Iowa gets 10th win, maintains BCS hopes
November 21, 2009
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)—James Vandenberg threw for 117 yards, fellow freshmanBrandon Wegher ran for a touchdown, and No. 15 Iowa kept alive its hopes for aBCS bowl bid by beating Minnesota 12-0 on Saturday.
The victory gave the Hawkeyes (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) double-digit wins for thefirst time since 2004, along with Floyd of Rosedale—a bronze pig awarded tothe winner of the border rivalry—for the eighth time in nine tries.
It was only fitting that they awarded a hog after this one. Iowa andMinnesota combined for more punts (17) than points, and were only 5 of 33 onthird-down conversions.
Iowa got field goals of 30 and 45 yards from Daniel Murray and a 1-yard TDrun by Wegher. Its defense did the rest, stuffing the Gophers on four straightplays from the 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter to blank Minnesota forthe second straight season.
Adam Weber was 14 of 40 for 153 yards for the Gophers (6-6, 3-5), who scoredjust seven points in road games against Penn State, Ohio State and the Hawkeyes.
The Gophers offense finally caught a break when Vandenberg fumbled a snapthat was recovered at Iowa’s 29-yard line with 13:40 left. They got as far asthe 2 after a pass interference call in the end zone on Iowa’s Shaun Prater, butthe Hawkeyes stopped a pair of runs and a pass before sacking Weber on fourthdown.
Minnesota’s final shot came on fourth-and-10 at the Iowa 22 with 6:30 left,but Adrian Clayborn forced Weber out of the pocket and his pass into heavycoverage fell incomplete.
Though the Gophers outgained the Hawkeyes 201-171, they went 4 of 20 onthird down and failed to convert on two trips inside Iowa’s red zone.
Murray’s 45-yard field goal early in the third quarter put the Hawkeyesahead 12-0. They kept a Minnesota drive alive after being called for roughingMinnesota’s Blake Haudan, but Iowa stuffed Jon Hoese on fourth-and-1 at the Iowa34 late in the third quarter.
Minnesota committed three turnovers in the first half. Iowa wasn’t muchbetter, gaining just 129 yards, but Wegher’s leaping touchdown run with 52seconds left made it 9-0.
Minnesota’s first solid drive ended on a muffed snap, which Iowa’s BruceDavis recovered at his own 17 early in the second quarter. Weber followed anintentional grounding penalty with another fumble, this time at the Hawkeyes 48.
The Gophers got the ball back when Vandenberg’s long third-down toss waspicked off in the end zone by Marcus Sherels, but MarQueis Gray threw a pickafter taking a handoff from Weber with 3:44 left in the first half, and Iowacapitalized with Wegher’s plunge.
Minnesota called its final timeout of the half before Murray’s extra-pointtry, a move that appeared curious at best until the Gophers blocked the kick.
Murray’s 30-yard field goal gave Iowa a 3-0 lead on the game’s first series.It turned out to be the Hawkeyes longest scoring drive of the day
Robinson, who missed two games with an ankle injury, left after taking a bighit midway through the second quarter and did not return.
Iowa struggled to run the ball without Robinson, with Wegher gaining just 26yards on 15 carries. But after drubbing Minnesota 55-0 in the Metrodome lastseason, the Hawkeyes leaned on a stellar defensive effort to give coach KirkFerentz his fourth 10-win season.
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