P.J. Fleck talked last week about how body blows—repeated, hard, energy-sapping runs by an offense—wear out a defense to the point where two-yard gains turn into 30- or 40-yarders. Or, in Darius Taylor’s example against Nevada, an 80-yarder.

Saturday night, it was the Gophers who took a beating against Iowa, resulting in a 31-14 victory for the Hawkeyes, led by a dominant second half in front of 52,048 spectators at Huntington Bank Stadium.

The one who did most of the reinforcement of the Gophers’ defense was Iowa junior running back Kaleb Johnson, who led the Gophers with 206 yards and three touchdowns on 21 attempts.

With Iowa trailing 14-7 at halftime, Johnson put the Hawkeyes on his back beginning in the third quarter. His 15-yard touchdown run on Iowa’s first possession of the second half tied the score at 14-14. When the Hawkeyes got the ball back after a Minnesota punt, Johnson powered through wannabe Gophers tacklers and sprinted 40 yards for a TD and a 21-14 Iowa lead.

The Hawkeyes added Drew Stevens’ 46-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 10-point lead, and backup QB Brendan Sullivan’s 1-yard sneak made it 31-14 with 11:13 left in the fourth quarter. That’s a 24-0 answer to Minnesota’s 14-7 halftime lead.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s defense held off the Gophers’ offense, allowing Minnesota just one first down in the third quarter.