It didn’t take Gophers long to make the Hawkeyes pay for Ricky Stanzi’s fumble deep in Iowa territory.
The Gophers covered the 23 yards in just three plays. The first was a 1-yard run by DeLeon Eskridge, the second was an incomplete pass, but a roughing the passer penalty on Iowa’s Christian Ballard moved the ball to the 11-yard line. Eskridge did the rest, taking a handoff from Adam Weber and going in from 11 yards out to give the Gophers another touchdown. The play was reviewed, and the touchdown eventually stood as called.
With 12:16 left in the first half of play, the Minnesota Golden Gophers lead the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 17-7.