The Gophers were paced by
receiver Da'Jon McKnight, who led both teams with seven catches for 124 yards. With only a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Minnesota head coach
Tim Brewster replaced starting quarterback
Adam Weber with backup
MarQueis Gray in order to run a play out of the
Wildcat formation, in which the Gophers had used Gray with some success during the regular season. While running a
bootleg play, Gray
fumbled the ball at the Iowa State 15-yard line; the fumble was recovered by Iowa State
defensive back Ter'ran Benton, preventing Minnesota from taking a late fourth-quarter lead with either a
field goal or a
touchdown, and allowing Iowa State to run out the clock. Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud threw for 216 yards and a touchdown, adding 77 rushing yards and an additional touchdown and tallying a
passer rating of 140.2, as the Cyclones got their first bowl win since the
2004 Independence Bowl. Weber finished the day with 261 passing yards, one touchdown, one
interception, and a passer rating of 128.8. The game was Minnesota's third straight bowl loss, a streak that eventually extended to seven before the Gophers defeated
Central Michigan in the
2015 Quick Lane Bowl. The game was also Minnesota's third straight loss in the Insight Bowl in particular, a new record for that bowl.
Scoring summary ==References==