Iowa football: Five observations from victory over Minnesota

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 16: Defensive back Riley Moss #33 of the Iowa Hawkeyes breaks up a pass intended for wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell #7 of the Minnesota Gophers during the first half on November 16, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

The breaks fell Iowa’s way today

A week after Iowa football fans could argue they were a bad officiating play away from tying the game up in Madison, Wisconsin last weekend, the breaks seemingly fell the Hawkeye’s way yesterday.

To be fair, there were a few breaks that went Minnesota’s way as well such as the phantom pass interference on Riley Moss at the goal line (when I say phantom, I mean the ball was uncatchable), or redshirt sophomore safety Jack Koerner dropping what might have been one of the easiest interception opportunities of his career, or the ball flying through Tyrone Tracy’s hands (it was a hard throw and a tough catch) at the goal line forcing Iowa to settle for a field goal.

The Gophers’ mistakes, however, were a bit more noticeable.

First, Minnesota’s backup kicker cost them an opportunity to win the game as he missed both a long field goal attempt and an extra point attempt on the Gopher’s final touchdown. That’s four points right there.

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There was also the PJ Fleck penalty on a 4th down attempt just yards away from Iowa’s endzone. I still don’t know how I feel about the call, but here’s what happened. Iowa defensive back Dane Belton hit Tyler Johnson after he dropped the ball, which resulted in unsportsmanlike conduct. PJ Fleck sprinted onto the field to tend to Johnson, and he received unsportsmanlike conduct. Instead of first down Minnesota at Iowa’s 6, it was first down Iowa.

It was a huge play that fortunately went the Hawk’s way as they won the game 23-19.

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