cidsports: The Iowa Hawkeyes are 10-0 for the first time in 126 years, after 40-35 win over Minnesota

The Iowa Hawkeyes walk over to receive the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, after a
40-35 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday night at Kinnick
Stadium. The Hawkeyes have taken on a very business-like approach in 2015.

Iowa City, IA -- The Iowa Hawkeyes are 10-0 for the first time in program history, with a 40-35 win over Minnesota (4-6, 1-5, B1G West). The Hawkeyes first kicked off in college football in 1889, but after one previous attempt, in 2009, the Hawkeyes move to 6-0 in the B1G West and 10-0 overall, for the first time.

After last year's 51-14 debacle in Minneapolis, the Hawkeyes rebounded and
brought home Floyd of Rosedale to bring Kirk Ferentz's record to 11-6 in the
series against the Golden Gophers, since he became head coach in 1999.

On Sunday, the two major polls moved Iowa up to #6 in the nation. The Hawkeyes were ranked #5 in the second College Football Playoff poll and will find on Tuesday night how they stack up in the CFP race. Only Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Iowa remain undefeated in 2015 among Power 5 conference programs. Houston is the only remaining non-Power 5 unbeaten program in 2015.

The first night game ever in November in Kinnick Stadium was a sellout.
The entire weekend was special with men's and women's basketball games
on Friday and Sunday, in between the wrestling and football games at Kinnick
on Saturday. Iowa went 6-0 in all of the events, with the football game the highlight.

The 75 points combined for both teams on Saturday night was the third most in series history, which is now at 109 meetings. The series with the Golden Gophers is the most played series for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Since 1935, when the trophy was introduced, the Hawkeyes are now 37-43-2 against Minnesota. The win over Minnesota capped off an historic day at Kinnick Stadium.

Ahead of Saturday night's game between Iowa-Minnesota in Football; the
Iowa wrestling team made NCAA history with the largest wrestling match
defeating #1 Oklahoma State to kickoff the 2015-16 wrestling season.

"We're certainly really excited to get the victory tonight for obvious reasons. We talked to our guys about staying humble and staying hungry all week long, and really that just gets right to the point of being prepared. Working on their preparation and keeping the right things in focus," said Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa junior QB #16 C.J. Beathard continues to add to his winning record, now 11-0
as a Hawkeye starting signal caller. Beathard ran for 2 TDs, on 50 yards rushing,
then was 18 for 26 for an additional 213 yards passing in the 40-35 win.

"I can't compliment our players and our staff, especially our players, enough for doing that. They just did a great job this week. We expected this to be a tough, hard-fought football game. It was. It was a physical football game, and at the end of the day it was just a great team victory for us. The guys played off each other, complimented each other, and it did a lot of great things out there," Ferentz shared, after the emotional and electric game on Saturday night.

Iowa junior RB #29 LeShun Daniels, Jr. had a career game with 26 carries,
195 yards and three TDs on the ground, including a 51 yard TD to end Iowa's
scoring for the evening. He finished 5 yards short of becoming the third Iowa
running back to run for 200 yards and at least 3 TDs in a game, in 2015.

"So as we move forward right now, that puts us one step closer to doing some good things. Makes us 2-0 in November, which obviously we're thrilled about. And my son-in-law was kind enough to share a little history with me about this series yesterday, and it's interesting. We're almost to the day, 76 years ago was the first time The University of Iowa actually won the trophy for the Rosedale Trophy, and that was 1939, coincidentally a pretty good football team. So it was a great outing all in all. Really proud of our guys," Ferentz discussed, after the game.

Iowa senior RB #33 Jordan Canzeri returned for the first time, after suffering
an ankle injury during the Northwestern game. Iowa's leading rusher on the
season, ran for 31 yards in his return. He will be one of 21 seniors seeking
to play their final game at Kinnick Stadium on Senior Day this Saturday.

"Just want to comment about the environment. The fans were fantastic. Sold out, black-out crowd, and the energy was present from the time we came up pregame. Just an electric atmosphere. To be involved in this program 26 years now, these are the things our players will remember their entire lives. So just want to compliment our fans and thank them. Hope I see all 70-plus thousand of them next Saturday to send these seniors off," Ferentz said.

Iowa's Kinnick Stadium during the "Blackout Game" against Minnesota.

"We have a great senior class getting ready to play their last game at Kinnick Stadium," Ferentz said. This is the first Iowa team ever to reach 10-0 on a season. The leadership from the seniors has been outstanding, along with the chemistry developed, after Ferentz named junior QB C.J. Beathard the starting signal caller, after the bowl loss in January.

Tight ends played a big role by both teams on Saturday night. Here, Iowa senior
TE #80 Henry Krieger Coble heads up field against the Golden Gophers.

Offense assumed a lead role Saturday as the Hawkeyes won their 10th consecutive game to start a season for the first time in school history. Iowa ran 75 plays for 506 yards with no turnovers. The Hawkeyes have scored more than 30 points in four consecutive Big Ten Conference games for the first time.

Iowa junior QB #16 C.J. Beathard has been a huge reason for Iowa's 10-0
start in 2015. Though he was injured late in the game again, the game
against Minnesota has been the most productive using his feet and arm,
together, since the groin injury against Illinois. Beathard re-injured his hip.

“We have to give Iowa credit,” Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage in the middle. That was the difference in the game.”

Purdue rfrosh QB #11 David Blough was 26 of 45 for 285 yards, with a touchdown
and interception, as the Boilermakers came up short 21-14 @ Northwestern
on Saturday. Purdue won the 2012 game @ Iowa, 27-24, for the first win in Iowa City
in 20 years for the Boilermakers. From 1961 to 1980, Purdue won ever game in the series.

The Hawkeyes look for win No. 11 with an 11 a.m. CST start on Saturday, Nov. 21 against Purdue. The Boilermakers are 2-8 overall, 1-5 in the B1G West. The Hawkeyes are 6-0 in the B1G West, seeking to win the division outright. The game will be televised on ESPN 2 on Saturday.

The dean of the Big Ten, in his 26th season as a coach, 17th year as a head coach,
has lead Iowa to the best start in program history, at 10-0 overall. He is 6-0 in the
conference and seeking to finish 8-0 for the second time (2002) in program history.

Ferentz said, after the win over Minnesota, "We want to win it outright. That's our goal. But to win the game next week and clinch a bid, that would be fantastic. So that will be our goal tomorrow. We'll turn our sights on our next opponent. There is nothing easy in the conference. I know that. But we'll worry about that tomorrow. Tonight we'll enjoy this one and hopefully we'll get things ahead."

Purdue junior WR #7 DeAngelo Yancey is one of the playmakers in third year
coach Darrell Hazell's offense. Purdue's lone win came at home, against
Iowa's final Big Ten opponent, Nebraska. The Boilermakers won 55-45 against
the Cornhuskers for their lone B1G win on the season.

Purdue is up next on Saturday. The Boilermakers did win the last time the game was played at Kinnick Stadium, back in 2012. It was the first win by Purdue in Iowa City, in twenty years.