The Minnesota Golden Gophers are down big to the Iowa Hawkeyes at halftime of the battle for Floyd of Rosedale. The scoreboard says that it's currently 24-0 in favor of Iowa, but it somehow feels even worse than that.
Minnesota has converted just one of six third down opportunities on the afternoon, and that came just before Max Shortell threw an interception on Minnesota's first possession. The Gophers have been outgained by the Hawkeyes by 253 yards, to the tune of 328 to 75. Iowa running back Mark Weisman has already gained 155 yards for the Hawkeyes on just 16 carries through the first half of play, and Hawkeyes quarterback James Vandenberg is 13-of-19 for 165 yards and a 47-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Cotton.
The Gophers have gotten nothing going offensively. Quarterback Max Shortell has completed just 4-of-11 pass attempts for 32 yards and an interception. The Hawkeyes have also bottled up running back Donnell Kirkwood, who has gained just 21 yards on eight carries on the afternoon.
Minnesota was hoping to hold on to Floyd of Rosedale for the third consecutive year, the first time that would have happened since the Gophers beat Iowa three consecutive times from 1998 to 2000, but if that's going to happen, they're going to need a massive turnaround coming out of the locker room at halftime.
With thirty minutes of football left at Kinnick Stadium, the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 24-0.