Interesting Minnesota Insight: Their Defense Is as Elite as Iowa's?

[IowasLaw]

Minnesota is known for their rushing attack. Mo Ibrahim, an all-American RB, is the nation's 4th leading rusher averaging 140 yards rushing per game. Since they're just 4-3 in the Big 10 despite having an elite running game, you would think they'd have major holes on defense that Iowa can exploit. They don't.

Their defense is actually equal to or better than Iowa's. Pretty shocking:

Minnesota ranks #4 nationally in scoring defense. Iowa ranks #5.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in passing defense. Iowa ranks #10.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in total defense. Iowa ranks #3.
Minnesota ranks #2 nationally in 3rd down conversion D. Iowa ranks #17.

In other words, expect Brian Ferentz's offense to struggle mightily this week. Tory Taylor will see a LOT of playing time. Bet the under. Iowa wins 9-6.

 

[pistachio1999]

LOL, they haven't played Michigan and Ohio State.

 

[IowasLaw]

LOL, they haven't played Michigan and Ohio State.

True, but they already have two shutouts this season, held Northwestern to 3 points, and held Michigan State to 7 points.

 

[pistachio1999]

I am not saying Minnesota won't be tough because they will be. Its a crap shoot with Tanner Morgan in terms of which one you get. We have seen him enough though to know what to expect out of him. I love the Jack Campbell versus Mo match up.

 

[kceasthawk]

LOL, they haven't played Michigan and Ohio State.

Exactly. If we hadn't played OSU our defensive numbers would be unbelievable.....

 

[WadeLookingbill]

A game with 2 excellent defenses and bad offenses in 10 degree weather? Punting/field goal kicking is winning!

 

[IowasLaw]

Exactly. If we hadn't played OSU our defensive numbers would be unbelievable.....

To be fair, both Northwestern and Notre Dame held Ohio State to 21 points, so their offense is not invincible. The Buckeyes put up nearly triple that against the Hawks (54 pts). Of course, that was due to some of the worst Iowa quarterbacking this century.

 

[IACub]

True, but they already have two shutouts this season, held Northwestern to 3 points, and held Michigan State to 7 points.

They also have had a much better offense, especially early in the season when they could just run for 300 yards. Our offense only came partway alive in the last few games. Until then the defense was on the field for days at a time. I'd guess that Wisconsin has a better defense than Minny. Illinois definitely does. Michigan and Ohio State definitely do.

Minnesota is the same story every year, they come out of the gate strong, everyone thinks they're a contender, then they fold at the end of the season. Every year.

I'm not saying I feel super confident going into this game, but I'm more scared of our offense than their defense.

 

[kceasthawk]

To be fair, both Northwestern and Notre Dame held Ohio State to 21 points, so their offense is not invincible. The Buckeyes put up nearly triple that against the Hawks (54 pts). Of course, that was due to some of the worst Iowa quarterbacking this century.

Obviously, I'm going by the eye test here. From what I hear the NW game was played in poor weather and hampered OSU's offense, especially the pass game. I also know it was a 10 to 16 game at almost halftime with OSU, and we held them WAY below their usual yards per play. Unfortuantely, poor offense and turnovers gave them several short field scoring chances. We all saw what happened when we played NW, so.....

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

Minnesota's defense is not awesome. They have played by far the weakest schedule in the conference. No wins over a winning team. 1 win against 5-5 Sparty. New Mexico St. is 4-5. Western Illinois is 0-10. Colorado is 1-9. Rutgers is 4-6. Nebraska is 3-7. Northwestern is 1-9.

Goldy has double digit losses to every team with a winning record played thus far. Tough game for us but hardly a team to fear, much less assume a certain loss. Pretty much a one-dimensional turnover factory, as usual.

 

[TRHawkeye145]

Minnesota's defense is not awesome. They have played by far the weakest schedule in the conference. No wins over a winning team. 1 win against 5-5 Sparty. New Mexico St. is 4-5. Western Illinois is 0-10. Colorado is 1-9. Rutgers is 4-6. Nebraska is 3-7. Northwestern is 1-9.

Goldy has double digit losses to every team with a winning record played thus far. Tough game for us but hardly a team to fear, much less assume a certain loss. Pretty much a one-dimensional turnover factory, as usual.

good post

 

[Hawkeyes19]

Look at their schedule. The only teams with a pulse that they have played are their 3 loses, Purdue, Illinois and Penn State. I am guessing it with be a tough game, but in the end Iowa wins by a touchdown. And Tanner Morgan won't make it to halftime in the game.

 

[tippet1]

I am not saying Minnesota won't be tough because they will be. Its a crap shoot with Tanner Morgan in terms of which one you get. We have seen him enough though to know what to expect out of him. I love the Jack Campbell versus Mo match up.

Is Tanner Morgan even going to play this week?

 

[myteamcanbeatupyourteam]

Minnesota is known for their rushing attack. Mo Ibrahim, an all-American RB, is the nation's 4th leading rusher averaging 140 yards rushing per game. Since they're just 4-3 in the Big 10 despite having an elite running game, you would think they'd have major holes on defense that Iowa can exploit. They don't.

Their defense is actually equal to or better than Iowa's. Pretty shocking:

Minnesota ranks #4 nationally in scoring defense. Iowa ranks #5.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in passing defense. Iowa ranks #10.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in total defense. Iowa ranks #3.
Minnesota ranks #2 nationally in 3rd down conversion D. Iowa ranks #17.

In other words, expect Brian Ferentz's offense to struggle mightily this week. Tory Taylor will see a LOT of playing time. Bet the under. Iowa wins 9-6.

As far as comparing Minnesota's defense to Iowa's, you are comparing apples and dump trucks.

Minnesota's opponents total offense ranking...

New Mexico State #127
Western Illinois #118 in FCS
Colorado #124
Michigan State #103
Purdue #44
Illinois #59
Penn State #35
Rutgers #121
Debbie #86
Northwestern #100

The one offense they played in the top 40 put up nearly 500 total yards.

So no...no insight and definitely not interesting, Slaw. But keep stirring your little pot.

 

[owenhawk]

Minnesota's defense is not awesome. They have played by far the weakest schedule in the conference. No wins over a winning team. 1 win against 5-5 Sparty. New Mexico St. is 4-5. Western Illinois is 0-10. Colorado is 1-9. Rutgers is 4-6. Nebraska is 3-7. Northwestern is 1-9.

Goldy has double digit losses to every team with a winning record played thus far. Tough game for us but hardly a team to fear, much less assume a certain loss. Pretty much a one-dimensional turnover factory, as usual.

He knows this ... his whole goal is to put down Iowa and pump up the other teams. That is his schtick.

If Iowa makes MN one-dimensional like they can, Mo will struggle just like Allen and they don't have the passing game to do much against Iowa.

 

[HungryHawk]

As far as comparing Minnesota's defense to Iowa's, you are comparing apples and dump trucks.

Minnesota's opponents total offense ranking...

New Mexico State #127
Western Illinois #118 in FCS
Colorado #124
Michigan State #103
Purdue #44
Illinois #59
Penn State #35
Rutgers #121
Debbie #86
Northwestern #100

The one offense they played in the top 40 put up nearly 500 total yards.

We're the dump trucks, right?

 

[cmhawks99]

I haven’t been in one of @IowasLaw threads in months maybe years. I’m surprised any of you get in here but I was struck by the comparison so I finally decided to click in.

Deplorable nailed it; their seven wins have come against teams with a combined winning record of 18–51.

I’m not trying to be a jerk here because several of you guys in this thread I can consider friends but this guy’s only goal is to screw with Iowa fans Why do we even respond to anything he says on this board?

Their strength of schedule rank is 74th!?!

With all that said hell they could definitely win but this guy he’s a chain jerker!

 

[pistachio1999]

A game with 2 excellent defenses and bad offenses in 10 degree weather? Punting/field goal kicking is winning!

Yep. 80 yard drives will be very rare. Hope Stevens is out practicing with a frozen ball.

 

[pistachio1999]

Is Tanner Morgan even going to play this week?

Maybe. I think I saw where it was stated they were hopeful he would.

 

[pistachio1999]

Does a Jack Campbell hit hurt worse the colder it gets?

 

[pistachio1999]

To be fair, both Northwestern and Notre Dame held Ohio State to 21 points, so their offense is not invincible. The Buckeyes put up nearly triple that against the Hawks (54 pts). Of course, that was due to some of the worst Iowa quarterbacking this century.

Yeah 5 turnovers.

 

[pistachio1999]

They should make them play the game with those old cheap plastic footballs we got as kids way back in the day. Those suckers were like rocks after 5 minutes out in the cold.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

Minnesota is known for their rushing attack. Mo Ibrahim, an all-American RB, is the nation's 4th leading rusher averaging 140 yards rushing per game. Since they're just 4-3 in the Big 10 despite having an elite running game, you would think they'd have major holes on defense that Iowa can exploit. They don't.

Their defense is actually equal to or better than Iowa's. Pretty shocking:

Minnesota ranks #4 nationally in scoring defense. Iowa ranks #5.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in passing defense. Iowa ranks #10.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in total defense. Iowa ranks #3.
Minnesota ranks #2 nationally in 3rd down conversion D. Iowa ranks #17.

In other words, expect Brian Ferentz's offense to struggle mightily this week. Tory Taylor will see a LOT of playing time. Bet the under. Iowa wins 9-6.

Wrong ! Check their schedule clone.

 

[rfgiowa]

Iowa can't ignore the goofers defensive stats this year. Row your boat guy will find ways to disrupt Iowa's offense. That said...Iowa 20, goofs 13. Cheers and GO HAWKS!

 

[sober_teacher]

Maybe. I think I saw where it was stated they were hopeful he would.

He’s been battling a concussion so it’s anyone’s guess if he clears protocols.

 

[mlb1399]

You left out a very important detail, they didn’t play the #6 offense in the country when our offense turned the ball over 6 times.

 

[ichawks]

LOL, they haven't played Michigan and Ohio State.

They haven’t played Michigan, Ohio State or Wisconsin.

 

[MitchLL]

Stats won't matter.

We should be predicting when the Gopher fans start exiting the stadium.

I got middle of 3rd quarter.

 

[MilleGinja]

Take away Mo, and force Tanner, or whoever the QB is, to beat us. I think we can force a couple turnovers.

Defensively, they are solid, but we’ve seen better this year. Take care of the ball. Interestingly, their pass defense better than rush defense, so hoping we can get the run game going to open the passing game. And if not, their pass rush isn’t that great (12th in sacks in big ten)

 

[Dargo]

Minnesota's defense is not awesome. They have played by far the weakest schedule in the conference. No wins over a winning team. 1 win against 5-5 Sparty. New Mexico St. is 4-5. Western Illinois is 0-10. Colorado is 1-9. Rutgers is 4-6. Nebraska is 3-7. Northwestern is 1-9.

Goldy has double digit losses to every team with a winning record played thus far. Tough game for us but hardly a team to fear, much less assume a certain loss. Pretty much a one-dimensional turnover factory, as usual.

Morgan was out for a couple of those losses I believe. He definitely didn’t play against Penn State.

 

[Dargo]

Iowa can't ignore the goofers defensive stats this year. Row your boat guy will find ways to disrupt Iowa's offense. That said...Iowa 20, goofs 13. Cheers and GO HAWKS!

That’s not hard, our offense interrupts itself.

 

[hawkguy90]

Clone slaw is already working on his big ten championship game post game rant. It’s what he does

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Iowa beat Northwestern worse than Ohio State did, therefore Iowa > Ohio State.

IowasLaw has spoken.

 

[Kurt Warner]

Yep. 80 yard drives will be very rare. Hope Stevens is out practicing with a frozen ball.

80 yard drives with our offense is always rare, actually almost non-existent 😟

 

[uihawk82]

To be fair, both Northwestern and Notre Dame held Ohio State to 21 points, so their offense is not invincible. The Buckeyes put up nearly triple that against the Hawks (54 pts). Of course, that was due to some of the worst Iowa quarterbacking this century.

You do know that the wind was howling and there was rain in Evanston when OSU played there what 10 days ago.

Man, you have to take things into account. Strong wind and wet field so Patty Fitz loaded the box to stop the OSU ground game.

 

[JerseyCityHawki]

Oh shit you’re still here?

 

[Suterman]

Stats won't matter.

We should be predicting when the Gopher fans start exiting the stadium.

I got middle of 3rd quarter.

This. I'll take end of 3rd Qtr. but it could be earlier.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Minnesota is known for their rushing attack. Mo Ibrahim, an all-American RB, is the nation's 4th leading rusher averaging 140 yards rushing per game. Since they're just 4-3 in the Big 10 despite having an elite running game, you would think they'd have major holes on defense that Iowa can exploit. They don't.

Their defense is actually equal to or better than Iowa's. Pretty shocking:

Minnesota ranks #4 nationally in scoring defense. Iowa ranks #5.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in passing defense. Iowa ranks #10.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in total defense. Iowa ranks #3.
Minnesota ranks #2 nationally in 3rd down conversion D. Iowa ranks #17.

In other words, expect Brian Ferentz's offense to struggle mightily this week. Tory Taylor will see a LOT of playing time. Bet the under. Iowa wins 9-6.

A few quick points:

• Minnesota's O owns a TOP of around 7 minutes more per game than Iowa's O. That helps their D on multiple fronts. It keeps their D more fresh AND it limits the number of possessions for the opposition.
• Minnesota's D gave up around 480 yards to Penn State (and plenty of points).
• In contrast, Iowa gave up 360 to Ohio State and 330ish to Michigan. A lot of the points that OSU got on Iowa benefited from the Iowa O gift-wrapping them short fields.

No doubt, the Minnesota defense is a darn fine group this season. However, they're not "Iowa good."

 

[IowaPackFan]

As far as comparing Minnesota's defense to Iowa's, you are comparing apples and dump trucks.

Minnesota's opponents total offense ranking...

New Mexico State #127
Western Illinois #118 in FCS
Colorado #124
Michigan State #103
Purdue #44
Illinois #59
Penn State #35
Rutgers #121
Debbie #86
Northwestern #100

The one offense they played in the top 40 put up nearly 500 total yards.

So no...no insight and definitely not interesting, Slaw. But keep stirring your little pot.

This post gives me hope we might put up over 120 yards total offense.

 

[JerseyCityHawki]

Minnesota is known for their rushing attack. Mo Ibrahim, an all-American RB, is the nation's 4th leading rusher averaging 140 yards rushing per game. Since they're just 4-3 in the Big 10 despite having an elite running game, you would think they'd have major holes on defense that Iowa can exploit. They don't.

Their defense is actually equal to or better than Iowa's. Pretty shocking:

Minnesota ranks #4 nationally in scoring defense. Iowa ranks #5.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in passing defense. Iowa ranks #10.
Minnesota ranks #8 nationally in total defense. Iowa ranks #3.
Minnesota ranks #2 nationally in 3rd down conversion D. Iowa ranks #17.

In other words, expect Brian Ferentz's offense to struggle mightily this week. Tory Taylor will see a LOT of playing time. Bet the under. Iowa wins 9-6.

Have you looked at their schedule? Look at the past teams they played including non conference