Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Iowa Hawkeyes fought gallantly to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, but in the end the results were the same as they were the week before when they tried to stay undefeated. Now the Hawkeyes look to avoid sliding further down on the Big Ten totem poll as they welcome in their arch-rival the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the regular season finale on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes (9-2, 5-2) slid to 15th following their back-to-back losses to Northwestern and tenth-ranked Ohio State in overtime last week. They will be without quarterback Ricky Stanzi for this game and hope he is able to go in their bowl game in about a month and a half.

Iowa had risen as high as fourth in the BCS standings until they lost Stanzi and the home game to the Wildcats, 17-10, on November 7.

The Iowa Hawkeyes still have a slim chance at capturing a share of the conference title. They must win and hope for an upset of the Buckeyes by the Wolverines, although Ohio State already punched their ticket to Pasadena last week. With a win and an Ohio State loss, the Hawkeyes would also have an outside shot of getting a bid to a BCS bowl game.

For any of the above scenario to happen, the Iowa Hawkeyes would need better play out of quarterback James Vandenberg, who has completed less than fifty percent of his passes since stepping in for Stanzi in the Northwestern loss for 353 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Minnesota (6-5, 3-4) became bowl eligible with a victory over the non-conference South Dakota State last week, although the victory was hardly inspiring, with a late field goal by Eric Ellestad breaking a 13-all tie for a 16-13 win.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will look to break a 13-game losing streak against ranked teams, dating back to a win over Michigan in October of 2005.

Minnesota (6-5, 3-4) is looking to halt a 13-game skid, by a combined score of 93-28, against ranked opponents that dates to a win at Michigan on Oct. 8, 2005. Three of those defeats have come this season by a combined 93-28 score.

The Gophers have had a rough go of it in the Big Ten, though they are just 3-4, they have allowed more than 20 points to each conference opponent.

The Hawkeyes have dominated the recent series, winning seven of the last eight, with the lone exception of that a 34-24 Minnesota home victory in 2006.

Click here for more College Football Betting Lines and Online Sports Betting Lines

---

---

Comments