MINNEAPOLIS -- For the fourth time in four games, the Iowa Hawkeye offense of the second half bore very little resemblance to the Hawkeye offense of the first half. And for the third time in those four games, that was a good thing, as Iowa rolled to 24 unanswered points in the second half and turned a 14-7 halftime deficit into a comfortable 31-14 victory over Minnesota.
Iowa didn't make wholesale changes in the second half -- there wasn't a quarterback change, for instance, despite Iowa fans clamoring to see Brendan Sullivan get more snaps after starter Cade McNamara struggled to a 7-of-13, 16-yard effort in the opening 20 minutes.
Instead, the Hawkeyes simply did a much (much) better job of running the plays they wanted to run.
"We really didn't change much going into halftime, we just kind of changed our mental approach," said McNamara. "We stuck with the same plays as the first half, but we went out there with a completely different mentality."
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said that the coaching staff "didn't get emotional [during halftime]," nor did he deliver a "big Knute Rockne speech."
Preparation and the staff's commitment to an even-keel approach led the way for the Hawkeyes in the second half turnaround. "We talk about it in camp -- we're gonna be in these situations, it's just part of conference play," said Ferentz. "The question is how you react and respond. I can't be more pleased in the response."
After Iowa scored a touchdown on a short-field drive (5 plays, 38 yards) after a Jay Higgins interception, the offense went into a dormant period that's become all too familiar to Iowa fans. Iowa's subsequent four drives after the touchdown went:
* 3 plays, 2 yards, punt
* 8 plays, 28 yards, punt
* 3 plays, -11 yards, punt
* 3 plays, -1 yard, punt
At one point, Iowa was being out-gained by Minnesota 143 yards to one (1) yard in the second quarter. Iowa added 45 yards on an end-of-half possession, all on two Kaleb Johnson runs that also ran out the clock on the first half. Overall, Iowa was out-gained 143 yards to 46 yards in the second quarter, and outscored 14-0 as the Gopher passing attack found a dangerous rhythm.
Once again, everything changed after halftime.
For Iowa, the offense sprung to life; right out of the gate, the Hawkeyes gained 20 yards on a catch-and-run by Addison Ostrenga, then 17 yards on a Johnson run (with an added 15 yards for a late hit personal foul penalty). Two plays, and the seemingly moribund Hawkeye offense was already in the red zone.
Three plays later, Johnson did this on third-and-10 to tie the game:
Iowa had three drives in the third quarter -- and scored on all three possessions, effectively taking control of the game:
* 5 plays, 67 yards, touchdown
* 6 plays, 73 yards, touchdown
* 9 plays, 34 yards, field goal
All told, Iowa out-gained Minnesota 159 yards to 14 yards in the third quarter and out-scored the Gophers 17-0 as they took complete control of the game. That third quarter dominance completely flipped the game on its head.
"We were just itching to get back out there after halftime," said McNamara. "We had such a bad taste in our mouth after the first half and get it going and let it rip. And that's what we did."
Iowa's second half success was built around a running game that wore down the Gophers and produced several chunk plays.
Iowa had 116 rushing yards in the third quarter (on 8.3 yards per carry) and added a further 65 yards in the fourth quarter. Iowa racked up 272 rushing yards in the game, with 181 of those yards coming after the halftime break.
Improved play from the offensive line fueled that dominant rushing display. "We feel better about our group up front," Ferentz said. "They seem confident, they don't seem rattled. They kept taking coaching, and went out and did a good job [in the second half]."
McNamara praised the efforts of the offensive line as well. "The o-line is showing [their] ability to wear teams down... it seemed like [Minnesota's defense] kind of forfeited at the end," he said. "For us to wear them down like that up front, that's huge."
The Iowa defense also produced a much-improved performance in the second half. After conceding 222 yards in the first half (143 in the second quarter alone), the defense allowed just 66 yards in the second half, including only 14 yards in the decisive third quarter.
The defense didn't make any big changes schematically, but it did feed off the success that the offense found after halftime.
"Our offense came out in the second half and they put points on the board," said linebacker Nick Jackson. "Complementary football, just feed off each other. That's just all phases, going to work."
Fellow linebacker Jay Higgins said the defense used the frustration from the poor second quarter performance as fuel for the second half turnaround. "We were sitting at halftime knowing that we we're better [than that]," said Higgins. "We stayed with the gameplan, cleaned some things up, and trusted the coaching staff."
Higgins also praised the communication between the defenders in the second half. "We were all on the same page [defensively] in the second half," he noted.
After Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer went 17-of-26 for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, he went just 5-of-11 for 44 yards and no touchdowns and threw his second interception of the game as well. As a team, Minnesota had just five first downs in the second half and ran just one play on the Iowa side of the field -- which ended up being Quinn Schulte's game-icing interception.
Iowa heads into the bye week with a 3-1 record, a 1-0 in the Big Ten, and in possession of Floyd of Rosedale once again. They'll also enter the break knowing that work is still needed in several areas -- 62 passing yards is a going to be a difficult total to win games with on a regular basis -- but with the confidence that comes from proving that they can implement successful second half adjustments.