5 things that stood out in Minnesota’s win over Iowa

If all goes according to plan, the Gophers and Wisconsin could be playing for the West Division title on Nov. 25.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are suddenly back in the Big Ten West Division race after beating Iowa 12-10 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. Here are five things that really stood out... 

1. Officials steal possible winning TD

Make no mistake, this call may have stolen the game from Iowa but the rules are the rules and who are we to argue with the officials?

Did Cooper DeJean, by circling his left arm, signal for a fair catch? And did the officials initially review the punt return touchdown to see if DeJean stepped out of bounds and then just so happened to realize he may have signaled for a fair catch? Will we ever find out? 

The argument in favor of the ruling is that players can't make hand signals that resemble a fair catch signal because it can confuse the coverage team and the officials, and therefore is unfair. But hey, you be the judge... 

NOT A FAIR CATCH pic.twitter.com/w39L3cY9m6

— Trent (@BarstoolTrent) October 21, 2023

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2. Fleck’s use of timeouts 

Winning by two points makes this a moot point, but at the time it was a questionable called by PJ Fleck to call a timeout before a third down play late in the first quarter with the wind at Minnesota’s backs. After the timeout, the Gophers ran the ball and called another timeout so Dragan Kesich could attempt a field with the wind behind him. 

The weird part of the decision was the running play after the timeout. A running play keeps the clock moving, whereas a pass would've given Fleck more options. If it's complete for a first down they could've kept driving with hopes of setting up a shorter field goal or a touchdown. If it's incomplete the clock stops and they don't have to burn a timeout. 

Even after the running play they could've hurried the kicking team onto the field to kick with the wind at their back, but they elected to burn two timeouts. 

It worked out because Kesich made the kick, but Minnesota wound up having no timeouts when they got the ball back late in the first half. Had they not burned those timeouts maybe they could’ve mustered another scoring drive to end the first half. 

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3. The drive of bad penalties

In a game where only one touchdown is scored, it should come as no surprise that Iowa scoring that touchdown required help from four Minnesota penalties.

The Gophers stopped Iowa in 3rd-and-4 from the 40 only to have Danny Striggow get called for a 15-yard face mask penalty. 

Then a pass interference penalty on Justin Walley gave Iowa the ball at the 6-yard line. The moved to the 3-yard line after an encroachment penalty and then after stuffing Iowa on third down at the 1-yard line Tyler Nubin was called for unsportsmanlike conduct when he flicked the ball out of Hill’s hands after the whistle. 

If Minnesota hadn’t been so undisciplined, Iowa might’ve only scored 3 or 6 points in the game. 

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4. Throwing the ball works sometimes

Oct 21, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (8) holds the Floyd of Rosedale trophy with teammates after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

This game had all the makings of a slobber knocker as two of the worst passing teams in the country met up on a windy day in October. It was ugly. 

Deacon Hill was 10 of 28 for 116 yards and an interception while Athan Kaliakmanis was 10 of 25 for 126 yards. What’s crazy is that Kaliakmanis had just 8 passing yards in the first half. Once Minnesota started attempting more passes, the offense seemed to get into a better groove. It wasn’t pretty, but the Gophers passing the ball more often might not be a bad idea going forward.

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5. Gophers back in Big Ten West race

At 4-3 the Gophers still have a shot to represent the West Division in the Big Ten championship game. They're just one game behind Wisconsin and they now own the tiebreaker over Iowa. They also own the tiebreaker over Nebraska and every other team in the division is pretty much out of contention so the Gophers, dare we say, control their own destiny so long as they beat Wisconsin. 

Sports Illustrated

The Gophers host Michigan State next week and then play at home against Illinois on Nov. 4. Win both of those and they're 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference. That would set the stage for a road game at Purdue, which on paper is another winnable game that hypothetically could get Minnesota to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten. 

Then come the final two weeks, both on the road against Ohio State and Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin, meanwhile, hosts Ohio State next week. If they lose and the Gophers beat Michigan State, they'll be tied atop the Big Ten West entering the final month of football.