It finally happened. Iowa beat a Big Ten team with a record above .500 for the first time this season when it took down Minnesota, 17-10, on Oct. 28.

The Hawkeyes stepped up big, especially in the first three quarters, not allowing a score until the fourth.

They also kept the Gopher offense at bay for the most part, as Minnesota could only muster 281 yards of total offense.

With the return of James Butler, Iowa’s running game improved as well. After rushing for merely 89 yards against Northwestern on Oct. 21, the Hawkeyes racked up 125 total yards on the ground.

The improvement was not just noticed on the stat sheet but in the standings as well. The win has Iowa inching toward bowl eligibility at 5-3 instead of staring into a dark abyss at 4-4.

Points allowed: 10

The 10 points Iowa allowed against the Gophers was its best showing since defeating Wyoming, 24-3, in the opener.

The Hawkeyes made Minnesota’s offense one dimensional for most of the game. Quarterback Demry Croft only connected on 9-of-29 passes. That’s “good” for a completion percentage of 31 percent.

Croft also threw for just 129 yards, with 63 of them coming on one play. He suffered 4 sacks and threw an interception as well.

The woes in the passing game forced Minnesota to try to find its ground attack; it ran for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Rodney Smith had a game-high 82 yards on the ground, while Shannon Brooks and Kobe McCrary ran for 40 and 22 yards, respectively.

Overall, Iowa played some stout defense. The return of linebacker Josey Jewell helped with that — the senior racked up 11 tackles.

Longest pass: 45 yards

The biggest criticism of quarterback Nate Stanley this season has been his inaccuracy on deep passes.

However, the sophomore seems to have turned that around, completing deep balls in each of the past two weeks.

Against Northwestern, Stanley connected on a 61-yard bomb to Matt VandeBerg. He continued that against Minnesota, hitting tight end Noah Fant for a 45-yard touchdown.

Stanley also threw a deep dime to true freshman Ihmir Smith-Marsette early in the game, but the wide receiver couldn’t secure it, and the ball bounced off him and was caught by Minnesota’s Jacob Huff for an interception.

Still, it was apparent Stanley had made strides in that aspect of the game. His deep ball has gone from a constant source of frustration for Hawkeye fans to a source of excitement in under two weeks.

Yards per punt: 37.7

After having one of the best punting games of the season against Northwestern, the Hawkeyes couldn’t follow it up.

Ryan Gersonde and Colten Rastetter combined to average 53 yards a punt against the Wildcats but followed that by averaging almost 16 yards fewer against the Gophers.