Behind an offense that sunk to new lows, Iowa (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) fell to Minnesota (4-3, 3-2 Big Ten) for the first time since 2014 and for the first time in Iowa City since 1999. PJ Fleck recorded his first win over Iowa after going 0-7 in his first seven attempts (0-6 at Minnesota).

The Hawkeyes had wriggled out of some difficult situations with wins over Minnesota in recent years and briefly looked set to add another Houdini-esque escape to their collection on Saturday.

Down 12-10 with 1:40 to go, Minnesota punted the ball back to Iowa. Cooper DeJean fielded the punt near the sideline and produced a dazzling 54-yard return, weaving through multiple Minnesota defenders and crossing the entire width of the field before running into the end zone. His touchdown appeared to gave Iowa a 16-12 lead with around 90 seconds to play.

DeJean's return only appeared to give Iowa the lead in the game, because after an extensive video review, the touchdown was overruled and waved off. Officials determined that DeJean made a motion with his left hand that was called an "invalid fair catch signal" before picking up the ball. The "invalid fair catch signal" meant that the play was dead as soon as he touched the ball, and the ensuing return did not count.

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After the stunning overturn, Iowa still took over on offense near midfield and only needed to gain 20-30 yards to give Drew Stevens a realistic shot at a game-winning field goal attempt. Instead, the Iowa offense ran three plays:

* sack
* incomplete pass
* interception

That sequence was a fitting summary for the game, as the ineptitude of the Iowa offense was the primary culprit for Iowa's defeat in this game. Iowa received the ball to start the game and put together an 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a field goal. That was by far the best drive Iowa had on offense for the entire game.

Iowa's remaining offensive drives:

* 1Q PUNT: 3 plays, 9 yards
* 1Q PUNT: 3 plays, 3 yards
* 1Q PUNT: 3 plays, 6 yards

Remaining first quarter drives: 9 plays, 18 yards, 3 punts

* 2Q FUMBLE: 1 play, -5 yards
* 2Q PUNT: 6 plays, 19 yards
* 2Q TOUCHDOWN: 6 plays, 12 yards (plus 34 yards in penalties)

Second quarter drives: 13 plays, 60 yards, 1 punt, 1 turnover, 1 touchdown

* 3Q PUNT: 3 plays, 0 yards
* 3Q FUMBLE: 2 plays, -6 yards
* 3Q PUNT: 3 plays, 3 yards

Third quarter drives: 8 plays, -3 yards, 2 punts, 1 turnover

* 4Q PUNT: 3 plays, 3 yards
* 4Q PUNT: 3 plays, -8 yards (plus -10 yards in penalties)
* 4Q PUNT: 7 plays, 27 yards
* 4Q INT: 3 plays, -7 yards

Fourth quarter drives: 16 plays, 5 yards, 3 punts, 1 turnover

After that game-opening drive, Iowa the Iowa offense gained another 56 yards (plus a net of 24 yards in penalties) for the rest of the game, encompassing 13 drives. The Hawkeyes averaged 4.3 yards of offense per drive on those 13 drives and just 1.2 yards per play on the 46 plays they ran on those 13 drives.

The outrage over the punt return touchdown that was taken away may be the lingering memory from this game, and it was a shocking decision. Focusing on that should not obscure the fact that the Iowa offense was wildly ineffective for over three quarters.

Iowa's only touchdown drive of the game was heavily assisted by four Minnesota penalties, including two fifteen-yard infractions. Beyond that indiscipline-aided drive, Iowa struggled to gain first downs, let alone put points on the board.

Ultimately, PJ Fleck took a Kirk Ferentz gameplan and out-Ferentz'd Kirk Ferentz to earn his first win over Iowa. The Gophers were patient and methodical on offense, relied on a strong defense, avoided turnovers, and exploited Iowa's mistakes. Iowa has followed that script to victory countless times under Ferentz (especially against Minnesota), but they were on the wrong side of things in this game.

After an ineffective first half (26 plays, 65 yards, 3 points), Minnesota made effective adjustments in the second half. The Gopher offensive line gave QB Athan Kaliakmanis time to throw and he took advantage of opportunities to make short and intermediate throws, as well as the occasional deep ball. He was particularly effective linking up with Daniel Jackson; they connected five times for 96 yards in the second half. The running game found a little room to operate as well, gaining 56 yards.

All told, Minnesota gained 174 yards of offense in the second half. It only resulted in three field goals, but that was enough in a game where the Iowa offense was incapable of gaining positive yardage at times (not an exaggeration -- Iowa finished with -3 yards of offense in the third quarter).

The turnovers went squarely in Minnesota's favor as well. The Gophers gave the ball away zero times, while Iowa coughed the ball up three times. Deacon Hill fumbled twice and was intercepted once.

The Iowa defense prevented disaster after Hill's first fumble, holding Minnesota to a field goal attempt that was pulled wide right, but they were unable to keep Minnesota off the scoreboard after the second fumble -- mainly because the Gophers took over with the ball already on the Iowa 11-yard line.

Iowa's brand of complementary football relies upon the defense and special teams playing brilliantly and the offense doing just enough -- or at least not making things too much harder for the other units. The offense failed in that task in this game, unable to move the ball, score points, maintain possession, or avoid turnovers. The only thing emptier than the offensive drive chart for most of the game will be the spot in the Iowa trophy case where Floyd of Rosedale has resided for the last eight years.