MINNEAPOLIS – Kaleb Johnson ran for a personal-high 206 yards and three touchdowns and scored two more points in a dominant third quarter that led Iowa to a 31-14 victory over Minnesota and returned the Bronze Pig Trophy to the Hawkeyes on Saturday night.

After watching with bitterness as the Gophers knocked off Floyd of Rosedale in Iowa last year in a controversial 12-10 loss that was sealed by a fair catch ruling that nullified a punt return touchdown by Cooper DeJean, the Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0) had a blast in their Big Ten opener on the home turf of their neighboring rival.

Johnson’s NCAA-leading rushing total through four games increased to 685 yards after the junior tailback turned an impressive performance by Iowa’s offensive line into a personal highlight. Johnson had just 21 carries and made the most of them, outrunning the Gophers to the edges on some runs and breaking a number of tackles after passing the line of scrimmage on other runs.

Iowa managed over 200 rushing yards for the fourth straight game, the team’s longest streak since 2013, in a dramatic game against a Minnesota defense that had just recorded two straight wins to zero against Rhode Island and Nevada.

The Gophers (2-2, 0-1) had a clear upper hand in the first half, taking a 14-7 lead with touchdown passes from Max Brosmer to Jameson Geers and Elijah Spencer. The Hawkeyes’ only point came after a 38-yard drive thanks to a Hecht interception by linebacker Jay Higgins in the first quarter.

Iowa then punted four times in a row and went into halftime with just 107 yards. Cade McNamara, who completed 11 of 19 passes for 62 yards, struggled to find his rhythm and several throws bounced off the receivers’ hands while he was fortunate to have no interceptions.

But the Hawkeyes capitalized on the kickoff in the second half, scoring a point in five plays. McNamara started with a 20-yard bootleg pass to tight end Addison Ostrenga. Then Johnson did the rest, aided by a last-minute penalty on Gophers linebacker Cody Lindenberg as he ran out of bounds, giving him a 15-yard gift.

Iowa, which lost at home to its other biggest rival, Iowa State, two weeks ago, avoided two consecutive losses to Minnesota for the first time since 2010-11.

The conclusion

Iowa: Overshadowed by the line-of-scrimmage dominance on offense was the good performance of the Hawkeyes front, which limited the Gophers to 79 rushing yards. The last time Iowa played here two years ago, Mohamed Ibrahim ran 39 times for 263 yards for Minnesota.

Minnesota: The good news for the Gophers is Brosmer, a sixth-year transfer from New Hampshire, has helped them to their best passing attack in five seasons, completing 17 of 26 passes for 165 yards and the two touchdowns before halftime, matching the most first-half completions since coach PJ Fleck arrived in 2017.

Next

Iowa: Plays at Ohio State on Oct. 5. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press poll, have won their last eight home games in the series. The Hawkeyes last won at Ohio Stadium in 1991.

Minnesota: Plays at Michigan on Sept. 28. The Wolverines, who were ranked No. 18 in the most recent AP poll before defeating No. 11 USC on Saturday, have not hosted the Gophers since a 33-10 victory in 2017.

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