This story has been updated to add a new photo, video and new information.
MINNEAPOLIS – Eleven rushing yards. Eleven. That’s all Iowa managed last year in a painful home loss to Minnesota that forced Floyd of Rosedale to travel north to Minneapolis for the first time since 2014.
But thanks to the continued dominance of Iowa’s running game and a comeback in the second half, the Bronze Pig returns to Iowa City.
And, whoa, Iowa needed that.
After 30 minutes of Big Ten Saturday Night football on NBC, it looked like the Hawkeyes’ season was going downhill with a game against Ohio State still on the schedule. But thanks to Kaleb Johnson’s three touchdowns and a defense that decided enough was enough, they crushed the host Gophers and walked away with a decisive 31-14 victory in front of 52,048 fans at Maroon Out.
However, the student section at Huntington Bank Stadium largely emptied around 9:30 p.m. after Iowa’s Quinn Schulte intercepted a deflected ball with 7:56 minutes left in a 17-point lead.
“Just keep going, keep playing,” said star linebacker Jay Higgins. “We knew at halftime that the game wasn’t over.”
While this wasn’t Iowa’s best half of an up-and-down season, it was certainly its best. And Johnson was right in the middle of that dominance, finishing the game with 21 carries for 206 yards. His 40-yard run, in which he looked like he was pinned at the line of scrimmage but then burst through the gap into the open field, gave Iowa a 21-14 lead with 5:43 left in the third quarter.
This was a satisfying edition of “Bully Ball” executed by an Iowa offense that seemed overwhelmed in the first half, trailing 14-7 at halftime before outscoring Minnesota 24-0 in the second half. Iowa outscored the Gophers 159-14 in the third quarter.
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Remember the 11 rushing yards in last year’s 12-10 home loss? Iowa managed 45 carries for 272 yards in that game. Oh, and a Bronze Pig to improve to 3-1.
“That’s a lot better, isn’t it?” left tackle Mason Richman said of the increase from 11 to 272 in one year. “That speaks to improvement. We have a very experienced group up front. … On offense, we’re all working our asses off.”
Kaleb JohnsonWhat Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson said after his 206-yard game in Minnesota
The Hawkeyes running back said he thought this was the best rushing game of his career.
“Incredible”: Kaleb Johnson continues to collect statistics
So much so that even Iowa’s rushing offense includes runs to the No. 2. In a somewhat confusing but telling move, Johnson ran twice for long gains in the final seconds of the first half instead of the Hawkeyes attempting a Hail Mary. Maybe that was just a reminder to himself that the Hawkeyes could have the best player on the field every Saturday and they’re better off if he gets the football often.
The junior became the first Hawkeye in 12 years to rush for 100 yards in four consecutive games on Saturday. The last person to do so was Mark Weisman in the 2012 season.
Johnson topped 100 yards on his first drive of the second half, a 17-yard run that also resulted in a late hitting penalty. He capped that drive with a 15-yard touchdown run, also his fourth consecutive game with multiple touchdowns. He had two in each of Iowa’s first three games.
Johnson entered Saturday with the most rushing yards in the FBS. After his 206-yard run on Saturday, Johnson now has 82 carries for 685 yards and nine touchdowns in four games. That’s an average of 8.35 yards per carry and 171.3 per game.
“When the O-line allows him to get through the first level, K2 does an incredible job of winning on the second and third levels,” Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara said. “He can outrun any defense. When our O-line moves guys like that, it makes his job easy.”
This was Johnson’s second 200-yard rushing game of his career, the first as a freshman at Purdue. He agreed this was probably the best game of his Iowa career.
“I feel like I can do more. I just always want to do more,” Johnson said. “I’m never satisfied.”
Jay Higgins: “Unquestionable faith” led to comeback victory in Minnesota
Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins had an interception in the first half and contributed to the defense’s dominance later in the second half.
A key interception by Jay Higgins
Jay Higgins is known more for his tackles than his interceptions. The senior linebacker, who tied Andre Jackson’s single-season record with 171 tackles in 2023, is now tied with the Hawkeyes’ team leader with two interceptions. Both times were against trophy rivals. Both times were bullets thrown surprisingly directly at him. And both times, Higgins caught the ball.
But unlike Higgins’ first interception of the season, Iowa turned it into seven points. Higgins’ interception of Max Brosmer at Minnesota’s 38-yard line with 10:08 left in the first quarter set up the first of three touchdown runs by Johnson.
Higgins explained that this theft was the result of a film study. He noticed that when Brosmer recognized a certain formation, he would inevitably make a throw to the running back at exactly three seconds.
“Three seconds and it goes to check down. That time he threw it on the second 1,000,” Higgins said. “The back wasn’t ready. But I was ready and knew it was coming. Just a detail. Coach (Seth) Wallace told me it was coming. I trusted him and went out and played.”
How big was that play? What followed was Johnson’s 23-yard run around the left end. It was a classic Johnson run around the end like we’ve seen so many times this year, except that upon review, it was determined that the junior had left the field at the 1-yard line.
But that didn’t matter, because Johnson stormed into the end zone on the next snap and scored a 1-yard touchdown – with Brendan Sullivan at quarterback.
Higgins’ interception earlier in the season gave Iowa the football at Iowa State’s 12-yard line for a 7-0 lead. But the Hawkeyes failed to convert that turnover into a touchdown, despite getting a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. They settled for three points this time and ended up losing by one point, 20-19.
Cade McNamara: What changed in the second half against Minnesota
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara talks about an improvement in performance in the second half of the Hawkeyes’ 31-14 win at Minnesota.
Of course, there was a controversial official review …
… That was ruled in Minnesota’s favor. With Iowa leading 7-0 late in the second quarter, Brosmer threw a deep ball down the left sideline to Le’Meke Brockington, who caught the ball at Iowa’s 3½-yard line. Most Iowa fans felt Brockington did not have control of the ball until his foot was out of bounds. Most Gopher fans felt he was hugging the ball to his body before his right foot left the ground. Upon review, the catch and 28-yard gain stood … giving the Gophers prime position instead of a fourth-down decision at Iowa’s 31. One play later, Brosmer threw a 3-yard touchdown to Jameson Geers, tying the score at 7-7 with 4:20 left before halftime.
Before that game, much of the talk revolved around a controversial invalid fair catch signal that was called against Iowa’s Cooper DeJean a year ago, which wiped an alleged Iowa touchdown off the board in a 12-10 loss. That signal certainly wasn’t as strong as DeJean’s, which resulted in T-shirts that read “That Wasn’t a Fair Catch,” but it still had an impact and got the home team going.
The Gophers scored another touchdown just before halftime with 21 seconds left in the second quarter on a gutsy 11-yard touchdown catch by Elijah Spencer on third-and-8, giving Minnesota a 14-7 halftime lead.
Interestingly (perhaps to some), Addison Ostrenga’s catch, which was initially ruled a pike catch, was disallowed in almost the exact same spot on the field. A second replay against the Hawkeyes had the Iowa players on the sidelines fed up.
“Sideline was a little irritated,” Higgins said. “Afterwards, Sideline said, ‘We’re not doing that again.'”
Of course, he was referring to the 2023 DeJean overturn. Anyway, instead of a 14-yard catch and first-and-goal at the 1, Iowa faced third-and-10 at the 15… and still scored on a Johnson draw play to tie the score at 14-14.
Kirk Ferentz13 good minutes with Kirk Ferentz after Iowa’s 31-14 win in Minnesota
The Iowa head coach had a lot to say about the second-half turnaround in Minneapolis … and punter Rhys Dakin.
Kirk Ferentz: 199 wins, only Woody Hayes remains
Iowa’s comeback victory on Saturday was Ferentz’s 199th overall win as a Big Ten Conference head coach, putting him in a tie for second all-time in that category with Amos Alonzo Stagg. Only Ohio State legend Woody Hayes (205 wins) now ranks ahead of Ferentz.
Iowa’s next game is against Ohio State on October 5. Of course, the No. 3-ranked Buckeyes are clear favorites, but it could be a memorable No. 200 if Ferentz pulls off the ultimate upset.
With eight Big Ten games remaining and Ferentz needing six games to tie Hayes and seven to get to the top, this may be one to watch through the end of November.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has worked for The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network for 29 years. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s texting group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
