Iowa, behind Kaleb Johnson’s 206 yards, dominates Minnesota 31-14

A halftime was squandered as Johnson carried the Hawkeyes to a win

Floyd of Rosedale is heading south as Iowa beat Minnesota 31-14 behind 206 yards from Kaleb Johnson. The Hawkeye junior back single-handedly carried the Iowa offense in the second half as they overcame a halftime deficit and dominated Minnesota in the final two quarters.

A slow start for both teams but Iowa intercepted a Max Brosmer pass on Minnesota’s 2nd possession and used the short field to go up 7-0. Johnson ran for 23, getting the ball down to the one and then he plunged into the end zone for the early lead.

But Minnesota, on the arm of Max Brosmer, came to life in the 2nd quarter. Just in that 2nd quarter, Brosmer was 11/14 passing for 2 touchdowns and 118 yards. They scored on back-to-back possessions to end the half. The first was highlighted by a beautiful ball down the sideline, caught by Lemeke Brockington at the 3, which was followed by a touchdown pass to Jameson Geers.

The Gopher defense forced a quick Iowa punt and the Minnesota offense quickly drove down again. A 28-yard pass to Daniel Jackson, a 17-yard run by Darius Taylor and then Elijah Spencer broke tackles and willed his way into the end zone for an 11-yard score.

With that, the Gophers took a 14-7 lead into halftime. The Gophers outgained Iowa in the 1st half 222 yards to 107 while Brosmer was 17/26 with 2 touchdowns and 165 yards.

But the third quarter started with Iowa receiving the kickoff and the game turned quickly. Iowa’s first five possessions of the half looked like this.

• Touchdown in 5 plays
• Touchdown in 6 plays
• Field Goal
• Touchdown in 6 plays
• Punt penalty for running into the kicker so Iowa got a first down

Iowa started the 3rd quarter going 67 yards in 5 plays, making it look very easy. Johnson finished it off with a 15-yard touchdown run, reversing direction and running untouched into the end zone.

Their next possession ended with a Johnson 40-yard touchdown run. And you get the idea of how the entire 2nd half played out for the Iowa offense. Johnson had 88 yards at halftime, and finished with 206, averaging 9.8 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s 2nd half looked like this…

• Punt, gaining 1 first down
• Punt (3-and-out)
• Punt (3-and-out)
• Interception

The defensive struggled to stop Johnson and the Gopher offense never had the ability to answer with a score of their own. The Iowa offensive and defensive lines were in total control.

The struggles were frustrating and the excitement that had built through halftime quickly evaporated. The stadium was empty by the 2-minute warning and the only left was for Iowa to storm the field and reclaim Floyd of Rosedale for the next year.

Up next for Minnesota, it doesn’t get any easier as they head to Michigan. That game kicks off at 11:00 on Fox.