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Join us as we follow Cody Hills and the #IowaSim20 this season to preview each game as the Hawkeyes work their way through the 2020 schedule.
Since Cody started the #IowaSim in 2013, it is 71-16 in correctly picking the winner of each week's game and 2-1 so far in the 2020 season.
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With Iowa winning the toss and choosing to defer, Minnesota received the opening kickoff in the virtual battle for Floyd of Rosedale.
Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan got star receiver Rashod Bateman going early with a 20-yard completion, but the Gophers' offense stalled out at midfield as the Hawkeye defense, led by Jack Campbell and Austin Schulte returning from injury, forced a punt.
Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras and the Hawkeye offense took over at the 24-yard line. On second down, Petras found wide receiver Brandon Smith over the middle for a 28-yard gain and the Hawkeyes were in business. From the 48-yard line, Tyler Goodson got the running game going with a tough 10-yard gain. Later, on a fourth and one, virtual Kirk Ferentz decided to keep the offense on the field and running back Mekhi Sargent picked it up and then some with a 16-yard gain. Then,, it was Goodson punching it on a four-yard touchdown run around the right edge to give the Hawkeyes an early 7-0 lead.
On Minnesota's next possession, the Gophers started to get things going with a 15-yard completion to wide receiver Daniel Jackson, a 16-yard catch by Chris Autman-Bell, and an eight-yard run by running back Mohamed Ibrahim. Then, facing a fourth and short, virtual P.J. Fleck kept the offense on the field and Morgan found Bateman for a 19-yard gain to put the Gophers inside the red zone. That is where the Iowa defense finally put a stop to things, however, forcing a 35-yard field goal attempt from Michael Lantz which was good to make the score Iowa 7, Minnesota 3.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ivory Kelly-Martin found an opening and was nearly gone, returning it 85 yards all the way down to the 15-yard line for the Hawkeyes. A screen pass to Goodson got the Hawkeyes to the four-yard line and from there it was a handoff to fullback Monte Pottebaum for the touchdown to make it a 14-3 lead for Iowa.
With that, the first quarter ended with the score Iowa 14, Minnesota 3, and it was time for a virtual wave to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital.
With the Hawkeyes driving to start the second quarter, running back Tyler Goodson was already up to 38 yards rushing and knocking on the door for another touchdown, but an ill-timed draw play on third down left the Hawkeyes with a field goal attempt. Keith Duncan's 25-yard field goal was good to make it Iowa 17, Minnesota 3.
After another Minnesota punt, the Iowa offense took over at the 35-yard line. A Petras completion to Goodson moved the ball past midfield, but the drive stalled out, leading to a Tory Taylor punt that downed the Gophers inside the five-yard line.
A 12-yard run by Tanner Morgan got the Gophers out from the shadow of their own end zone, but that is all the further they would get before another punt.
With the Hawkeyes looking to get more points on the board before halftime, Petras had two completions to tight end Sam LaPorta and one to wide receiver Brandon Smith before calling his own number on a run down to the two-yard line. From there, it was a Tyler Goodson run around the left side and into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day to make it Iowa 24, Minnesota 3.
The Hawkeyes kicked off with just 33 seconds remaining until halftime, looking to close out the half with a big lead, but Minnesota had other ideas. Starting out at the 24-yard line, Morgan found wide receiver Douglas Emelien for a 27-yard gain over the middle, which quickly moved the Gophers to midfield. Then, after two short completions to tight end Ko Kieft, Morgan hit Chris Autman-Bell for a 39-yard touchdown to make the score Iowa 24, Minnesota 10 with six second left on the clock.
After a 30-yard kickoff return by Ivory Kelly-Martin, the Iowa offense came back out on the field with just two seconds remaining on the clock. As Petras dropped back with all kinds of time, he found Tyrone Tracy Jr. deep for a 50-yard gain, but he was tackled with no time remaining.
With that, Iowa and Minnesota went into the locker room with the Hawkeyes holding a 24-10 lead and a clear advantage in yardage.
With the Hawkeyes set to receive to start the second half, the Iowa offense looked to put more points on the scoreboard. On first down, Petras found Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a 16-yard gain. Then LaPorta hauled in his fourth catch of the day and Goodson found some running room up the middle for another first down. Ultimately, Iowa's drive stalled out after a failed run on third and short, but in came Keith Duncan to attempt a 51-yard field goal. With the wind at his back, Duncan's kick was good to make it a 27-10 lead for the Hawkeyes.
Minnesota's offense took the field on a mission on their next possession with Morgan running the zone read and marching right down the field through the running game. The 75-yard drive ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Morgan to make the score Iowa 27, Minnesota 17.
After the kickoff, the Iowa offense took over at the 27-yard line looking to answer and keep the lead out of reach for the Gophers. On the very first play, using play action, Spencer Petras dropped back and found Ihmir Smith-Marsette deep for a 73-yard touchdown. That made the score Iowa 34, Minnesota 17.
The offensive fireworks continued on Minnesota's next possession as Morgan found tight end Ko Kieft for a 44-yard completion on the Gophers' first play. With Minnesota running some no-huddle, Morgan marched the offense into the red zone, but Iowa's bend but don't break defense held the Gophers to a field goal attempt, which was good to make it Iowa 34, Minnesota 20.
With Petras already up to 285 yards passing on the day, the Iowa offense took the field with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but it was a short possession for the Hawkeyes that ended with a Tory Taylor punt.
The Minnesota offense came back out with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Morgan hit star receiver Rashod Bateman on a completion to midfield. A couple plays later, however, it was Jack Koerner forcing a fumble and Matt Hankins recovering to give the ball right back to the Iowa offense.
With the Iowa offensive line giving Petras all day to throw, he found Smith-Marsette for a 16-yard gain, which put Petras over 300 yards and Smith-Marsette over 100 yard on the day. On the next play though, Goodson was hit from behind and fumbled, giving the ball right back to Minnesota.
The score remained at Iowa 34, Minnesota 20 going into the fourth quarter.
On a fourth and short, it was Mohamed Ibrahim finding running room around the right end for a 25-yard gain to move the Gophers across midfield. Then, on another fourth down, Morgan found Autman-Bell on a 29-yard completion and Minnesota was down inside the 10-yard line. On third down, the Gophers setup a perfect screen pass and Ibrahim walked into the end zone to cut Iowa's lead down to 34-27.
As Iowa's offense took the field, the Hawkeyes hung on to a seven point lead with six minutes left on the clock. A draw play to Goodson gained seven on first down, but Petras was forced to throw the ball away on second down and Goodson was stopped for no gain on third, leaving Iowa with no choice but to punt.
Minnesota took over at the 32-yard line with 5:03 remaining. Ibrahim ran for two yards on first down followed by a seven-yard completion to Kieft and a run by Morgan for a first down. With Morgan trying another run on a zone read, this time it was Jack Heflin sniffing it out and making the tackle for loss. Morgan, now up to 360 yards passing, got Minnesota across midfield with the clock winding down to three minutes. With the Gophers facing fourth and five from the 32-yard line, Morgan's pass was short of the sticks and the Hawkeyes took over on downs holding onto a seven point lead.
The Hawkeye offense took the field, but it was a quick three and out, so the Gopher offense came back out with 1:55 remaining.
On first down, Morgan found Bateman for 10 yards. Then it was Autman-Bell for 15 yards. Next was a screen to Ibrahim for six yards and then Kieft for five and a first down. With the clock now under one minute, Morgan hit Daniel Jackson for 21 yards and the Gophers were down to the 11-yard line. That is when Morgan found tight end Ko Kieft for the touchdown and the extra point tied the game at 34-34.
With just 56 seconds left on the clock, the Hawkeyes were going to have to strike fast to win the game in regulation and that is exactly what they were about to do. The Gophers kicked the ball deep and it was running back Ivory Kelly-Martin bringing it out of the end zone and up the sidelines for an unbelievable 101-yard touchdown for the Hawkeyes, as Iowa took the lead right back at 41-34 with 41 seconds remaining.
After a touchback, the Minnesota offense came back out on the field at the 25-yard line, needing a touchdown with just 41 seconds left on the clock. On first down, Morgan hit wide receiver Mike Brown-Stephens for a gain of 16 yards and the Gophers used a timeout. Then, after an incompletion, Morgan found Daniel Jackson for a gain of eight yards, but he was tackled by Dane Belton in bounds to keep the clock running. Now with under 20 seconds remaining, Morgan threw to Jackson again for a short gain, but the clock continued to run. On the next play, Morgan hit wide receiver Jonathan Mann over the middle for a 27-yard gain, getting the Gophers down to the 27-yard line and they used their final timeout with one second remaining. On the final play of the game, Morgan dropped back Morgan, now with 484 yards passing on the day, took the snap for the final play of the game and threw a pass to the sideline, short of the end zone, but it fell incomplete to give the Hawkeyes a 41-34 victory.
The player of the game for Iowa was running back Tyler Goodson with 21 carries for 87 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns on the ground plus five catches and 53 yards receiving.
With the final score Iowa 41, Minnesota 34, virtual Floyd of Rosedale will be staying in Iowa City for another year.
Season record in correctly picking the outcome: 2-1
Career record in correctly picking the outcome: 71-16
