MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Jermaine Mays caught an 81-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to lead Minnesota to a 27-24 victory over Iowa on Saturday.

The victory gives the Gophers (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) a bowl bid, probably to the Micronpc.com Bowl, Dec. 28 in Miami, as well as Floyd of Rosedale, the trophy given annually to the winner.

Mays caught the long pass from Travis Cole in stride for the winning touchdown with 6:13 remaining. Cole ran for the 2-point conversion. Mays also beat the Hawkeyes' secondary for a 57-yard reception in the third quarter, but that touchdown was called back because of a holding penalty.

Minnesota's Ron Johnson had two touchdown catches. He was initially ruled out of bounds on the first TD pass, a 13-yarder from Cole in the third quarter. Johnson also caught a 15-yard lob pass from Cole in the fourth quarter.

Cole passed for 299 yards, completing nine of his last 12 passes. Mays caught six passes for 119 yards. The Gophers sacked Iowa quarterback Kyle McCann eight times.

The Hawkeyes (3-9, 3-5 Big Ten) nearly became spoilers for the third week in a row. Iowa victories prevented Northwestern from taking control of the Rose Bowl race and Penn State from becoming eligible for a bowl game.

Iowa's Ladell Betts rushed for touchdowns of 65 yards in the third quarter and 5 yards in the fourth. He gained 154 yards on 18 carries. Betts' second TD was set up when a punt fumbled by the Gophers' Tellis Redmon was recovered at the Minnesota 11.

The Hawkeyes, aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties by the Gophers, drove 80 yards for their first touchdown, a 6-yard pass from Kyle McCann to Chris Oliver. Nate Kaeding kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:41 remaining in the second quarter to give the Hawkeyes a 10-6 halftime lead.

In the first half, the Gophers recovered two fumbles inside the Iowa 20 and failed to score. They drove inside the Hawkeyes' 20 four times and came away with only six points.

Minnesota twice drove inside the Hawkeyes' 10 in the first half, only to settle for field goals. Dan Nystrom kicked a 29-yard field goal with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter and a 27-yard field goal with 6:19 left in the first half.

The Gophers got the ball back right after Nystrom's first field goal when defensive tackle Maurice White batted a pass thrown by McCann and pulled it down for the interception. Minnesota again settled for a field-goal attempt by Nystrom, who had made only two of his last eight attempts going into the game. Nystrom's 35-yard attempt sailed wide left with 1:20 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Minnesota's Delvin Jones caused and recovered a fumble on a kickoff return by the Hawkeyes' Kahlil Hill. Cole's pass sailed well over the head of open tight end Ben Utecht on fourth-and-1 from the Iowa 17.