The Iowa Hawkeyes visit Minnesota today (Saturday), in the annual battle for Floyd of Rosedale. The Hawkeyes have dropped two of their last three games and the defense has been unable to stop the run. The ground game is a strength of the Gophers.The Hawkeyes have had difficulty against the Minnesota offense led by senior Mitch Leidner. Coach Kirk Ferentz says the Iowa offensive line needs to protect senior quarterback C.J. Beathard.

Bethard was sacked six times in the loss to Northwestern. Minnesota offensive tackle Jonah Pirsig is a native of Blue Earth, about 11 miles from the Iowa-Minnesota border. He says the Gophers are fired up to play the Hawkeyes. Pirsig says the Hawkeyes always come at them with a physical style of play, and that style has always remained the same.

Coverage of the action on KJAN begins at 9-a.m. with the pre-game show. Kick-off is set for 11-a.m. at TCF Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis.