Iowa Football: 2018 game-by-game predictions
Following a bye week, Iowa hits the road for the first time in 2018 as the make the trip up to TCF Bank Stadium to face P.J. Fleck‘s Minnesota Golden Gophers. Iowa has won the Floyd of Rosedale three years in a row and five out of the last six years. Iowa won a defensive struggle in last year’s meeting as touchdowns from Akrum Wadley and Noah Fant were the difference in Iowa’s 17-10 win on a cold October evening in Kinnick Stadium.
Minnesota really struggled to adjust to P.J. Fleck’s style of football as they finished a dismal 5-7. For a while, the quarterback position was a carousel until they stuck with sophomore Demry Croft for the remainder of the season. The Gophers do return a big chunk of their rushing attack with senior backs Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith. The Gophers will be improved but how much is the question.
Since the opening of TCF Bank Stadium, Iowa has only boasted a 3-3 record at the venue, a stark contrast to the Metrodome, which was dubbed by many Iowa fans as “Kinnick North”. However, as much as P.J. Fleck loves to use the word “elite”, his team is far from that and still a couple of years away from being relevant in a wildly competitive Big Ten. Iowa keeps Floyd home for the fourth consecutive year.