Week 12 of college football continues as Minnesota travels to Kinnick Stadium to play against Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 4:00 P.M. This will be the 113th meeting between these two teams. These two teams have not met since last season when the Hawkeyes beat the Gophers on the road by the score of 48-31.
Minnesota Looks To Remain Undefeated
P.J. Fleck has his team in amazing form headed into this game. Specifically, Minnesota is still one of the only undefeated teams left in the nation as they have a potential shot at making it into the College Football Playoff. Last week, Minnesota was able to defeat a top-four team at home by a score of 31-26. Now, Minnesota will look for another win against a ranked opponent as it will travel to Kinnick Stadium in pursuit of another victory which will keep its undefeated record intact. Plus, this is the highest that the Gophers have been ranked since 1962 so they will look to move up even more with another victory on Saturday.Leading the Gophers offensively is sophomore quarterback Tanner Morganwho has been great this season. Specifically, he has thrown for 2,100 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns. In addition, he has also only thrown four interceptions so he has been amazing when it comes to limiting turnovers in the pocket which has helped this team remain efficient offensively. Now, Morgan will look to showcase that ball security once again on Saturday.
.@R_bateman2 is magic. pic.twitter.com/FII4PnXfKr
— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) November 11, 2019
Defensively, Minnesota has been extremely solid up to this point. Specifically, the Gophers are allowing 20.7 points per game which ranks 26th in the nation. In addition, the Gophers are allowing 309.8 yards per game which ranks 15th in the nation. Now, Minnesota will be looking for another great defensive performance on the road in a very hostile environment.
Iowa Looks To Move Up In AP Poll
Iowa enters this game with a solid 6-3 record despite losing to Wisconsin on the road last week by two points. As a result, Iowa's hopes at making the conference title game are virtually over but it can still look to pad its resume in order to improve the quality of bowl game that the Hawkeyes will play in. Currently, Iowa is ranked 20th in the AP Poll which is still respectable but Iowa seeks to move up in the immediate future. Iowa can still easily finish the season in the top-15 if it wins every game from this point forward so there is still a lot for this team to play for which should ensure that the Hawkeyes enter this game fully motivated.Leading the Hawkeyes offensively is senior quarterback Nate Stanleywho has been decent this season. Specifically, he has thrown for 2,158 passing yards and 12 passing touchdowns. However, he has only completed 60.7% of his passes which is concerning due to his lack of elite mobility. Since it is a bit difficult for him to elongate plays in the passing game, Stanley will need to be more accurate from the pocket in the future.
That’s another Hawkeye Victory! pic.twitter.com/gYiBce6nxP
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) October 26, 2019
Defensively, Iowa has been fantastic up to this point. Specifically, the Hawkeyes are allowing 11.7 points per game which ranks 4th in the nation. In addition, the Hawkeyes are allowing 288.9 yards per game which ranks 11th in the nation. Now, Iowa will look to shut down Minnesota's underrated offense at home as the crowd should give the Hawkeyes a serious spark.
Team Trends
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Trends found on Covers.com, are:
- Golden Gophers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 conference games.
- Golden Gophers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win.
- Hawkeyes are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
- Hawkeyes are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS win.
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