Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson ‘took it personal,’ avenging last year’s loss to Gophers

Iowa tailback Kaleb Johnson thought about avenging last season’s loss against the rival Gophers ever since he returned stronger than ever after struggling with an injury a year ago.

Johnson, the NCAA’s leading rusher this season, demolished defenders Saturday to the tune of 21 carries for 206 yards and three touchdowns in the Gophers’ 31-14 loss Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Johnson finished with the most rushing yards against the Gophers since Maryland’s Jake Funk had 221 yards in 2020.

“It feels great,” said Johnson, who had only six carries for 18 yards in a 12-10 loss against Minnesota in Iowa City in 2023. “Last season, I was injured and I really didn’t perform. I was hurt because we lost. Everybody took it very personal, especially me. I wanted to win. I put the team on my back.”

Johnson was the second 100-plus yard rusher against the Gophers this season, joining North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, who finished with 129 yards on the ground in the Tar Heels’ 19-17 victory on Aug. 29.

A sellout crowd Saturday night gasped when Johnson broke away from a slew of defenders into the open field for a 40-yard TD run late in the third quarter to give Iowa the 21-14 lead.

“Tried to make something out of nothing,” Johnson said. “I broke at least four tackles right there all at once. Just kept my head down and pushed through it and it opened up.”

In the fourth quarter, Johnson eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark with a 33-yard burst down the sideline that set up another Hawkeyes scoring drive to extend it to a 17-point lead on the Gophers.

A 6-foot, 225-pound junior from Ohio, Johnson missed a few games last year because of an ankle injury, but he looks to have a future in the NFL with his continuation of a breakout year. He leads FBS in rushing with 785 yards. His previous career-best game was 200 yards on the ground against Purdue in 2022.

“He’s just so good,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “He’s been a good player for a long time. They do a really good job in their schemes.”

Through the first three games, Hampton and Johnson were the only two players nationally with more than 300 yards after contact at the FBS level, according to Pro Football Focus. Poor tackling against the pair of elite runners became a huge blemish on otherwise solid play by the U’s defense at times this year.

Hampton had 74 of his yards in the second half of North Carolina’s victory over the Gophers to begin the season. Johnson picked up 7.3 yards per carry in the first half Saturday, but he had 85 of his 118 second-half yards against the Gophers defense in the third quarter.

The Gophers went with a change of pace with their tailbacks Darius Taylor and Marcus Major, who combined for 79 yards Saturday. Iowa rushed for 272 yards with Johnson and Jaziun Patterson getting the majority of carries.

Tackling was arguably the worst the Gophers football team had seen under Fleck against North Carolina, but it seemed to get better in back-to-back shutouts entering this week. A familiar issue resurfaced with their inability to stop the running game Saturday.

It won’t get any easier for Fleck’s defense next weekend facing Michigan, which ranks second in the Big Ten in rushing with 204.8 yards per game. The No. 18 Wolverines ran for 290 yards, including 159 yards and two touchdowns from Kalel Mullings, in Saturday’s 27-24 victory over No. 11 Southern California.