Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota: Three Stars of the Game

Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

A look at who stood out during the Hawkeyes 14-7 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Iowa Hawkeyes entered the game desperately needing a win to get their season back on track. Their offense didn’t shine, however they did enough to reward the Hawkeyes best defensive performance of the season. Iowa escaped with a 14-7 win to improve to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play.

In a game defense controlled, their weren’t many explosive plays on offense. Although, six turnovers between the two teams resulted in plenty of highlight plays during the highly contested game. Not to mention that Iowa had many chances to put Minnesota away early, however their offense stalled after a couple of first downs every time.

Either way, Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes have to be thrilled to add to the win column. They’re not out of the Big Ten West race, yet, especially with Purdue on their schedule next week. It might be a long shot, however the Hawkeyes are still very alive to earn a second straight trip to the Big Ten Championship Game.

That being said, here’s a look at who stepped up in the Hawkeyes win over the Golden Gophers this week.

Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Akrum Wadley – 14 Carries, 107 Yards, 1 Touchdown

Akrum Wadley‘s 107 yards is a bit misleading considering more than half of them came off one run. However, Wadley’s 54-yard touchdown was the biggest play of the game and ended up being the game-winning touchdown for the Hawkeyes.

Wadley has a proven act of finding the end zone, and he performed it once again in the fourth quarter on Saturday. After rushing for seven touchdowns in 2015, despite only 83 carries, Wadley has already tied that mark in 2016 after his explosive run against Minnesota.

Both Wadley and LeShun Daniels Jr seemed close to breaking a big run on multiple occasions against Minnesota before Wadley was finally able to find a big enough hole to explode through in the fourth quarter.

Hopefully this will instill confidence in the running back, as he struggled last week against Northwestern and wasn’t overly-impressive against Minnesota, either. Sure, he showed his strength and speed in small doses, however, excluding his touchdown run, Wadley averaged a mere 3.8 yards per carry. He rushed for 53 yards on 14 carries and was usually stopped at the line.

That being said, the offensive line has to do a better job of creating holes for Wadley. He has big play ability and his improved strength from a season ago hasn’t been on display due to being met in the backfield or needing to run sideways to fit through tiny holes.

With poor blocking and relatively no pass game, Wadley is hardly to blame for any of the Hawkeyes struggles on offense. He had a couple of nice runs when given the room and had the biggest play of the game when the Hawkeyes needed it most.

3.8 yards per carry on 13 of his 14 carries is underwhelming, but he should have confidence going into Purdue and was on the verge of breaking a long touchdown earlier in the game, as well.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Desmond King – 2 Tackles, 1 Tackle For Loss, 1 Pass Deflection

Desmond King isn’t putting together another historic season, however he’s still making a positive impact on every game for the Hawkeyes. He had another great showing this weekend against Minnesota despite recording just two tackles on the afternoon.

Mitch Leidner decided to test the Jim Thorpe award winner early in the game, until he realized that wouldn’t work. King played his famously tight coverage on Minnesota’s receivers and shut down Minnesota’s leading receiver Drew Wolitarsky.

King matched up with Wolitarsky many times during the course of the game and didn’t give the top receiver any breathing room. He caused him to drop passes and be ineffective for most of the game. Wolitarsky finished the game with 58 yards on five catches, his lowest mark in each category since week one against Oregon State.

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Plus, King nearly intercepted his first pass of the season early in the first quarter. From their own 13-yard line, Mitch Leidner threw into coverage and King was in perfect position to come away with his first interception, and a pick-six, of the season.

King might not have any interceptions through the first half of the season, although he takes away half the field whenever he’s in the game. It forced Leidner to look towards the other side of the field on Minnesota’s potential game-winning drive and pick on Greg Mabin.

Despite Mabin not turning his head around and giving up costly big gains, he did make a big play on fourth down to secure a Hawkeyes victory. Still, very few defensive backs in the nation can impact a game by simply just being present on the field.

Not to mention, King had a solid night in the return game, as well. He almost had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter on a kickoff return, but Iowa recovered the ball, potentially saving them from disaster.

King isn’t putting up flashy numbers like last year, but he’s still an impact player. He added more highlight plays to his reel, however we’re all waiting for his first return touchdown because he’s so close every week.

Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Snyder – 5 Tackles, 1 Interception, 1 Fumble Recovery

On an afternoon where the Hawkeyes defense looked as good as they have all season and allowed a mere seven points, Brandon Snyder was the star of the game. He once again delivered numerous big blows, something that has become characteristic of him, and also helped the Hawkeyes secure two turnovers.

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In the first quarter, Parker Hesse forced Rodney Smith to put the ball on the ground, and Brandon Snyder recovered for his third fumble recovery of the season. In fact, that marks the third consecutive game that Snyder has recovered a fumble in.

C.J. Beathard threw an interception on the ensuing play, although Snyder and Iowa’s defense set the offense up with beautiful field position, nonetheless. Not to mention it stopped a Minnesota run game that started to pick up momentum with Smith gaining 13 yards on the previous two carries.

Then, late in the fourth quarter, Snyder picked Mitch Leidner for his second interception of the season, and Leidner’s second of the game. It allowed Iowa to burn nearly a minute off the play clock before being forced to punt. Despite the Hawkeyes not securing the win on the ensuing possession, it gave them a chance and stopped Minnesota’s offense for the fifth time in the fourth quarter up to that point.

Brandon Snyder only appeared in five games last season, however the sophomore safety has emerged as a budding star for the Hawkeyes defense. He rivals Josey Jewell as the hardest hitting defensive player on the team and has either forced or recovered a turnover in four consecutive games now.

Just two weeks removed from a career-high 13 tackles and a forced fumble, Brandon Snyder has not slowed down. This is the least amount of tackles he’s recorded since week two, however he gave the offense chances and continued his fantastic sophomore season.

For as many problems as the Hawkeyes have faced on both sides of the ball this season, Snyder has consistently been a key contributor to the defense, and I expect it to continue.

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