Minnesota defensive lineman TJ Bush Jr. celebrates with the Floyd of Rosedale trophy after a NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
By MIKE COOK
MINNEAPOLIS — Luke Drzewiecki kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and Minnesota beat No. 15 Iowa 13-10 Saturday to claim the Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the first time since 2023 and second time in 12 years.
Drake Lindsey and Jalen Smith connected on a 39-yard pass play on third down from the Minnesota 33 with 39 seconds left to set the Gophers up for the winning points.
“I told the offense we were going to go win the game, but I told Jalen, ‘You’re going to make a big play right here.’ He made a big-time play in a big-time moment,’” Lindsey said.
Held to a season-low 209 yards of offense, Minnesota (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) also got a third-quarter rushing touchdown from Darius Taylor after an offsides penalty on Iowa negated a fourth-down stop one play earlier.
Coming in midway through the second quarter, Iowa’s Hank Brown threw for 136 yards, including a 37-yard strike to Reece Vander Zee with 3:46 to play to tie the game.
Iowa (5-2, 2-2) was held to 163 yards through three quarters against a Minnesota defense that allowed 464 yards in a 41-13 loss to Purdue in its last game two weeks ago. The Hawkeyes finished with 288 yards of offense.
“This is maybe one of the best defensive performances I’ve been around at the University of Minnesota,” coach P.J. Fleck said. “I knew we had to win the turnover battle and we did that, we dominated that. And then if we didn’t score we had to (win) field position which we did do that and trust our defense. We tackled really well.”
The Hawkeyes, who were averaging 194 rushing yards, were held to 90. They were 4 of 16 on third down, threw three interceptions and fumbled four times, losing only one. Iowa had just three turnovers entering the game.
“You give up a blocked punt right off the bat and have four turnovers, it’s unrealistic to think that you’ll win a conference game like that,” coach Kirk Ferentz said.
Kamari Moulton, who entered as the Big Ten’s top rusher at 103.8 yards per game, had just 22 yards before leaving midway through the second quarter with an undisclosed injury. Ferentz had no update after the game.
Jeremy Hecklinski started for the second straight week for Iowa and was 9 of 16 for 62 yards and an interception before being replaced by Brown midway through the second quarter.
“I simply thought he gave us our best chance the way things were going,” Ferentz said of Brown, who started the first five games but sprained his shoulder in a 31-14 loss to Ohio State on Oct. 3. Hecklinski threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions a 41-24 win at Washington Oct. 9.
Mr. Automatic
Drzewiecki also had a 31-yard field goal and is 12 for 12 on field goals this season with a long of 51 yards.
“I’m very thankful we have a kicker like that,” Fleck said.
Drzewiecki joined the Gophers in August after playing the 2022-25 seasons at New Mexico, where he is the program’s career scoring leader among kickers by making 51 of 65 field goals and 118 of 120 extra points.
The takeaway
Iowa: Other than the four-play, 98-yard drive to tie the game in the fourth quarter, neither Brown nor Hecklinski distinguished themselves as the top quarterback for a team whose hopes of a College Football Playoff berth took a huge hit.
Minnesota: The Gophers possess their three primary rivalry trophies — Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa), the Little Brown Jug (Michigan) and Paul Bunyan’s Axe (Wisconsin) — at the same time for the first time since 1978. They lost to Michigan and Wisconsin later that year.
Up next
Iowa: Home against Wisconsin Oct. 31.
Minnesota: At No. 6 Indiana Oct. 31, the second of three straight games against ranked opponents. ___
*Associated Press
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