The Gophers didn't climb back into the Top 25 with their win over Iowa, but they received enough votes to sit at No. 27 in the coaches poll and No. 30 in the Associated Press poll.
Minnesota has yet to crack the AP Top 25 this season but sat at No. 24 in the coaches poll before getting upset at Illinois two weeks ago.
Next Saturday's opponent, Ohio State, climbed to No. 8 in the latest AP rankings and No. 7 in the coaches poll after its 49-37 win over Michigan State on Saturday.
This will be the Gophers' first game against a top-10 team since they lost to then-No. 8 California 35-21 on Sept. 19, 2009.
Top players sit
Damien Wilson wasn't the only defensive starter who began Saturday on the bench. Defensive end Theiren Cockran also watched for the first few plays while true freshman Gaelin Elmore took his place.
Cockran made his first appearance on Iowa's fourth play from scrimmage. Wilson didn't appear until Iowa started its third drive. On Saturday, coach Jerry Kill hinted that Wilson had been late to a meeting.
"We just have certain beliefs in the way the program's run," defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said Sunday. "Each week, you're expected to live up to those expectations, and if you don't, there'll be some consequences. And they're both good kids. But they could have done a few things a little better during the week."
Another early kickoff
Saturday's game against Ohio State will be the fifth consecutive 11 a.m. kickoff for the Gophers. They are 8-2 in their past 10 games in that time slot, including 3-1 in this stretch against Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois and Iowa.
