Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Nov 08, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 8, 2014

Minnesota 51, Iowa 14: Mitch Leidner tossed three of his career-high four touchdown passes to tight end Maxx Williams as the Golden Gophers rolled over the visiting Hawkeyes in Big Ten play.

Leidner, who had only thrown for six scores coming into the game, completed 10-of-13 passes for 138 yards and gained another 77 rushing for Minnesota (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten). David Cobb ran for 74 yards and a touchdown while Williams caught five passes for 46 yards as the Golden Gophers won for the fifth time in six games.

Jake Rudock went 10-of-19 for 89 yards with an interception as Iowa (6-3, 3-2) struggled to get offense going after its first drive. Mark Weisman ran for a touchdown, but the Hawkeyes were held to 36 yards rushing until their final drive of the contest.

Weisman capped a 12-play opening drive with a 1-yard run but Minnesota responded by scoring on five of its next six possessions, starting with KJ Maye’s 9-yard run. On the first play after a blocked punt, Leidner connected with Donovahn Jones on a 44-yard scoring strike and Williams caught a 9-yard TD pass over the middle on the next drive.

The Golden Gophers capitalized on Rudock’s fumble with Cobb’s 6-yard touchdown run before Williams caught a 4-yard score from Leidner with 31 seconds left in the second quarter for a 35-7 lead. Minnesota put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half – the final 3 coming on a pass from Leidner to Williams.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota has won six games at home (6-0) in a season for the first time since 1977. … Weisman became the third Iowa player to record 30 rushing touchdowns in his career, joining Tavian Banks (33) and Sedrick Shaw (33), while Rudock became the ninth Hawkeyes quarterback to pass for 4,000 career yards. … The Golden Gophers’ 28-point second quarter was their highest-scoring period against Iowa since posting 30 in the fourth quarter of a 43-7 victory in 1989.