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• Hawkeyes host Golden Gophers in regular-season finale

  
  

  Iowa City, IA (Sports Network) - The 15th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes will attempt to halt a two-game losing streak when they play host to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten Conference clash.

  Minnesota has won two of its last three games to move to 6-5 overall and earn bowl eligibility. The Golden Gophers were most recently in action last weekend, and they were far from impressive in a 16-13 victory over South Dakota State, a FCS club. This weekend's affair marks the final regular season tilt on the schedule for Minnesota.

  Iowa was in complete control of the Big Ten two weeks ago, but a 17-10 home loss to Northwestern on November 7th and a 27-24 overtime setback to Ohio State last weekend crushed the Hawkeyes' dreams. They are out of the national title race and can only claim a share of the Big Ten crown with a win over Minnesota and an improbable Ohio State loss to Michigan. Still, even if that scenario occurs, the Rose Bowl is out of the question.

  While Minnesota owns a commanding 59-21-2 advantage over Iowa in the all-time series, the Hawkeyes crushed the Golden Gophers last season in a 55-0 final.

  The Minnesota offense struggled mightily last weekend against South Dakota State. The Golden Gophers failed to score an offensive touchdown in the clash, as they got three field goals from Eric Ellestad and a fumble recovery for a score. Minnesota finished with 231 total yards, including just 94 passing yards. The Golden Gophers averaged only 2.9 yards per carry and 9.4 yards per pass completion.

  "I wasn't pleased with some of the things I saw today, particularly from an offensive standpoint," said Minnesota coach Tim Brewster. "Third down conversions, obviously three of sixteen is not acceptable. It's not acceptable." Fortunately, the Minnesota defense played quite well against South Dakota State, limiting the club to 12 first downs and 229 total yards. The Golden Gophers surrendered only 46 rushing yards on 27 carries, and the pass defense permitted just 15-of-39 completions while coming up with a pair of interceptions.

  "We're focused on one play at a time," said linebacker Lee Campbell. "The defense has to help the offense, and the offense has to help the defense and the special teams. It's a team effort for a reason, and today I think we showed it." There is no doubt that Minnesota misses the services of star wideout Eric Decker, who was knocked out of action a couple of weeks ago with an ankle injury. Decker, who may be able to return for a bowl game, made 50 catches for 758 yards and eight touchdowns through eight games. Adam Weber has taken the majority of the snaps for Minnesota this season and has completed only 53.9 percent of his passes for 2,168 yards and 12 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Duane Bennett paces the ground attack with a mere 371 yards, but he has scored six touchdowns. The Golden Gophers, who are averaging 23.5 ppg, rely on several ball carriers in the running game.

  Defensively, the Golden Gophers are permitting 25.7 ppg and 381.8 total ypg this season. They have allowed 31 touchdowns to opposing offenses, including 17 on the ground, but it can certainly be argued with validity that Minnesota has been better against the run than the pass. While foes are gaining just 3.9 yards per rushing attempt, they are racking up 12.3 yards per pass completion. Campbell has made 106 total tackles, including nine TFLs.

  Iowa starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi is expected to miss this weekend's game with an ankle injury. Starting in place of Stanzi last week against Ohio State, redshirt freshman James Vandenberg completed 20-of-33 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, he was intercepted three times in the contest and took a critical sack in overtime. The 16 first downs and 300 total yards posted against the Buckeyes simply weren't enough.

  "It hurts right now, but we're going to bounce back," Vandenberg said. "The guys worked hard to get open and I had great protection. It's a great experience. After the first play goes, everything slows down. Give Ohio State all the credit...they played great all game." Defensively, the Hawkeyes surrendered 229 rushing yards to Ohio State last weekend, and three touchdowns were scored on the ground against them. Iowa permitted 14-of-17 passes to be completed without an interception, those 14 connections resulted in only 93 yards, so the club certainly did a good job of eliminating big plays.

  "They ran the ball effectively against us at times today," Iowa head coach Kurt Ferentz said. "They're a tough team. Credit goes to them." Iowa is scoring 24.1 ppg this season to go along with 345.3 total ypg. Standout freshman tailback Adam Robinson, who played through pain against Ohio State, has rushed for 703 yards and five touchdowns in the nine games that he has played. Marvin McNutt has made only 29 catches, but he has 625 receiving yards and seven touchdowns to his credit. As for Vandenberg, he has completed 49.2 percent of his throws for 353 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions in limited duty.

  Opponents are posting 16.9 ppg against Iowa, which is allowing 294.5 total ypg. The Hawkeyes are permitting 3.7 ypg on the ground and 10.5 yards per completion through the air. They have intercepted 19 passes while allowing just nine passing scores, and 26 total takeaways have been mustered. Pat Angerer is a standout linebacker who has made 119 tackles, while Adrian Clayborn has posted 8.5 sacks.

  11/18 11:09:03 ET