Minnesota Football: 3 takeaways from first loss of 2019 at Iowa

1. Tyler Goodson made his mark running out of the backfield

What made the difference on Saturday evening in Iowa City was the fact that the Hawkeyes managed to generate some semblance of a ground game where Minnesota struggled to move the ball out of their backfield. Iowa’s defense shut down the Golden Gophers, holding their visitors to just 63 total rushing yards on 2.1 yards per carry.

Iowa finished with 117 yards on the ground and an average of 3.8 yards per carry. Like the performance by Stanley, it wasn’t the most statistically overwhelming day for the Hawkeyes backfield. Unlike Minnesota, though, they provided at least some balance to keep Stanley from having to loft up the ball too much against a strong Golden Gophers secondary.

The spark plug for the Hawkeyes ground game was Tyler Goodson, who led the way with 94 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries. Goodson busted out a 10-yard touchdown run in the first half and also ripped off a 26-yarder. He did not catch any passes out of the backfield, but there was no need for such additional theatrics.

By singlehandedly outgaining the entire Golden Gophers backfield, Goodson did exactly what the Hawkeyes needed. The faithful at Kinnick Stadium were able to file out of the venue into the Iowa night in a celebratory mood in no small part because of what Goodson brought to the field on Saturday in Week 12.