Good afternoon from a frigid Huntington Bank Stadium, where the Gophers face Iowa (3 p.m., FOX, 100.3-FM) in a battle for Floyd of Rosedale and for positioning in the Big Ten's West Division race. The weather certainly will be a factor today, with a 12:30 p.m. temperature of 17 degrees and winds from the west-northwest at 18 miles per hour. The coldest Gophers game in the stadium came in 2014 against Ohio State, when the kickoff temperature was 15.
The Gophers (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) will try to end Iowa's seven-year hold on the bronze hog statue and will try to give coach P.J. Fleck his first win over the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3). Minnesota came close last year, outgaining the Hawkeyes 409-277 and holding the ball for 40 minutes, 2 seconds, but a couple of big plays for touchdowns enabled Iowa to win 27-22.
Entering Saturday's games, there was a four-way tie atop the West among the Gophers, Iowa, Illinois and Purdue. That now is down to a two-way tie between the Gophers-Iowa winner after the Boilermakers beat Northwestern 17-9 and the Fighting Illini lost 19-17 at No. 3 Michigan.
For the Gophers to win the West outright and reach Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game, they must beat Iowa today and Wisconsin next week and have Purdue lose at Indiana. Purdue has the tiebreaker over the Gophers because of their 20-10 win over Minnesota on Oct. 1
With the cold temperatures and wind, expect even more of a ground game from both teams. Mohamed Ibrahim has averaged 34.7 carries over his past three games, and he's surpassed 100 rushing yards in consecutive games. He also ranks fifth nationally with 1,261 rushing yards and leads the nation with 18 rushing touchdowns. Iowa counters with a defense that's allowing 88.6 rushing yards per game, which ranks eighth nationally.
Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell leads the Big Ten with 100 tackles, and while defensive back Cooper DeJean has four interceptions, he's tied for second in the conference. Joe Evans and Lukas Van Ness each have six sacks for the Hawkeyes, and Deontae Craig has 5.5.
Other storylines to watch:
The Gophers quarterback situation: Tanner Morgan was in sweatpants and a jersey during pregame warmups, meaning redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis will make his third start for the Gophers. Kaliakmanis started last week's 31-3 win over Northwestern and completed 7 of 13 passes for 64 yards. Morgan suffered an upper body injury late in the first half at Nebraska. That came three weeks after he suffered a concussion at Illinois.
The kicking game: With wind being a factor, special teams become more important. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens is 13-for-15 on field goals, while the Gophers' Matthew Trickett is 11-for-12. Hawkeyes punter Tory Taylor averages 45.52 yards on his 64 punts, while Minnesota's Mark Crawford averages 40.12.
Quick starts: In their seven-game winning streak over the Gophers, the Hawkeyes have scored first in each game and have outscored Minnesota 51-13 in the first quarter.
