Iowa football 2023 early opponent preview: Minnesota

IOWA CITY — P.J. Fleck has experienced success against most of Minnesota’s peers in the Big Ten West. Most, but not all. He has winning records against Nebraska, Northwestern and Purdue as Minnesota’s head coach and a .500 record against Wisconsin and Illinois. Fleck, however, has gone 0-6 in Floyd of Rosedale games since his arrival in 2017. Iowa football will look to protect the swine streak on Oct. 21 at Kinnick Stadium against a Minnesota team with an infusion of talent from the transfer portal. Running back Sean Tyler and wide receivers Elijah Spencer and Corey Crooms highlight Fleck’s portal additions. Tyler and Crooms are from Western Michigan, and Spencer is from Charlotte. All three could be starters in 2023. However, Minnesota also lost some key players via the transfer portal. Defensive lineman Trill Carter transferred to Texas and running back Trey Potts transferred to Penn State. Athan Kaliakmanis is expected to man the quarterback position after starting five games last year. He completed 54 percent of his passes while throwing three touchdowns and four interceptions. Minnesota will be without star running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who now is in the NFL on the Detroit Lions’ training camp roster. Ibrahim torched the Hawkeyes for 263 rushing yards while averaging 6.7 yards per carry. (Yes, the Hawkeyes really pulled off a 13-10 win despite letting an opposing running back rack up 263 yards.) Minnesota’s defense ranked fourth in the country in 2022 with only 13.8 points allowed per game, but the unit must replace several key pieces this year. Along with Carter’s departure via the portal, defensive backs Jordan Howden and Terell Smith are off to the NFL as fifth- and sixth-round picks, respectively. Safety Tyler Nubin is among Minnesota’s defensive playmakers coming back this fall. Opposing quarterbacks completed only 35 percent of passes thrown toward Nubin, per Pro Football Focus, and he had four interceptions. The Gophers will have the benefit of a bye week before heading to Kinnick for the 2023 renewal of the rivalry. However, that did not help Purdue much last year when the well-rested Boilermakers suffered a 24-3 loss to Iowa. Iowa, meanwhile, will have its idle week in the subsequent week before closing the season against Northwestern, Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska. Iowa vs. Minnesota: 3 things to watch The tight end show. Fans of the tight end show may enjoy this year’s Iowa-Minnesota game. Iowa obviously has Luke Lachey and Erick All, both of whom are likely to be in the conversation for all-Big Ten honors. Add Minnesota’s Brevyn Spann-Ford, and it could be Tight End Fest at Kinnick Stadium. How much does Athan Kaliakmanis improve in 2023? Minnesota has some talented weapons, but Kaliakmanis has to get the ball to them at a much more efficient clip than in 2022. How much pressure can Minnesota generate up front? The Gophers ranked 13th out of 14 Big Ten teams last year with 19 sacks. 2023 prognosis Iowa has kept the pig (while sometimes leaving the timeouts) for eight straight years. Minnesota has a respectable roster in 2023, but extending the Hawkeyes’ streak to eight years in a row certainly seems doable.