Well, hi there. Come on in, take your boots off, the rug's new. There's hotdish in the oven and a thermos of coffee by the door, and if you want to talk about rivalry trophies, I'll warn you right now: you'll be here until spring.
I'm Tor Engebretsen. I grew up in Minneapolis ice fishing with my grandpa, who taught me two things. One, never trust ice you haven't checked. Two, the Little Brown Jug is a five-gallon earthenware jug, and anybody who calls it a "pitcher" can see themselves out.
This week, though, it's not the Jug. It's the pig. Ski-U-Mah.
Part 1: The Purdue Game, Which We Will Discuss Politely
I'm a Minnesotan, so I'm going to describe our last game in the most polite way I know how. It was not ideal.
On Oct. 10, at Ross-Ade Stadium, Purdue beat us 41-13. We had last week off, and I spent most of it shoveling a driveway that didn't have any snow on it yet, just to have something to do with my hands.
Here's the honest version. Purdue led 20-3 at halftime and scored on all six of its red-zone trips, according to the AP. We ran the ball 13 times for 27 yards. The Boilermakers ran it 47 times for 305. Their running back, Fame Ijeboi, ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns, and, ope, he used to play for us. That one stung a little, like a January wind off the lake. I wish him well. Mostly.
The bright spots, and there were a few: Drake Lindsey threw for 248 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown to Jalen Smith in the third quarter that cut it to 27-13. Smith had three catches for 89 yards. Javon Tracy caught five for 75. Luke Drzewiecki made field goals from 49 and 37 yards. Maverick Baranowski made 11 tackles, and Tom Weston averaged 45.4 yards on five punts, with a long of 60 and three inside the 20.
Coach P.J. Fleck said afterward that Purdue beat us in every area, which I appreciated, because a fella who tells you the truth about a bad day is a fella you can work with.
The Season So Far
We're 4-2, 2-1 in the Big Ten. We beat Eastern Illinois 59-7 and Akron 41-7. We lost to Mississippi State, 38-13, at home in September, which we don't need to dwell on. Then we won at Washington, 27-24, and beat Michigan, 20-14, right here in Minneapolis, and the Little Brown Jug stayed home where it belongs. That was a good week. My grandpa would've had a second piece of pie.
Part 2: Iowa Comes North, and So Does the Pig
Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, No. 15 Iowa visits Huntington Bank Stadium. FS1 has it. The winner takes home Floyd of Rosedale.
Now, I'm polite, so I'll start with Iowa's good qualities. The Hawkeyes are 5-1. Their defense allows 14.5 points a game, eighth in FBS, and 84.7 rushing yards a game, seventh. Kamari Moulton ran for 208 yards against Washington in their last game. Coach Kirk Ferentz is in his 28th season, the longest-tenured head coach in FBS. Fella has outlasted a lot of snowblowers.
But here's what the Hawkeyes would rather not bring up at the dinner table. Their passing offense ranks 93rd in FBS, according to the AP, at 209.2 yards a game, and Hank Brown, their starting quarterback, missed the Washington game with an injury. They rank 104th in time of possession. Their one-point win at Michigan was nice, but we beat Michigan by six. I'm not saying that's how math works. I'm just saying I wrote it down.
And here's the matchup that matters. Our pass defense ranks ninth in the country, allowing 159.7 yards a game, and opponents convert only 30.9% of third downs against us. If Iowa can't throw, Iowa has to run into that, and a defense that's had two weeks to think about Purdue is a defense with something on its mind.
Who to Watch
Drake Lindsey, quarterback: 1,335 yards and nine touchdowns. He can throw it to anybody in the stadium, including me if I wave.
Javon Tracy, receiver: our leader with 32 catches for 375 yards.
Jalen Smith, receiver: 89 yards on three catches at Purdue. Fella turns a short pass into a long afternoon for a defense.
TJ Thomas, running back: 317 yards. We need more than 27 rushing yards this time, and he's the guy to fix it.
TJ Bush Jr.: four sacks. Maverick Baranowski: 45 tackles.
Kamari Moulton, Iowa running back: 519 yards. Our biggest job on Saturday is keeping him in front of us.
Tony Diaz, Iowa receiver: 28 catches for 329 yards.
Floyd of Rosedale: A Short Lecture (I Promise Nothing About "Short")
Floyd has been on the table since 1935. The original Floyd was a real prize pig, named for our own Minnesota governor, Floyd Olson, and his brother, Blue Boy, appeared in the Will Rogers movie "State Fair," according to Wikipedia. The bronze trophy was made by a St. Paul sculptor, Charles Brioschi, which means Floyd is, technically, a Minnesotan. We'd simply like him to come home and visit.
Officially, Minnesota leads the series 63-54-2, according to CollegeFootballDigest. Our longest streak against Iowa is 11 straight. In 1960, our No. 3 Gophers beat No. 1 Iowa 27-10 on the way to a national championship, one of seven Minnesota claims.
Now, you know I'm honest, so here's the other side. Iowa has won nine of the last 10, including 31-14 here in 2024 and 41-3 in Iowa City last year, and Floyd's been sitting down there since the 2024 game. Our lone win in that stretch was 12-10 in Iowa City in 2023. It's been a long two years for the pig. He misses the lakes.
A Tale of Two Towns, Graded on a January Scale
I rate every town by how it would handle January. Let's begin.
Minneapolis. Population 429,954 at the 2020 census. We're the City of Lakes, with 13 of them and a stretch of the Mississippi River, and in the 1800s we were the flour-milling capital of the world. Our downtown has 9.5 miles of skyways connecting 80 blocks, so you can get your groceries in a blizzard without your mittens. Huntington Bank Stadium opened in 2009, has 50,805 seats, and was the first college or pro football stadium to earn LEED certification. January grade: A-plus. We invented being fine in January.
Iowa City. A lovely town of 74,828, the fifth-most populous city in Iowa, and UNESCO named it a City of Literature in 2008, home of the famous Writers' Workshop. I respect that. Since they have so many writers, I'm hoping one of them can help the Hawkeyes' passing game write something longer than 209 yards a game.
Their visiting locker room at Kinnick Stadium is painted pink, a tradition started by coach Hayden Fry to put visitors in a passive mood, according to Wikipedia. Folks, we don't paint your locker room pink here. We just let you sit in the weather. January grade for Iowa City: B. Good people, but they think 20 degrees is cold, and that's sweet.
Closing
Here's where I land. We got humbled at Purdue, and a humble team with an extra week of practice is a dangerous thing. We've got a top-10 pass defense, a quarterback who can throw it, and a home crowd that's been waiting two years to see the pig.
Iowa's good. Iowa's defense is very good. But Floyd's a Minnesotan, and it's about time he came home.
Cold enough for ya? Good. Ski-U-Mah.
My call: Iowa Hawkeyes 28, Minnesota Golden Gophers 18.