Iowa competing against Minnesota on Friday the 13th this season is fitting, because the Gopher defense has been scary through three games. And not in a good way.

The Hawkeye football team exploded for 49 points last week in its 42-point blowout win at home against Michigan State. Minnesota has given up 108 points through the first three games for an average of 36 points per game. The Gophers’ defense tied for 93rd out of 123 FBS teams in scoring defense.

Iowa could put up a large number in the points column for a second straight game, but anything can happen in a rivalry game.

“There’s something a little extra there, but you don’t want to think about it that way and get caught up in all that stuff,” Iowa linebacker Nick Niemann said about the rivalry. “We’re trying to go out there and get wins.”

Iowa and Minnesota both sit at 1-2 on the season, and both teams won their first game of the season last week. The loser of this week’s matchup is all but eliminated from Big Ten West contention, while the winner still has, at least, a path to the Big Ten Championship game.

Although Minnesota’s defense only allowed 14 points to Illinois in Week 3, Iowa’s offense should perform better than the Illini’s did last Saturday.

Two big reasons for that are Iowa’s sophomore running back Tyler Goodson and senior wide receiver Brandon Smith.

Both Smith and Goodson had impressive games against Michigan State. Goodson finished with 113 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns and Smith caught a touchdown for the second straight week.

Most likely, Smith as well as the rest of the Hawkeye receiving corps, will have opportunities to pad their stats against the Gophers. Minnesota has given up five passing touchdowns this season, including when its defense allowed Taulia Tagovailoa to throw for three scores and 394 yards in Week 2.

The outstanding performance from Tagovailoa in Week 2 came just one game after he was stifled by Northwestern in the season opener, throwing for less than 100 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Goodson has an opportunity to continue the success he had last week running the ball, especially against a Minnesota rushing defense that leaves a lot to be desired. The Gophers have allowed 725 yards on the ground through three games including 542 in the first two weeks. Minnesota has given up eight rushing touchdowns this season.

Apart from the statistical edge the Hawkeyes have, Iowa is also playing for pride when the game kicks off at 6 p.m. on FS1. Each annual Minnesota vs Iowa game is played for a trophy: The Floyd of Rosedale.

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The trophy has been on display in Iowa’s weight room throughout the week as the team prepares for the game.

“ I think that was a good reminder just that this is a rivalry game,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Every game is important. Every win means a lot but it’s just a reminder that this one typically is very hard fought and nobody owns the trophy. You get to keep it for a year, or this time maybe less than a year, a day less, but nonetheless it’s a one-year rental, so it’s up for grabs again.”

After the Hawkeyes retained the trophy last year, winning a thriller 23-19 at Kinnick Stadium over the then-undefeated Gophers, Iowa has no intention of giving it back.

Iowa has kept the trophy for the last five years.

“This is a trophy game, this is a very competitive game,” offensive lineman Mark Kallenberger said. “I know they want that trophy back. It’s going to be a fistfight. It’s not something that we’re looking past like ‘oh, this trophy doesn’t mean that much this year,’ because it does.

“We don’t want that [trophy] taken away from our building.”