Kaleb Johnson stays on record-breaking pace as Iowa regains possession of Floyd
Ohio native rushes for career-high 206 yards in 31-14 victory over Minnesota
By Pat Harty
MINNEAPOLIS –Kaleb Johnson is performing at such an incredibly high level right now that Iowa doesn’t even need a downfield passing attack to win some games.
Because that was certainly the case against Minnesota on Saturday as Iowa only had 62 passing yards, but still prevailed 31-14 thanks mostly to Johnson’s career-high 206 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Iowa offensive line certainly did its part by carving some huge holes for Johnson, and for backup running back Jaziun Patterson, who gained 66 yards on the ground.
Iowa finished with 272 rushing yards after being held to just 11 yards on the ground in last season’s 12-10 loss to Minnesota at Kinnick Stadium.
Johnson repeatedly praised his offensive line while meeting with the media after Saturday’s game.
“It’s all because of them,” he said. “They were just wearing down their d-line and linebackers, just letting me open holes and I took off, just being Kaleb Johnson and doing what Kaleb Johnson does.”
The Iowa defense also overcame a shaky first half in which it allowed two touchdowns in the second quarter to hold the Gophers scoreless in the second half.
Iowa improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten and now has an extra week to prepare for its next game against Ohio State on Oct. 5 in Columbus, Ohio.
Minnesota fell to 2-2 and has lost nine of its last 10 games against the Hawkeyes.
Once Saturday’s game ended, the Iowa players gathered as a swarm and then headed to the back of west end zone to regain possession of Floyd of Rosedale, the statue of a bronze pig that goes to the winner of this rivalry, which dates back to 1891.
“Obviously, Kaleb, a great night again,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “He’s really playing well for us. Anytime a back gets 200 yards, that’s pretty special.”
Johnson entered Saturday’s game as the nation’s leading rusher with 479 yards in three games.
He now enters the first of two bye weeks with 685 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
And remember, Johnson missed the first half of Iowa’s 40-0 victory over Illinois State in the season opener for an undisclosed reason.
Shonn Greene holds the program single-season rushing record of 1,850 yards, which he set in 2008. Greene also won the Doak Walker Award that season as the nation’s best collegiate running back.
And though it’s still early in the season, the 6-foot, 225-pound Johnson is certainly performing at a Doak Walker Award winning level.
Heck, if he keeps this pace up, Johnson might have a chance to be Iowa’s first Heisman Trophy winner since Nile Kinnick in 1939.
But again, it’s still way too early to speculate on postseason awards.
Iowa only had 107 yards in the first half and 88 came from Johnson on the ground, while the Gophers shredded Iowa’s vaunted defense for 222 yards in the first half.
Minnesota led 14-7 at halftime and clearly had the momentum heading into the third quarter.
However, it was short-lived as Iowa scored on its opening drive of the third quarter on a 15-yard run, by you guessed it, Kaleb Johnson.
The Ohio native then scored his third touchdown of the game on a 40-yard run with 5 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter.
That increased his rushing total to 164 yards with nearly a quarter-and-half left to play.
Johnson could have had even more rushing yards, but he watched most of the fourth quarter from the sideline as Patterson carried the rushing load.
Asked what changed between the first half and second half, Iowa left tackle Mason Richman said:
“I think we kind of just got back to our basics. It was just an attitude thing. That first drive (in the third quarter) was fantastic, obviously. It set the tone. We were preaching just get the tempo going a little bit more in and out of the huddle.
“Wear these guys down. That was one of our goals this week is wear them down. We didn’t think they had gone against an offense like we have.”
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara only completed 11-of-19 passes for 62 yards.
But it didn’t really matter because the running game was so dominant.
“Overall, every game is going to be different and whenever we’re able to keep the momentum like that and establish a good run game like this is huge for us,” McNamara said.
Kirk Ferentz said there was no emotional halftime speech given, nor did Iowa make any significant changes on either side of the ball.
It mostly just came down to executing better
“We made it tough, that’s for sure,” Kirk Ferentz said. “It was a tough environment. First time we’ve been on the road.
“I thought the guys overall responded well. But we made it tough in that second quarter. They outplayed us pretty much in every facet. But I think that makes the win even that much more valuable.”
Iowa 7 0 17 7 – 31
Minnesota 0 14 0 0 – 14
I –-Kaleb Johnson 1 run (Drew Stevens kick)
M – Jameson Geers 3 pass from Max Brosmer (Dragen Kesich kick)
M – Elijah Spencer 11 pass from Brosmer (Kesich kick)
I – Johnson 15 run (Stevens kick)
I – Johnson 40 run (Stevens kick)
I – Stevens 46 FG
I – Brendan Sullivan 1 run (Stevens kick)