Iowa and Minnesota play annually for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, which started as a wager between Iowa governor Clyde B. Herring and Minnesota governor Floyd B. Olson made a wager on the rivalry mathup in 1935. The winner received a live pig. The Gophers won the 1935 matchup, so Herring sent the prize-winning pig…
Iowa and Minnesota play annually for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, which started as a wager between Iowa governor Clyde B. Herring and Minnesota governor Floyd B. Olson made a wager on the rivalry mathup in 1935.
The winner received a live pig. The Gophers won the 1935 matchup, so Herring sent the prize-winning pig to Olson. The pig came from Rosedale Farms near Fort Dodge, Iowa, hence the name ‘Floyd of Rosedale,’ named after the Minnesota governor and the farm the pig came from.
This week’s matchup between the Hawkeyes and Gophers marks the 93rd game with the Floyd of Rosedale trophy at stake, and Iowa has owned the rivalry in recent years.
The Hawkeyes have won 10 of the last 11 games against Minnesota, including five straight in Minneapolis. Iowa’s last trip to Huntington Bank Stadium resulted in a 31-14 win, in which running back Kaleb Johnson ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
Both teams will be coming off a bye week, and Iowa believes the break couldn’t come at a better time.
“Right in the middle [of the season], which I like,” defensive back Zach Lutmer said. “It’s a good reset, a chance to go home and see some family. A chance to heal up, recover a little bit. Our bodies feel great and ready to go play this week.”
The bye week gave the players a chance to rest, visit family, or even go coyote hunting. Defensive linemen Luke Gaffney and Drew Campbell, along with linebackers Cam Buffington and Landyn Van Kekerix, went coyote hunting in Springville, Iowa.
Gaffney said visiting family and getting away from football helps him put things into perspective after focusing on the game plan and preparing for an opponent each week.
“It’s been a tough season, hard-fought wins, so it’s definitely nice to take a moment to take a deep breath, get your body back, and just be able to come back stronger and more focused than ever,” Gaffney said.
Minnesota has been very pass-heavy this season, unlike previous years when the Gophers tried to establish the run game. Quarterback Drake Lindsey has a lively arm, but has been inconsistent this season, as has the entire team.
Minnesota enters the week at 4-2, with Big Ten wins over Washington and Michigan, but also has head-scratching losses to Mississippi State and Purdue. The Gophers were blown out in both losses.
Preparing for an inconsistent team can seem like a tough challenge, considering it’s hard to figure out which version of Minnesota will show up against Iowa. The Hawkeyes, however, are treating it like any other game.
“We just have to watch as much film as we can, try to pick up on some tendencies and see what they have done to previous opponents and what they might do to us,” Buffington said. “Their coach has been there for quite a while, so we can go in the past and see what they’ve done against Iowa.”
PJ Fleck is in his 10th season as head coach for Minnesota, compiling a 70-46 record with the Gophers. Fleck, however, has beaten the Hawkeyes just once, on a controversial ending at Kinnick Stadium in 2023, where Cooper DeJean was called for an invalid fair catch signal on a punt return touchdown that would have given Iowa the lead late in the game.
While the Hawkeyes are seven-point favorites over the Gophers this weekend, running back L.J. Phillips understands that they must be prepared, no matter who they’re facing.
“As you can see from this past weekend of college football, anything can happen,” Phillips said. “You don’t want to be that team that gets upset.”
Iowa will face off with Minnesota on the road at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
LATEST