IOWA CITY, Iowa — Kirk Ferentz didn’t waste any time speaking his mind in his postgame news conference on Saturday.

The Iowa Hawkeyes’ head coach immediately talked about the controversial penalty for invalid fair catch signal that took away Cooper DeJean’s 54-yard punt return touchdown in the Gophers’ 12-10 win at Kinnick Stadium.

IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 21: Defensive back Cooper DeJean #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes breaks a tackle during a called-back touchdown kick return during the second half by long snapper Brady Weeks #37 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Kinnick Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

“If the Big Ten deems it necessary to fine me, hopefully they will find it in their hearts to send it to a good cause — like the (University of Iowa) children’s hospital,” Ferentz started.

Ferentz started off saying he thought the officials’ review on whether DeJean stepped out of bounds was fair use of the newer process. “But then somehow we went from there to a whole series of topics,” the longest-tenured Big Ten coach said. “It’s really hard to accept the explanation that we got.”

Big Ten referee Tim O’Dey said an invalid signal is “any waving motion by a receiving team member.” Replay shows DeJean did that with his left arm as the ball was bouncing near midfield and he was approaching it. Ferentz somehow questioned DeJean’s hand movement.

“If you look at the video you’ll see that,” O’Dey said to a pool reporter. “That waving motion of the left hand constitutes an invalid fair catch signal. So when the receiving team recovers the ball, by rule it becomes dead.

“That is a reviewable element of the game,” O’Dey continued. “We let the play run out and then when we went to review, review shows with indisputable evidence that there is a waving motion with the left hand. And that is when these rules are applied.”

That’s where Ferentz might have been scratching his head most.

“How we got from Point A to Point B, I have no idea,” he said. “I don’t know what the path was. I’ve heard the explanation, recording of it. It’s hard to make it make sense.”

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck stood on the sideline near midfield during that punt return and shared his up-closer view.

“My eyes immediately go back there,” Fleck said of DeJean. “I thought it was a fair catch signal. I’m not an official, right, but there was something. We’ve been called for that before, where we’ve made any type of movement prior to the catch. Then the ball is dead right there. But if it wasn’t, it was a heck of a play by the kid, a heck of a play.”

Ferentz added: “Credit to our opponent. Their effort was good. I thought our guys played hard. Just tough to find the right words to say to our team after something like that.”

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DETROIT — A Detroit synagogue president was found stabbed to death outside her home Saturday, police said. The motive wasn’t known.

Emergency medical personnel declared the woman, identified in a statement from Mayor Mike Duggan as Samantha Woll, dead at the scene, Cpl. Dan Donakowski said.

“While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred,” Donakowski said.

Woll, 40, had led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022 and was a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Police have not identified a possible motive and are investigating, the Free Press reported.

Police found Woll around 6:30 a.m. after someone called to alert them of a person lying on the ground unresponsive, the Free Press reported.

Detroit Police Chief James E. White said the killing has left many unanswered questions, and he asked the public to be patient as investigators examine all available evidence.

“Over the course of the last several hours, the DPD has mobilized many of its resources and has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation,” White said in a statement released Saturday night. “An update on the investigation will be forthcoming tomorrow.”

In a statement, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Woll’s death was heartbreaking.

“She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place,” the governor said.

Michigan State Police were assigned to support the Detroit Police Department in the investigation, Whitmer said.

Nessel issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying she was “shocked, saddened and horrified.”

“Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known,” Nessel said. “She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”

Slotkin also commented on X, saying she was “heartbroken at this news.”

Duggan issued a statement saying he was “devastated” to learn of Woll’s death.

“Sam’s loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community,” the mayor said. “This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death.”

GRAND FORKS, N.D. >> One night after a dominating performance in their first true road game of the season, the top-ranked Minnesota Gophers found the script flipped in their disfavor, suffering their first loss of the season.

North Dakota’s defenders kept the Gophers seemingly off balance much of the night, limiting Minnesota to just one goal and winning 2-1 to earn a split of the series.

Jaxon Nelson scored the only goal for the Gophers (3-1-0), who survived an early push by the home team, but fell behind in the second period and could not fully climb out of the hole. Justen Close had 32 saves for Minnesota, several of them of the highlight-reel variety, but saw his shutout streak of more than 152 minutes snapped.

After a scoreless first period, North Dakota played a dominant 20 minutes in the middle frame, taking a 1-0 lead when Jayden Perron tipped a Garrett Pyke shot past Close. The Hawks out-shot Minnesota 9-3 in the period, and had a pair of power plays. For the game, Minnesota killed six man advantage opportunities for North Dakota.

The Hawks went up by a pair in the opening minute of the third period, as a wide-angle shot by Jake Livanavage slipped between Close’s pads. Minnesota finally broke through near the midway point of the third when Nelson tipped a long-range shot from Ryan Chesley past Hawks goalie Ludvig Persson.

With Close on the bench in the final minute, the Gophers pressed to tie, but could not find the equalizer. Persson finished with 21 saves as North Dakota improved to 3-1-0.

Extra pucks

>> On Saturday, the Gophers had a line chart identical to the groupings they had played in game one. Senior forward Nick Michel, who transferred to Minnesota from Division III St. Johns in the off-season, was the only healthy Gopher not in uniform on Saturday.

>> With North Dakota choosing to wear green on Friday and black on Saturday, the Gophers wore their home white sweaters for both games of a road series for the first time since a January 2021 series at Wisconsin.

>> North Dakota was without fifth-year defensemen Keaton Pehrson on Saturday, after the transfer from Michigan was injured late in Friday’s 4-0 loss to Minnesota.

> The Gophers open their Big Ten season with a Thursday-Friday home series versus their eastern Border Battle rival, Wisconsin. The Badgers are in their first season under Mike Hastings, who came to Madison after leading Minnesota State Mankato to its first two Frozen Four appearances in 2021 and 2022.

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