Minnesota vs. Iowa rivalry game still matters

Yes, Minnesota may be in the midst of a 45-year Big Ten title drought. Sure, Iowa might have lost to Central Michigan last week. That doesn't mean the annual battle between the Gophers and Hawkeyes for Floyd of Rosedale has lost importance to Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill:

"I don't think we've let up on any of that. That's part of college football," the coach said. "We're not going to sit here and say it's not (important), because it is. I mean, it's darn important to our fans. It's darn important to our players. ... I think we've done a good job of educating the new players in our program how important it is."

Kill scored an upset win in his first battle for Floyd last year, a 22-21 victory that kept the bronze pig statue in Minnesota for its second consecutive year. The teams play for Floyd for the 106th time Saturday in Iowa City, where Minnesota has not won since 1999.