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Gophers' trip to Iowa gets big-game treatment with time, TV channel

A pair of 5-2 football teams will battle for the Floyd of Rosedale next Saturday in Iowa City.
Will Ragatz|
Oct 21, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz and Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck talk before a game at Kinnick Stadium.
Oct 21, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz and Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck talk before a game at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Golden Gophers

It might not be "Big Noon Kickoff," but the Gophers' trip to Iowa City next weekend is getting big-game treatment in terms of its kickoff time and TV network. The 119th game between Minnesota and Iowa will start at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday and will be televised on CBS.

The iconic duo of Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson will be on the call, with Jenny Dell on the sidelines. Danielson is set to retire after this season, so this may be the final time he calls a Gophers game.

This is a meeting of a pair of 5-2 teams who have won two games in a row after losing to one of the best teams in the Big Ten. The Gophers responded from their blowout loss to Ohio State with a win over Purdue and an impressive win over No. 25 Nebraska on Friday night. The Hawkeyes, after a narrow loss to Indiana in late September, blew out Wisconsin and then used a late touchdown to send Penn State to its fourth straight loss on Saturday.

There's a lot on the line in this game. The winner will get to 6-2, perhaps earn a spot in the AP Top 25, and stay at least somewhat alive in the College Football Playoff hunt. Of course, it's also a rivalry game for the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy, which brings big stakes by itself.

The Gophers lead the all-time series over Iowa 63-53-2, but the Hawkeyes are 24-8 against Minnesota since 1993. The Gophers' 12-10 win in their most recent trip to Kinnick Stadium in 2023 — the Cooper DeJean invalid fair catch signal game — was their first win in Iowa City since 1999, snapping a ten-game losing streak. They haven't won two in a row at Kinnick since 1979 and '81.

A trip to Kinnick always makes for a tough game, and this year won't be any different. Iowa's only two losses this season are to ranked teams in Iowa State and Indiana. Quarterback Mark Gronowski, a transfer from South Dakota State, might be the Hawkeyes' best signal-caller in a while. His passing numbers aren't great, but he's run for 10 touchdowns in seven games.

As is often the case, the Hawkeyes are led by a stiff defense that has allowed only 17.6 points per game against major-conference opponents. This will be a test for Drake Lindsey, Darius Taylor, and the rest of the Gophers' offense.

With James Franklin's recent firing, Kirk Ferentz (1999) and P.J. Fleck (2017) are the two longest-tenured head coaches in the Big Ten.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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