Upon further review: Minnesota Gophers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
If there's such a thing as "winning ugly" then there's also "losing ugly."
Saturday, Minnesota proved the former in falling to Iowa 14-7 in what had to be one of the lesser-played games of this college football season.
Neither the Gophers nor the Hawkeyes could get much going offensively, and that had a little to do with good defense but a lot to do with poor execution on offense.
Iowa, though, had two of the game's bigger plays. One led to a score, the other was the go-ahead touchdown. That was enough to beat Minnesota, which nearly had as many punts (9) as completed passes (13).
A recap of Saturday's game:
CLASS LESSONS
-- Mitch Leidner was unfairly saddled with the label of potential first-round NFL Draft pick by a well-known analyst this past summer. That's some hype which is hard to live up to as anyone who has actually seen Leidner play would likely disagree with that assessment. Still, Leidner shouldn't be as bad as he demonstrated Saturday. He completed just 13 of 33 passes with two interceptions. Leidner was bailed out more than a few times by nice receptions on high passes, but to be fair, there were a few drops from Minnesota's receivers as well. Nevertheless, Leidner was off-target all day and at times looked uncharacteristically skittish in the pocket. He often seemed to want to go to the first choice in his progression no matter what, which meant he was either forcing passes when he shouldn't or he looked to run quickly (and he gained only 1 yard on seven carries). It was a forgettable game for Leidner and made even worse by the Gophers not making the quarterback available to the media. This is not a good look, Minnesota.
-- Getting KiAnte Hardin back made a difference. One of four players returning to Minnesota from suspension, Hardin was the only one to start. He finished with a career-high seven tackles and had his first interception. The pick, which occurred in the first quarter, was a really nice play by Hardin. On a deep pass, he stayed with the receiver, got a hand in to tip the ball and then caught the deflection.
-- Iowa had three opportunities to go for it on fourth down. In the first quarter, on 4th-and-1, quarterback C.J. Beathard dove over the top to get the first down. In the second quarter, Iowa appeared to go for it from 4th-and-4 from the Minnesota 39 but had Beathard pooch punt it (and he did kick it to the 3). Then in the fourth, the Hawkeyes had 4th-and-1 from the Minnesota 41 and faked it, trying to get the Gophers to go offsides but instead took a delay of game penalty. With the way Minnesota's offense wasn't moving the ball, it was sort of surprising to see Iowa just not go for it on the other two occasions, but then again, it wasn't like the Hawkeyes were highly proficient on offense, either.
-- What difference does a big run make? Without his 54-yard touchdown, Akrum Wadley rushed for 4.07 yards per carry. LeShun Watkins had a 31-yard run, but just 35 yards on his 16 other carries (2.18 average).
-- A bouncing football can be hard to corral. After Desmond King fumbled the opening kickoff, it got batted around and Minnesota had chances to recover it but instead Iowa retained possession. The game could have turned around there for the Gophers, who would have had a short field and some much-needed momentum.
-- Among those making great catches against Iowa were wide receiver Brian Smith and tight end Rashad Still. Both of Still's receptions were reviewed and declared catches. Smith had three catches, including one on the sideline at the 13-yard line as Minnesota drove down the field in the final minute.
-- Whatley's 54-yard touchdown run was Iowa's longest play from scrimmage . . . this season.
-- Minnesota went for a touchdown instead of a first down (albeit it was 4th-and-15 due to a false start) and Leidner threw to Smith, who, covered in the end zone, never really had a shot at the pass which needed more air under it in addition to being thrown a little deeper. The way the game went for Minnesota, it was fairly appropriate it ended this way for the Gophers.
DULY NOTED
-- Minnesota had 28 combined total yards on its first five drives. The Gophers followed that with back-to-back 50-yard drives. The first, Minnesota's final drive of the half, ended in a Leidner interception. The latter, the Gophers' first drive of the third quarter, resulted in a touchdown. Minnesota followed that with six possessions in which it totaled 24 total yards. Minnesota's final drive went for 70 yards before stalling out.
-- Rodney Smith didn't start at running back after hurting his hand on the game's opening kickoff. He debuted with the offense on Minnesota's third series and had a costly fumble on his third carry. Smith had 11 carries for 44 yards with a long rush of 9. With Smith hurt, Kobe McCray started. He got one carry to open the game and never touched the football again.
-- Leidner's first completion didn't come until there was 5:55 left in the half.
-- Tai'yon Devers, who has three sacks this year (his only three tackles), suited up and saw limited action after missing last week's game. He did not record a tackle.
-- After right tackle Jonah Prisig went out with an injury, left tackle Garrison Wright moved to right tackle and Donnell Greene went to left tackle. An interesting move considering Leidner's blind side is protected by the left side.
WHAT IT MEANT
Thoughts of winning the Big Ten West? Yeah, those are pretty much gone. That's a tough pill to swallow with seven conference games left. Oh, and that trophy case remains barren.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Junior linebacker Jonathan Celestin was all over the field, making a career-high 13 tackles (his previous high was eight, set last week), 12 of which were solo. Celestin also was credited with one pass broken up.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME
Senior linebacker Nick Rallis hasn't seen much action in his four years, but he certainly made his presence felt against Iowa -- and in just one half. Rallis, who had five tackles this season (all in the opener) and had appeared in just two games, recorded seven tackles, all in the second half. Rallis forced a fumble when he punched the ball away from wide receiver Riley McCarron after a catch, with Minnesota recovering, and stopped quarterback C.J. Beathard for a 6-yard loss to force a punt and give the Gophers their final possession.
THAT MOMENT
Minnesota thwarted an Iowa scoring drive with an interception late in the fourth quarter, but the Gophers couldn't do anything and had to punt from their own 24. Unfortunately, Ryan Santoso, who entered averaging 41.9 yards per punt and had averaged 44.5 yards on his first eight boots of the game, shanked one at the worst possible time. The 30-yard punt gave Iowa, which just needed a field goal to take the lead, the ball at its own 46. Next play, touchdown.
THIS NUMBER
8 -- Number of three-and-outs for Minnesota in 14 possessions. Iowa had four three-and-outs, although two came at the tail end of the game when the Hawkeyes were trying to run the clock out.
THEY SAID IT
"We didn't control the line of scrimmage. It's simple. This game is a pretty simple game. We got whipped up front." -- Head coach Tracy Claeys
"It was a tough loss in a huge game that we prepare years and years for, 365 days of work for. This is a rivalry game, playing for the pig. It was a hurt feeling in the locker room." -- Running back Shannon Brooks
"We ran that play in the first half, and we went back to it. They did a great job blocking, and George Kittle got the last man and all I had to do was beat one and I was off to the races." -- Iowa running back Akrum Wadley
WHAT'S NEXT
Minnesota travels to Maryland for an 11 a.m. game next Saturday trying to break a two-game losing streak. The Terrapins won their first four games, albeit against iffy competition, before getting routed 38-14 at Penn State.
Dave Heller is the author of the upcoming book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams Players from the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
