Iowa hadn’t trailed Minnesota in football since 2016 coming into Saturday’s contest. The Gophers ended that streak in the final seconds of the first half at Kinnick Stadium.

A Minnesota field goal as time expired but the Gophers up, 13-10, over the Hawkeyes at halftime. Iowa scored a field goal on its first possession to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. After Minnesota answered with three points of its own, Iowa went up 10-3 on a quarterback sneak from Alex Padilla — his first touchdown as a Hawkeye. Minnesota then rallied to score 10 points in the final 5:27 of the first half to take a lead at the break. Iowa wide receiver fumbled near midfield to set up Minnesota’s field goal before the half.

Daily Iowan Pregame Editor Robert Read and Sports Editor Austin Hanson are in the press box covering the game. Here are their reactions to the first half of action.

Iowa’s defense looks sloppy

Minnesota is down its top-two running backs, but that doesn’t seem to matter. The Gophers have run all over the Hawkeyes in the first 30 minutes of play in Iowa City.

Head coach P.J. Fleck’s team has gained 139 yards on the ground and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry through two quarters. Ky Thomas ran for 76 yards in the first half. His teammate in the backfield, Mar’Keise Irving, added 58 yards on 11 attempts. Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s unit has looked sloppy at times in the first half — missing tackles in the open field and being dominated at the line of scrimmage. Iowa has come up with some short-yardage stops, but that hasn’t been enough.

Losing starting safety Jack Koerner, who left the field with 2:03 remaining in the half with an injury, wouldn’t do Iowa any favors. He is one of Iowa’s best run supporters in the secondary. His status for the second half is uncertain.

Aside from a play-action play on fourth down that resulted in Minnesota’s lone touchdown of the first half, the Gopher passing game has been relatively nonexistent. But Minnesota hasn’t needed to pass. It is getting everything it needs on the ground. And if that continues, it could be a long second half for the Hawkeyes.

– Robert Read, Pregame Editor

Assessing Padilla’s first half as a starter

Despite the error it made at the end of the first half that led to a Minnesota score, Iowa’s offense looked better and more versatile in the opening two quarters of Saturday’s game than it has all season

Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz had quarterback Alex Padilla rolling out of the pocket to throw — a sight seldom seen with former starter Spencer Petras in at QB. The Hawkeyes were also throwing the ball deep dowfield. Not all of Padilla’s long passes were complete, but it felt like he was throwing a lot more of them than Petras ever did. Padilla went 7-of-13 for 99 yard in half No. 1.

Padilla made the Hawkeyes’ offense look multi-faceted and less one-dimensional. In the first half of Saturday’s game, Iowa’s passing attack was a threat. In the first seven games Iowa played this season, opposing defenses didn’t have to worry much about the pass.

If teams stacked the box and stopped the run in Iowa’s first seven games, they stopped the Hawkeyes’ offense. With a legitimate passing threat, Iowa can spread defenses out and give running back Tyler Goodson more opportunities to be successful too.

For the first time this year, I feel confident saying Iowa’s offense has the firepower to come back and win a game. Expect the Hawkeyes’ offense to do just enough to lift Iowa past Minnesota this afternoon.

– Austin Hanson, Sports Editor