IOWA CITY, Iowa – Floyd is staying in the Hawkeye State.
The 19th-ranked University of Iowa football team downed Minnesota, 27-22, on Saturday afternoon inside a sold-out Kinnick Stadium to retain the traveling trophy Floyd of Rosedale for a seventh straight year.
The victory moves Iowa to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play.
Minnesota scored a touchdown with 5 1/2 minutes left to close to within 24-22, but the Hawkeye defense got the stop on the two-point conversion attempt when junior Dane Belton batted down Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan’s attempt at the line of scrimmage.
Iowa’s defense stopped the Gophers twice in the final three minutes to seal the victory. A Zach VanValkenburg sack keyed a turnover on downs with 2:18 left and Joe Evans’ sack and forced fumble in the waning seconds saw the clock tick to zeros.
The Hawkeyes allowed 409 yards of total offense, including 189 yards on the ground, as Minnesota possessed the ball for more than 40 minutes (40:19) to Iowa’s 19:41 in the game. The Gophers had 34 more offensive plays in the contest.
Morgan finished 14-of-30 for 183 yards and one touchdown. Ky Thomas (126 yards) and Mar’Keise Irving (80) combined for 206 yards to key the Gopher rushing attack.
Campbell led a trio of Hawkeyes with 10 or more tackles. Campbell had 17 tackles (six solo), while senior Matt Hankins and VanValkenburg had 10 stops apiece. Hankins also had two pass break-ups, while VanValkenburg had a sack and three tackles for loss.
Iowa finished with 277 yards of total offense with sophomore Alex Padilla completing 11-of-24 attempts for 206 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. Padilla also found the end zone on the ground for his first career touchdown.
Senior Charlie Jones had two catches for 106 yards for his first career 100-yard game, including a 72-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Junior Tyler Goodson finished with 59 yards on 18 attempts.
The Hawkeyes return to action hosting Illinois on Nov. 20 at Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff for that game is at 1 p.m. (CT) on FS1.
