The Hawkeye football team defeated Minnesota and moved to 10-0, the best start in Iowa history.

By Danny Payne
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Austin Blythe revealed a source of his motivation following No. 5 Iowa’s 40-35 win over Minnesota on Nov. 14.

It was quick, it was short, it was simple, but its message was still very true.

“I want to be a part of a team that Coach [Kirk] Ferentz references 10 years from now,” the center said.

Don’t be surprised if exactly what Blythe said comes to pass. The Hawkeyes are 10-0, the best start in program history. They grabbed that 10th win Nov. 14 in a fashion that wasn’t pretty, but that doesn’t matter. A win is a win, and that’s all that counts at the end of the day.

That’s not to underscore some tremendous individual performances the Hawkeyes had in front of 70,585 in what is perhaps the best day in Kinnick Stadium’s history. LeShun Daniels Jr. finished with 26 carries for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns. Quarterback C.J. Beathard went 18-of-26 for 213 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on the ground. In all, the Hawkeye offense finished with 506 yards.

The defense wasn’t good, allowing the Gophers to gain 434 yards and put up the highest point total by an Iowa opponent all season. It didn’t need to be; the Hawkeyes made enough plays on the other side of the ball to pick the defense up. Again, a win is a win.

“You can’t argue with 10-0, but that’s not what we’re looking for defensively,” said linebacker Cole Fisher, who finished with 9 tackles. “We can do a lot more.”

Yes, Iowa could do more, but what it did in the game’s most critical moments is what matters most.

Late in the third quarter, the Gophers pulled within 6 points. Playing strong team football, Desmond King took the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to the Minnesota 37. Beathard capped a four-play, 37-yard touchdown drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge, and Iowa’s defense went three-and-out to follow that up.

It may seem insignificant, but keeping the momentum in Iowa’s favor with that sequence was huge.

Give credit to Minnesota’s offense, too. The Gophers had a great game plan based on misdirection and were able to find a few soft spots in the Iowa secondary. Gopher quarterback Mitch Leidner outperformed Beathard in a statistical sense, going 19-of-27 for 259 yards and a touchdown. Receivers KJ Maye and Brandon Lingen finished with 106 and 105 yards catching passes, respectively.

Running back Shannon Brooks led the Gophers on the ground with 86 yards and a score.

Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell finished with 13 tackles and a sack, and Minnesota’s Antonio Johnson had a game-high 14 tackles.

“One thing about college football is you just never know what’s going to happen and how the game’s going to play out and what the momentum may be,” Ferentz said. “Today we gave up some big plays that were uncharacteristic … When something did happen, the offense really responded.

“Nothing seems to get our guys down; they come back the next possession and try to do something with it.”