Minnesota's Path to Victory Over Iowa

Tonight the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes will head north to take on a dangerous sixth-ranked Minnesota team with upset on their minds. Minnesota is in search of their first win over Iowa since 2014 when they won 19-15 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

The Gophers are coming in hot, fresh off a minor upset of Ohio State last Friday night. Minnesota started off slow but captured five of the last six matches to take a 20-17 win. After a win over Purdue on Sunday, Brandon Eggum’s team now sits at 10-1 on the year. 

So can Minnesota pull the upset? While this is a preview of the evening’s events, it will be slanted toward Minnesota’s ability (or lack thereof) to get the win. What needs to happen for the Gophers to send a sold-out crowd happy from Maturi Pavilion? We’ve got you covered below. 

125 lbs

This is a match that Minnesota has to get. Despite the disparity in rankings, a win over #26 Joey Cruz by #13 Cooper Flynn isn’t a lock. Cruz won his first two Big Ten duals of the season over Nicolar Rivera and Brendan McCrone. Flynn has split with the pair beating Rivera and getting majored by McCrone. Flynn also tends to wrestle very close matches. Five of his 12 wins have come with margins of three points or less. On the other hand, Cruz has been able to keep it close with All-American Caleb Smith and #14 Maximo Renteria. 

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