Iowa Returns From Bye With Quarterback Question and a Trophy on the Line
The bye week is over, and No. 15 Iowa heads to Minneapolis on Saturday, October 24, to face Minnesota in the annual battle for Floyd of Rosedale. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on FS1 at Huntington Bank Stadium, with cloudy skies and a 40% chance of rain in the forecast.
The biggest storyline is back where it was two weeks ago: who plays quarterback. According to Yahoo Sports, Jeremy Hecklinski led Iowa to its first win west of the Rockies in a generation at Washington, while Hank Brown continues to recover from a shoulder injury. One of them will take the field as the Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-1) try to stay in the Big Ten race against a Minnesota team that also comes in at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Ferentz Isn't Tipping His Hand
Head coach Kirk Ferentz, the longest-tenured coach in college football, has no plans to reveal his starter before kickoff. Sports Illustrated reported that this week's depth chart gave Minnesota no hints on the quarterback decision, listing both Hecklinski and Brown with an 'OR' designation. It's classic Ferentz, keeping an opponent guessing right up to the opening drive.
What the Betting Market Says
Iowa opened as a 4.5-point favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook, and that number has climbed to 6.5 with an over/under of 41.5 points. That implies a final score somewhere around 24-17 Iowa. For a road trophy game against a solid opponent, the line movement says the market sees two teams heading in opposite directions.
The Hawkeyes are coming off their best power conference performance of the season, a thorough domination of Washington in Seattle. It was the first power conference opponent where Iowa topped both 300 yards and 21 points, and the team did it in a single game. The P4 averages now sit at 318 yards and 22.75 points per game, numbers that should travel well to Minneapolis.
Two Versions of Minnesota
Figuring out the Gophers means accepting two facts at once. Minnesota beat both ranked teams it has played, winning 27-24 at Washington and 20-14 over Michigan to keep the Little Brown Jug. But both of those opponents are now unranked, and the Gophers were also run out of their own building 38-13 by Mississippi State and beaten 41-13 at Purdue before the bye.
Quarterback Drake Lindsey has completed 64.8% of his passes for 1,335 yards with nine touchdowns, but he has thrown five interceptions. Iowa's defense, which leads the nation in fewest points allowed per game at 14.5, will look to add to that total and set up short fields for the offense. Receiver Javon Tracy, the younger brother of former Hawkeye Tyrone Tracy, leads Minnesota with 32 catches for 375 yards and a score. Linebacker Maverick Baranowski paces the defense with 45 tackles, and TJ Bush Jr. has four sacks.
The Matchup That Decides the Game
The stat to watch Saturday is on the ground. Minnesota's rushing offense ranks 129th in the country at 104.8 yards per game. It runs into an Iowa rush defense ranked seventh nationally at 84.7 yards allowed, a unit that just held Washington to negative-3 yards rushing. If that holds, Lindsey will be forced to throw 35-plus times into a defense with 19 sacks and a secondary hunting for takeaways.
On the other side, the formula is simple. Minnesota's run defense is respectable at 52nd nationally, and its scoring defense is middling at 21.8 points per game. Iowa hung 41 on the road with a balanced attack at Washington, and keeping that balance is the key. Feed the run game, stay out of third-and-long, and avoid gifting the homecoming crowd a short field. The Hawkeyes' approach doesn't need to change in Minneapolis. It just needs to show up for four quarters.
A Trophy Rivalry Dating to 1935
Minnesota leads the all-time series 63-54-2 across 119 meetings dating back to 1891. But the trophy era belongs to Iowa, which holds a 46-43-2 edge since 1935, the year Iowa governor Clyde Herring and Minnesota governor Floyd Olson bet a live hog on the game. Minnesota won, Herring paid up with a pig named Floyd, and the bronze version has been the best trophy in college football ever since.
Lately it has been one-way traffic. Iowa won eight straight from 2015 to 2022, dropped the infamous 12-10 'not a fair catch' game in 2023, then reclaimed the pig with a 31-14 win in Minneapolis in 2024 and a 41-3 demolition in Iowa City last year. The Hawkeyes have won 10 of the last 11 in the series and five straight trips to Huntington Bank Stadium. The Gophers haven't beaten Iowa at home in more than a decade.
For Iowa, this is the first step of a six-game stretch that could define the season: win out, and the playoff resume takes care of itself. For Minnesota, a homecoming upset of No. 15 Iowa would relaunch the season, while a loss would make three defeats in four games with Indiana and UCLA still ahead. The Hawkeyes, ranked 15th in the latest College Football Playoff poll discussion, control their own path forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does Iowa play Minnesota on Saturday?
Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, October 24, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The game airs on FS1.
Who is Iowa's starting quarterback against Minnesota?
Kirk Ferentz has not named a starter. Both Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown remain listed as options, and the decision likely won't be public until kickoff.
What is the Iowa-Minnesota spread?
Iowa opened as a 4.5-point favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook, and the line has moved to 6.5 with an over/under of 41.5 points.
What is Floyd of Rosedale?
Floyd of Rosedale is the bronze pig trophy awarded to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game, a tradition that began in 1935 after the two states' governors bet a live hog on the outcome.