W   30 - 27 

The first half started poorly for Iowa after an interception in the end zone, and fumbling deep in Gopher territory. Minnesota's Chip Lohmiller kicked a 62-yard FG at the end of the half to put Iowa behind 17-0 at half. The kick distance set a Minnesota record and was one yard short of the Big Ten record while being the fifth longest in NCAA history.

But the Hawks would rally, scoring all 30 points in the second half, instigated by Mark Vlasic who started the second half for a floundering Tom Poholsky. Rob Houghtlin kicked a 49-yard FG to get Iowa on the board, but the big spark was Peter Marciano, who had an 89-yard punt return to cut the deficit to 17-10.

Iowa's offense was effective moving the ball, with a combination of running and passing to score 2 short TDs. Rick Bayless (a Minnesota native) rushed 19 times for 79 yards and 1 TD, enough to become only the 3rd Hawkeye to go over 1,000 yards in a season.

The Hawks took the lead 27-24 late in the 4th quarter, but were unable to stop the Gopher offense. With one minute remaining, Lohmiller kicked a 49-yard FG to tie the game at 27. At the end of the game, Iowa drove within long FG range, but Houghtlin missed a 51-yard field goal with 5 seconds left. However, Minnesota had 12 men on the field, and he made the 36-yard field goal on the next play to win it.

	1	2	3	4	F
Iowa	0	0	13	17	30
Minnesota	7	10	7	3	27