Ranking the Minnesota Gophers’ 2019 opponents

The Hawkeyes had a good defense in 2018 (17.8 points, 293.6 yards per game) and they should be good again, although their top-four tacklers, including defensive back Amani Hooker, are gone. Iowa isn’t just about defense, though, last year averaging 31.2 points per game. Quarterback Nate Stanley (59.3%, 2,852 yards, 26 TDs) returns at quarterback. Last year at Minnesota, Stanley torched the Gophers for 314 yards and four TDs. Iowa has a good, if unspectacular, mix at running back, but Stanley’s top-two receivers – tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant – are both in the NFL. Minnesota might play teams with more talent, but with this one on the road so this could well likely be the Gophers’ toughest task of 2019.