The good, bad and ugly key moments in Iowa football’s 41-3 win over Minnesota

IOWA CITY — There’s going to be a few key moments not mentioned that could fall into “the good,” but that’s only because we don’t have all day.

For Hawkeye football fans, that’s a good thing.

To end this portion of the season 3-0 and bowl eligibility secures the benchmark Iowa sets every season, the Hawkeyes put together a dominant, 41-3, win over Minnesota. Now, there’s a chance to rehab and relax before November begins — when the Hawkeyes play their most important football.

That’s not a blanket statement, though. Iowa (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) will play its biggest game of the season after the bye week: hosting Oregon before visiting USC and Nebraska to close the regular season.

“Overall looking back the last three weeks certainly with game competition, and I'd include the bye week, I think our team has really grown,” Head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Their work ethic and attitude has just been outstanding, and it's good to see them get rewarded with their performances out on the field, not only today, but the last three weeks.”

Here are the key moments from Iowa’s win over Minnesota, and why it could help, or hurt, the Hawkeyes after the weekend off. Iowa didn’t get ranked Sunday by the Associated Press, but sits just outside the Top 25.

The good

Pick six streak lives on

The “Doughboyz” got their interceptions, now up to nine picks this season. Defensive back Zach Lutmer, however, took it a step further with the team’s first pick six of the season.

Lutmer said the coaching staff had reviewed the exact play Friday, and told the defense how to defend the play. He caught onto the play call pre-snap and made the play.

“They ran like a wheel route by a tight end on the film a few weeks ago, and then we watched that play last night,” Lutmer said. “So the coaches gave me a gift there.”

The Hawkeyes extended their pick six streak to 18 seasons, the second-longest active streak in Division I football.

The bad

Second half offense

Another week of some nitpicky issues, but Iowa football’s electric first-half offense was turned down to a simmer in the second half. The Hawkeyes scored one touchdown and a field goal against the Golden Gophers in the final 30 minutes, after taking a massive 31-0 lead at the half.

Some of that comes from Iowa’s fast start, including scoring on the first drive, but it was something immediately pointed out by Gronowski postgame.

“We all feel like we could have done better,” Gronowski said. “Our offense was not hot in the second half, we could have done a lot better there. We just feel like there's so much more room to improve.”

After putting up 186 total yards in the first half, Iowa had only 88 in the second half. In fact, Minnesota recorded 89 yards in the second half, but it only managed a field goal to avoid a shut out.

Kicker Drew Stevens made a 46-yard field goal toward the south end zone in the third quarter. Quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski scored his first career rushing touchdown in the second half, running in for a 6-yard score.

The ugly

Entringer’s near-targetting call

Defensive back Koen Entringer has been one of Iowa’s top performers in the secondary, with the second-most tackles for the Hawkeyes (44). He recorded three tackles against Minnesota, including a half tackle-for-loss.

However, he went for a tackle in the second half that led to an initial targeting call. The tackle was reviewed, and later showed he made first contact in the chest and the targeting call was overturned. The referees still gave him a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness.

The close call could have had massive implications against Oregon following the bye. If Entringer had the call upheld, the starter would’ve missed the first half against the Ducks in what’s quickly becoming the biggest game in Kinnick Stadium this year.

It’s another one of those close calls for Iowa, but in a game where almost everything went right, that could’ve gone dangerously wrong.

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