Minnesota 13, Iowa 10: Four Iowa turnovers outweigh a yardage edge

Minnesota was outgained and lost the third-down battle on its own field, and it still beat No. 15 Iowa 13-10 on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The difference was the ball. Iowa turned it over four times, and Minnesota gave it away once.

In a game where neither offense reached 250 yards, a 4-1 turnover margin was enough to decide it. Minnesota moves to 5-2. Iowa falls to 5-2.

How it was won

The scoring log we have shows three plays. L. Drzewiecki made a 31-yard field goal at 12:14 of the first quarter. C. Buhr answered with a 32-yard field goal at 6:49 of the second. At 8:08 of the third, D. Taylor ran in from 1 yard for a touchdown, with Drzewiecki adding the extra point.

Those plays account for 13 of the game's 23 points. The remaining scores were not in the log, so we will not guess at them.

The box score tells the rest. Iowa finished with 246 total yards to Minnesota's 155, and 15 first downs to 10. Iowa also held the ball longer, 28:33 to 26:27.

It did not matter. Hank Brown went 9 of 18 for 96 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, and Iowa lost the ball twice more on top of that. Its biggest gain through the air was a 57-yard catch by Tony Diaz, his only reception. Reece Vander Zee added three catches for 32 yards.

The Iowa run game never got going. L.J. Phillips Jr. had 25 yards on seven carries and Kamari Moulton 22 on ten, part of 88 rushing yards for the team. Iowa converted 4 of 15 on third down.

Minnesota was no better moving the ball. Drake Lindsey completed 12 of 21 for 91 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. The Gophers went 1 for 11 on third down. Javon Tracy was the most useful player on the field for them, with seven catches for 45 yards and two carries for 22. Xavier Ford ran eight times for 33 yards, and Roman Voss caught three passes for 34.

Minnesota did not need much. It protected the ball and let Iowa's mistakes do the work.

Against the number

Iowa closed as a 7.5-point favorite, and Minnesota did not need the points. It won outright at +235 on the moneyline, with Iowa at -290.

The total closed at 40.5. With 23 points scored, the under came in by 17.5. Given two offenses that combined for 401 yards and 5 of 26 on third down, that was never in much doubt.

The closing numbers for this one are on the game page.

What's next

Minnesota goes to No. 6 Indiana on Saturday, October 31 (CBS). The Gophers' season has run in both directions: lopsided losses to Mississippi State (38-13) and Purdue (41-13), and close wins over Washington (27-24), Michigan (20-14) and now Iowa. A trip to a top-10 team will test whether this defense can carry it again.

Iowa's next game was not listed in the schedule data we have. The Hawkeyes now have two losses, after falling 31-14 to No. 5 Ohio State earlier in the month. Their wins include a 20-19 result at No. 18 Michigan and a 41-24 win at Washington last time out. The defense held up here. Four giveaways were the problem.