your viewpoint the next four Saturdays are much anticipated—or dreaded—by Gophers fans. For many months anyone with knowledge about the team’s schedule has known the last four teams on the schedule present the most challenging stretch of games.
Except for TCU, no previous opponent on the schedule is comparable to the teams upcoming: Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. They are four of the Big Ten’s better teams and certainly superior to the six opponents the Gophers have defeated in building a 6-2 overall record—3-1 in Big Ten games.
A program insider said the Gophers’ “margin for error is razor thin” for the remaining games. Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin have superior overall talent, and the last three teams are nationally ranked. The discrepancy between Minnesota and those programs is most glaring in comparisons of the offenses.
Minnesota defeated three mediocre teams during the nonconference schedule and in the fourth nonleague game was dominated in a 30-7 loss to now top 10 ranked TCU. The Gophers were held to under 100 yards rushing, gained just 268 yards in total offense and were three of 16 on third down conversions.
At times the Gophers offense has been productive in Big Ten games but it has sputtered, too. That’s an appropriate word to use in referring to the unexpected 28-24 loss to lowly Illinois when the Gophers completed just 12 of 30 passes and couldn’t make enough big plays in the fourth quarter to win.
Inconsistency by the offensive line, wide receivers and quarterback Mitch Leidner have put more pressure on the Gophers defense and special teams to make big plays. The Gophers rank 10th among Big Ten teams in total offense averaging 356.5 yards per game. Minnesota is last in passing at 140.5 yards a game.
Offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover refers to the offense as a “work in progress” but said it is better than a year ago. “I don’t think we’re far enough along that we can completely, week in and week out, say…we’re going to be able to (go) against the better teams in the conference and dominate a game and score 40 points.”
Iowa this Saturday and Ohio State a week later will be the last home games of the season. That’s an edge for the Gophers who will particularly be inspired to play against Iowa, 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Minnesota also has an advantage having a bye on the schedule last Saturday. Extra preparation time for Jerry Kill and his staff is a plus, and so, too, is the additional rest for players recovering from injuries and weary legs.
Iowa is the most likely win remaining for the Gophers. The two programs mirror each other, led by conservative coaches who try to minimize mistakes and emphasize defense. The Gophers and Iowa have comparable defenses, and Minnesota’s unit might even be better. The Gophers may rate a minimal edge in special teams but the difference between the offenses looks dramatic.
Iowa’s offensive line deserves the nod over Minnesota’s. The Hawkeyes are led by tackle Brandon Scherff who is a coveted NFL draft choice. That line opened up a lot of running room last week in Iowa’s impressive 48-7 win over Northwestern, with Hawkeyes runners gaining 221 yards as part of a well balanced offense. Iowa’s passing ranks fifth in the Big Ten averaging 244.9 yards per game. “I think by far they’re the best line we’ve played all year,” said Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys.
Maybe the Gophers offense will have a breakout day against Iowa like the Hawkeyes experienced last Saturday versus Northwestern. That would sure help take some pressure off the “razor thin” mantra.
Worth Noting
Iowa received a verbal commitment on Sunday from a Texas high school player the Gophers had interest in, according to a story Monday by Steve Batterson for Qctimes.com. Wide receiver Jerminic Smith, from Garland High School in Garland Texas, has been rated No. 145 in the Texas 150, a ranking of the state’s top high school seniors.
The Gophers-Hawkeyes rivalry is on the minds of many Minnesotans, from University of Minnesota students to Gophers radio analyst Darrell Thompson. The student section at TCF Bank Stadium was chanting its well-known “We Hate Iowa” back in September. Thompson, the Gophers’ all-time leading rusher, eats bacon everyday this week preparing for the battle for the pig.
Speculation has been the Iowa-Minnesota game will sell out by now but apparently the Gophers’ surprise loss at Illinois, along with $75 tickets and a chilly weather forecast means not all of the 52,525 seats at TCF Bank Stadium are gone yet. Although Iowa has no professional sports to compete against, the Hawkeyes have only one home sellout this season in 70,585 seat capacity Kinnick Stadium.
Gophers senior offensive guard Zac Epping knows how to play through injury and pain. He has started 42 consecutive games. He also started every game as a sophomore, junior and senior at Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Steve Simon, who won this week’s election for Secretary of State, is the son of former Minneapolis sports agent Ron Simon whose clients included Kent Hrbek and Paul Molitor. Ron wrote a book more than 20 years ago that detailed his negotiating strategies and stories about his clients.
The biggest MIAC football game of the season is tomorrow when Bethel, 7-1 overall and in 6-0 league play, meets Saint John’s, 7-1 and 5-1, in Collegeville. A Bethel win will mean a second consecutive outright MIAC title. If the Johnnies win, the two teams will go into the last Saturday of the season on November 15 tied for the lead. Bethel has won 15 consecutive MIAC games.
Saint John’s ranks second in the MIAC with 248.5 yards per game rushing, while Bethel is fourth at 193.4. The Royals’ run defense is first in the league (107.6 yards per game allowed) and Saint John’s is third (138.8). The Johnnies have the best scoring defense (13.6 points allowed per game) and Bethel is third (17.1).
The Gophers basketball team won its exhibition opener last night at Williams Arena, 95-68 over UMD. The Gophers shot 58.5 percent from the field and their active defense limited the Bulldogs to 37.5 percent. Junior college transfer guard Carlos Morris impressed with a team high 23 points as did senior center Elliott Eliason who grabbed 16 rebounds in only 22 minutes. UMD had lost on Saturday night to Notre Dame by 17 points.
With the Timberwolves intent on limiting the minutes of starting center Nikola Pekovic to avoid injuries, second-year backup Gorgui Dieng becomes even more important to team success. Wolves assistant coach David Adelman coached Dieng as a rookie in summer league in 2013 and has seen him improve, even since the beginning of training camp this year.
“You can just see that the NBA game is slowing down for him, which is the most important thing,” Adelman told Sports Headliners. “You start seeing things where he’s actually making decisions instead of reacting.”
Dieng was impressive toward the end of last season when he averaged 12 points and 11.3 rebounds in the final 18 games. His attributes include shot blocking and he had five blocks in his first career start last season. Adelman raves about Dieng’s timing when blocking shots.
“It’s incredible. I would say there are probably 10 guys in the league that have that, especially where he is chasing a guard or a perimeter player. His first jump is so quick.”
Adelman said Dieng is “close” to being an upper echelon NBA defender already. With long arms, timing and athleticism, the 6-11 Dieng will some day be expected to become “captain” of the team’s defense with an understanding of his assignments and those of all four teammates, according to Adelman.
The Timberwolves made a trade during the 2013 draft to acquire Dieng in the first round. Has he exceeded expectations? “I don’t think so,” Adelman said. “That’s why we drafted him. We saw something special in him. I think his progression is right where we thought it would be.”