Last Friday night, the Gophers defense put on a show at Huntington Bank Stadium. On the way to holding a Nebraska team that was averaging 41 points per game to a pair of field goals, the Gophers sacked Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola a program-record nine times.
That defensive dominance was the highlight of a 24-6 victory over the 25th-ranked Huskers that ended with a field storming by giddy fans.
A week later, the challenge ramps up a notch or two for Minnesota, which visits Iowa at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a matchup of teams with 5-2 overall records and 3-1 Big Ten marks. Fittingly, the Gophers and Hawkeyes will be playing for the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy, the 98-pound bronze statue of a prized hog, because the big boys in the trenches will have a lot to say about who wins the game.
Three defensive ends for the Gophers — Anthony Smith (2½ sacks), Karter Menz (2½) and Jaxon Howard (2) — combined for seven of those sacks against Nebraska, while tackle Deven Eastern and linebacker Matt Kingsbury contributed one each.
Replicating that production will be a tall order of the Gophers for a couple of reasons.
First, they’ll be matched up against an Iowa offensive line that might be the nation’s best.
Second, they’ll face a running quarterback in Iowa’s Mark Gronowski instead of Raiola, who often holds onto the ball to his team’s detriment. No Big Ten team has allowed more sacks than Nebraska’s 25.
Veteran group leads Hawkeyes
Pro Football Focus gave Iowa its mythical midseason Joe Moore Award (top offensive line). The Hawkeyes line carried a 91.3 overall rating from PFF, which was nearly nine points better than the runner-up. The linchpin of the line is senior center Logan Jones, ranked No. 1 at his position by PFF. The guards, sophomore Kade Pieper and senior Beau Stephens, are ranked Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, while sophomore Trevor Lauck is No. 9 and senior Gennings Dunker is No. 13 at tackle.
