Iowa football’s trophy case is three-quarters of the way full at the moment, and the Hawkeyes will look to keep it that way against No. 7 Minnesota.

Iowa has already competed in two trophy games this season, beating Iowa State to once again keep the Cy-Hawk Trophy in Iowa City and losing to Wisconsin — the fourth-straight year the Hawkeyes have been unable to hoist the Heartland Trophy.

The Heroes Trophy is currently in Iowa City, and it will be until Iowa and Nebraska face off on Black Friday.

On Saturday, the Golden Gophers will enter Kinnick Stadium with the hope of winning back the Floyd of Rosedale for the first time since 2014.

“Trophy games are always big for us,” defensive back Geno Stone said. “We’ve got Floyd right now, and we’re trying to keep him.”

This is undoubtedly the best Minnesota team Iowa has faced under head coach Kirk Ferentz, who holds a 16-4 record against the Gophers. Minnesota boasts an undefeated record to go along with its top-10 ranking.

Minnesota’s latest victory came against No. 4 Penn State, a win that proved to the rest of college football that the Gophers are for real.

“Minnesota comes in here 9-0, and that’s hard to do — really hard to do,” Ferentz said. “They deserve a lot of credit for that, certainly. Top-10 ranked team and certainly deserving of that, too. They’ve earned it, playing well in all three areas, and that’s where our attention is right now.”

Iowa has done well in trophy games of late, boasting an undefeated record against Iowa State, Nebraska, and Minnesota since 2015.

A win against Minnesota this time around would potentially be Iowa’s most memorable in the series since clinching the Big Ten title in Minneapolis in 2002. Hawkeye fans tore down the goalposts in the Metrodome’s south end zone after the victory.

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“We had nothing to do with that, just for the record,” Ferentz said. “No fingerprints, no DNA, no nothing.

“That’s so long ago. I do have a good friend that still thinks that’s the greatest thing he ever saw in sports. He saw it on TV, and he also said, ‘Your fans aren’t very smart. They’re not going to get that thing through a revolving door.’ But he still talks about that.”

Minnesota has the chance to do something similar this time around.

Not only would the Gophers cross the field and hoist Floyd victoriously for the first time in five seasons if they beat the Hawkeyes, but they would also clinch a share of the Big Ten West title.

The Hawkeyes spoiling Minnesota’s perfect season, and preventing — even if only for a week — the Gophers from clinching the division would make winning this trophy game even sweeter for Iowa.

“That’s what you look forward to, being able to walk off that field holding that trophy on your shoulders,” offensive guard Kyler Schott said. “They keep [the trophy] in the weight room during the week. It gives us a little extra motivation when we’re lifting weights. You realize what you’re working for, what you work all year-round for.”