Minnesota Football: Gophers Play at Iowa and Try to #FREEFLOYD - OPEN THREAD

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will try and make it two straight Big Ten wins and most importantly win Floyd of Rosedale back from the Iowa Hawkeyes for the first time since 2014 this evening. It will not be easy as the Gophers have not won in Kinnick Stadium since 1999.

3 KEYS

• Run the Ball - Use your three-headed monster. Whether its Rodney Smith, Shannon Brooks, or Kobe McCrary find the hot hand and ride it as far as it will take you. Minnesota will need to have its running game working on all cylinders to get a win in Iowa City tonight.
• The Ball is the Program - Turnovers will kill you in this game. Whether its a fumble, or a Demry Croft bad decision interception...it can’t happen tonight. Make smart plays, protect the ball. On defense just the opposite. Force some fumbles. Get to Nate Stanley. See if you can get a strip sack or force a bad pass for an interception.
• TACKLE TACKLE TACKLE - You will not be able to weakly arm tackle Akrum Wadley. The Gophers will need to wrap up and make sure the Hawkeye ball carrier goes down. If your cornerbacks are going to give some space on the outside, you must make the initial tackle. Otherwise, its 6 points for Iowa and you are struggling to catch up. .

OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH

• RB - Akrum Wadley - Arguably the Big Ten’s second best running back after Saqon Barkey, Wadley is great in space, insanely shifty. The Gophers will need to wrap up and bring him to the ground on the initial contact or he’s gone.
• LB - Josey Jewell - The leading tackler in the Big Ten who sat out last week to recover from an injury. He is expected back tonight, but if he is not 100% then maybe you can make him pay? If he is 100% you have to keep him away from your ball carriers—no exceptions.

PREDICTION

I’ll get yelled at by everyone else, but I think Minnesota just doesn’t have enough in the tank to get it done tonight. I sure as hell hope I’m wrong.

Iowa 27

Minnesota 20