IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -Iowa in danger of being remembered more for its finish than its fantastic start.
The 15th-ranked Hawkeyes have dropped two straight after opening 9-0 for the first time, and last week's 27-24 overtime loss at Ohio State crushed their hopes of a trip to the Rose Bowl.
Though Iowa (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) has gone from national title contention to simply hoping for an at-large BCS bowl bid, there's still has a lot on the line for the Hawkeyes entering Saturday's finale against Minnesota (6-5, 3-4).
Standing in the way of the Iowa's hopes for their first 10-win season since 2004 and a bronze pig named Floyd are the Gophers, who still can't forget what the Hawkeyes did to them in their final game in the Metrodome last season.
Iowa retained the ``Floyd of Rosedale'' hog trophy given to the winner in this border rivalry with a stunning 55-0 blowout victory. It was the largest-ever win by the Hawkeyes over Minnesota, and it has stuck with many of the Gophers.
``Something like that, you're never going to forget,'' Minnesota tight end Nick Tow-Arnett said. ``We're going to do everything we can this year to not let that happen.''
Iowa's slide has coincided with quarterback Ricky Stanzi's sprained ankle, which ended his regular season in the second quarter of a 17-10 loss to Northwestern back on Nov. 7.
Redshirt freshman quarterback James Vandenberg, who'll make his second career start on Saturday, opened eyes with a confident performance against the Buckeyes.
Facing one of the nation's top defense in one of the most inhospitable venues in college football, Vandenberg was 20 of 33 passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He threw three interceptions, but he also drove the Hawkeyes to a game-tying score late in the fourth quarter.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz had praise for Vandenberg's arm, his grasp of the offense and, most important, they way he handled such a tough environment.
``I'm impressed with the fact that he took a couple shots in the head and that's the stuff you don't let guys do in practice. We can't simulate 110,000 people, and we're not going to let guys come in and whack him, either, during most conditions. That's the stuff that you really find out about a guy,'' Ferentz said. ``He just showed a lot of mental and physical toughness. Quarterbacks better have that.''
Minnesota is skidding to the finish as well, like it was a year ago when the Hawkeyes closed out the Gophers run in the Metrodome.
Minnesota has dropped three of its last five, and last week's 16-13 home win over FCS school South Dakota State was hardly a cause for celebration. The Gophers had just 231 yards of offense, settling for Eric Ellestad field goals of 23, 25 and 26 yards and a D.L. Wilhite fumble recovery for a touchdown to sneak past the Jackrabbits.
The Gophers are taking a bus to Iowa City instead of flying to save money, when they'll have plenty of time to mull over the challenge of facing Iowa's defense.
The Hawkeyes are allowing just 16.9 points per game this season, and Minnesota scored just seven points in road losses to the Big Ten's two other premier defenses, the Buckeyes and Penn State.
``It's a tremendous challenge for us. We know that we're a big underdog in the football game, and rightfully so,'' Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said.
Save for a 34-24 loss in Minneapolis in 2006 that capped a dreadful late-season skid for Iowa, the Hawkeyes have dominated the series since Ferentz got Iowa back on track in 2001.
Iowa has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Gophers, and the Hawkeyes will likely need to make it eight of nine to have any shot of landing an at-large BCS bid.
``It's a pig. Hopefully we can keep it here, and maybe we could kind of roast it for the Thanksgiving break,'' Iowa defensive lineman Broderick Binns said.
