A win at Illinois snapped a nine-game losing streak and an eight-game Big Ten slide stretching back to last season. The emotion-charged triumph momentarily parted the clouds and left the Gophers feeling good and relaxed as they went through practice last week.
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AP Photo/Charlie NeibergallThe Floyd of Rosedale trophy is on the line when Iowa faces Minnesota."You could definitely tell we had a different feel around here," interim coach Jeff Horton said. "You could actually smile and laugh and not be fake." More than a week after the victory, Horton wasn't about to minimize what it meant.
"The old monkey had grown into a gorilla, it was King Kong on our backs, losing that many in a row," Horton said. "So obviously, it was an awesome feeling to get that off of you."
Minnesota is undoubtedly the looser team heading into Saturday's season finale at TCF Bank Stadium. But Iowa is still the better team.
The Hawkeyes simply need to play like it. Although they've fallen well short of preseason expectations, they can still secure a Jan. 1 bowl berth and retain the Floyd of Rosedale with a win in Minneapolis.
Iowa's biggest challenge could be the mental hurdle of bouncing back from consecutive losses in which it blew fourth-quarter leads.
"I'd have concerns either way," Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. "If we were coming off two big, euphoric-type wins, I'd be concerned probably the other direction. So it's like in any game. ... The mental state of the team is always an issue that you think about and try to do your best to manage. Circumstances change, but you're always trying to anticipate how the team's thinking and what things you might have to cover."
Iowa has held Minnesota scoreless in each of the teams' last two meetings, and the Hawkeyes have surrendered a combined 39 points in five of their wins this season. While Ferentz has struggled with Iowa's previous two opponents, Ohio State and Northwestern, he's 8-3 against Minnesota.
"It is a huge rivalry game," Horton said. "In the last 10 years, we're 2-8, so we’ve got to do our part to rekindle that. We don't want Iowa to feel comfortable about just coming in expecting to win."
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