Motivation for Saturday's 94th meeting between the two is certainly something that won't be hard to come by. The Gophers need to pull out a victory to insure a winning season and a likely bowl berth. The Hawkeyes want a win to get back Floyd, the bronze pig the two schools have fought for since 1935. Many down in Iowa are lonely for the little fella, who hasn't been to Iowa City since the Hawkeyes lost him at the Metrodome during the final game of the 1998 season. You probably talk about it more when you don't have Floyd than when you do.
Talk is exactly what they're doing down in Iowa.
If a move is made, the credit will likely go to Iowa's defense, which has been outstanding the past three weeks. After giving up over 31 points per game during their 1-7 start, the Hawkeyes woke up from their hangover. They've found their defense and we've lost ours. So during last week's much needed Minnesota bye, the Gophers got a chance to get a sneak peak of the hot defense. Wide receiver Ron Johnson said he watched bits and pieces of Iowa's upset over Northwestern.