Iowa football: Five observations from victory over Minnesota
By Andrew Wade
The Iowa football team took down top-10 ranked Minnesota. Here are there five things we learned and noticed from the Hawks’ victory.
What a game. What a freaking game last night between the Iowa football team and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The Hawks took a lead early and never relinquished the lead a single time against the previously undefeated Gophers as they won 23-19. It wasn’t easy though. Minnesota battled back in the second half after getting down 20-3 in the first, and there were some big (re: game-changing) plays and calls on both sides throughout the game.
But at the end of the day, if you’re an Iowa football fan, you’ve got be happy with the resolve of this team to finally pull out a one-possession game against a ranked opponent this season after railing in their previous three attempts.
Games like these can change the direction of a season. It can inspire a fanbase and encourage a team, and although Iowa isn’t making the College Football Playoffs or the Big Ten Championship Game, they still have a good shot at hitting ten wins which is a rare milestone for many college football teams including the Hawks under Kirk Ferentz.
Back to yesterday’s game though, it was a much-needed win in a rivalry game against our apparently really angry and hateful neighbors to the north, and we learned quite a bit.
Here are the five observations and things we learned from last night’s contest.