Sid Hartman: At least Gophers' play improved in second half

If you are looking for positives from the Gophers' 31-13 loss to Iowa on Saturday, look at how they came back to play well in the second half after the Hawkeyes jumped out to a 24-0 first-half lead.The Gophers outscored the Hawkeyes 13-7 in the second half. That lone Iowa touchdown came on an a 68-yard interception return by linebacker Christian Kirksey with 5 minutes, 15 seconds to play.

And Mark Weisman, the outstanding Hawkeyes running back who rushed for 155 yards in the first half, was held to only 22 in the second.

Interestingly, the Gophers and the Hawkeyes ended the game with the same number of first downs, 15 apiece. But the Gophers had just three in the first half and 12 in the second. Iowa had the reverse: 12 in the first half, three in the second.

The Gophers remain a good, young football team that will get better as the season develops and will win some games.

However, for some reason, the Gophers offense wasn't ready to play early in this game. Iowa got the ball first and drove six plays for 49 yards before getting a 44-yard field goal.

When the Gophers got possession, there was a badly handled kickoff return and an interception by Tanner Miller, which led to an 8-yard Iowa touchdown run by Weisman to cap a 21-yard drive.

From there, the Hawkeyes continued to take advantage of the Gophers' misplays and completely dominated the first half. It was the first game of the season where the Gophers lost the battle at the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively, and that is where this game was lost.

Against the Gophers, Iowa finished with 182 yards rushing, almost all of it by Weisman, who evaded one defensive player after another in one of the poorer tackling jobs this Gophers team has had.

The Gophers rushed for 102 yards, most of it in the fourth quarter, with quarterback Max Shortell being the leader with 46 yards. Donnell Kirkwood, who came into the day averaging 90.3 rushing yards per game for the Gophers, was held to 33 yards on 12 carries.

"We didn't have any momentum in the first half; they had it all and kept it," Gophers coach Jerry Kill said after the game.

"Once we settled down, we played better, but they had [24] points on the board."

The Gophers did go in with a lot of players banged up, and the upcoming bye week will give them a chance to heal for the homecoming game against Northwestern. The Wildcats are 5-0, but they have had their problems defensively and let a poor Indiana team score 29 points against them Saturday.

Simpson expects to produce If the Vikings are to beat the Lions, they will need some help from receiver Jerome Simpson, who is eligible to play after missing the first three games because of a suspension related to a drug arrest.

Simpson wasn't allowed to practice with the team during the first three weeks of the season, but he said: "I think I'm in shape. I'm an athletic guy and I train hard, so I don't think it will be too bad for me just getting back in the groove of everything."

Simpson said he has been catching balls on his own using a machine that simulates a QB's throw.

"I have been doing things to try and keep me in football mode," he said. "It's still different from going out there on the field and running it with a real quarterback and a defender trying to guard you.

"I still need to improve, but I felt really good out there [in practice this week]. I credit the strength and conditioning team here, too, because I really didn't feel winded in anything."

A real threat last year with the Bengals when he caught 50 passes for 725 yards and four touchdowns, Simpson, who spend four years with Cincinnati, was a free agent after the season and drew interest from several teams despite his personal problems and the NFL suspension that teams knew was coming.

Simpson, 26, said he believes the three-game suspension was fair. "It's over with now. I'm just glad it's over with and I can move on with my life without having anything else hanging over my head," he said.

Changes coming at Target Field The Twins, set to play their final home game of the 2012 season Sunday, will soon announce a modification to the right-field bleachers seating section at Target Field. The section currently features a number of obstructed seats that will be removed.

On Oct. 14, the Twins baseball operation group will gather in Fort Myers, Fla., to discuss the future of the struggling major league squad, a squad that has lost 92 games with four to go this season after losing 99 games in 2011.

Jottings