Iowa's Kirk Ferentz knows Minnesota is dangerous, even after loss to Purdue

It has been a bit of a roller-coaster season for the unranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, and that's something longtime Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz can understand.

Minnesota went back-to-back weeks with wins against the Washington Huskies (on the road) and then against the Michigan Wolverines. They went into their matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers at 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers then lost to Purdue, 41-13.

The 2026 season has been a similar roller coaster for Iowa. After a last-second win against Michigan at the Big House, the Hawkeyes followed that up by getting handled by the Ohio State Buckeyes in Kinnick in a 31-14 loss. That loss was followed up by Iowa going west on short rest to play the Huskies, and the Hawkeyes beat Washington, 41-24, on a Friday night.

It's been a whirlwind 2026 for Iowa, but none of this winning and losing means anything this weekend as the Hawkeyes and Gophers play for the iconic Floyd of Rosedale trophy at Huntington Bank Stadium.

In his weekly news conference, Ferentz used baseball as a point of reference for his thoughts heading into this one.

"So the Cubs beat the Tigers, and then the Tigers beat the Reds. Hey, we beat the Tigers, so we'll naturally beat (that team). And then, you end up losing by 10 runs. That kind of thinking gets you beat," Ferentz explained to the media, according to Tyler Tachman of HawkCentral.

Kirk Ferentz trying to keep Iowa Hawkeyes focused on Minnesota 

No matter who Minnesota has lost to earlier this season (Mississippi State and Purdue), head coach P.J. Fleck knows how to get his team up for a big game — and that's especially true for a trophy game.

The Gophers aren't going to back down from Iowa just because the Hawkeyes have are ranked No. 15. Minnesota is the home underdog heading into this one, but the Hawkeyes can't get caught looking ahead.

At 5-1, the Hawkeyes could be a College Football Playoff team. They've got to keep winning, though, so a letdown against the Gophers has to be avoided.

“The moral of the story is you better be ready this Saturday and just worry about this Saturday,” Ferentz said. “I know the whole world wants to worry about what's out there, and we're really starting to fuel that fire now because you've got the playoff shows coming up here sometime in the next four weeks, I'm sure. So, all the chatter is about what's going to happen in December. The best advice I can give our guys is let's just worry about Saturday."