Iowa Hawkeyes football

Iowa Hawkeyes football
2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
First season	1888
Athletic director	Gary Barta
Head coach	Kirk Ferentz 20th season, 152–101 (.601)
Stadium	Kinnick Stadium (Capacity: 69,250)
Field surface	Field Turf
Location	Iowa City, Iowa
NCAA division	Division I FBS
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West
Past conferences	WIUFA (1892–1897) Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1907–1910)[disputed – discuss]
All-time record	650–557–39 (.537)
Bowl record	16–15–1 (.516)
Claimed nat'l titles	4 (1921, 1956, 1958, 1960)
Unclaimed nat'l titles	1 (1922)
Conference titles	13 (11 Big Ten, 1 MVIAA, 1 WIUFA)
Division titles	1 (2015)
Rivalries	Iowa State (rivalry) Minnesota (rivalry) Nebraska (rivalry) Wisconsin (rivalry)
Heisman winners	1 Nile Kinnick (1939)
Consensus All-Americans	27 [1]
Current uniform
Colors	Black and Gold[2]
Fight song	Iowa Fight Song
Mascot	Herky the Hawk
Marching band	Hawkeye Marching Band
Outfitter	Nike
Website	hawkeyesports.com

The Iowa Hawkeyes football team represents the University of Iowa in college football, the Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. They have been a member of the Big Ten since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Hawkeyes play their home games in Iowa City, Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, with a capacity of 69,250, the Hawkeyes are currently coached by Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 20th season as the head coach and is the longest current tenured head coach in NCAA Division I FBS.

History[edit]

Early History[edit]

Football was first played as a club sport at Iowa in 1872, with intramural games against other colleges played as early as 1882, but it was not until 1889 that the University of Iowa first officially recognized a varsity football team; in 1899, Iowa completed its first undefeated football season, which led to an invitation to join the Western Conference, now known as the Big Ten Conference. In 1900, the Hawkeyes secured another undefeated season and won a share of the Western Conference title in their first year of league play.

The Big 8 years and return to Big Ten[edit]

In 1907 Iowa helped form the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. They participated in football in the new league for four seasons, while retaining their existing membership in the Western Conference. Iowa tied with Nebraska in 1907 for the league championship in its first season of competition, they would leave the conference after the 1910 football season and return to the Big Ten.^[3]

Howard Jones era and 1930s[edit]

Iowa claimed consecutive Big Ten titles in 1921 and 1922, the Hawkeyes won 20 straight games in the early 1920s under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Howard Jones. Jones soon left Iowa and established a powerhouse at Southern California, and the Hawkeyes were abysmal for most of the 1930s.

1929 Big Ten suspension[edit]

Iowa was expelled from the Big Ten on May 25, 1929, the reasons were officially unstated and university president William Jessup professed not to know why the faculty committee voted to expel the university. Discussions of player compensation and Iowa's inaction on alleged ethics violation appear to have been a main cause.^[4]

Following the 1929 season, the Big Ten faculty committee unanimously voted to reinstate Iowa to the conference on February 1, 1930, on December 11, 1929, Iowa had disqualified 27 players, presumably due to compensation issues, and was advised not to seek reinstatement of any of those players.^[5]

Eddie Anderson era (1939–1942, 1946-1949)[edit]

As a result, little was expected of Iowa’s 1939 team, led by new coach Eddie Anderson. Nicknamed the “Ironmen”, the 1939 Hawkeyes scored several upset victories and vaulted into the national rankings. Though Iowa fell a game short of the Big Ten title, team MVP Nile Kinnick won almost every major national award, including the 1939 Heisman Trophy.

Forest Evashevski era (1952–1960)[edit]

Forest Evashevski was hired as Iowa’s head coach in 1952. He lured Calvin Jones to Iowa, where Jones became the first Hawkeye – and the first African-American – to win the Outland Trophy in 1955, from 1956 to 1960, Evashevski led Iowa to four finishes in the top five of the national rankings, three Big Ten Conference titles, two Rose Bowl victories (in 1957 and 1959), and the 1958 FWAA national championship. After the 1960 season, Evashevski left coaching to become Iowa’s athletic director.

The forgotten season

In 1960 the Hawkeyes held on to the #1 ranking for much of the season, the Hawkeyes defeated #8 Ohio State, #15 Michigan State, and #10 Purdue. Iowa lost to rival #3 Minnesota, the game was the only loss of the year for the 1960 Hawkeyes and they shared the Big Ten title with Minnesota. However, at that time, the Big Ten did not allow their teams to go to any bowl except for the Rose Bowl, as such, Minnesota was picked over Iowa to go to Pasadena and Iowa was left out, despite a #2 ranking in the Coaches' Poll and a #3 ranking in the AP. Minnesota went on to win the National Championship, this season is known as the "Forgotten Season", for despite ending the season with a #2/3 ranking and a share of the Big Ten title, the Hawks were left out of January play.^[6]

1960s and 70s[edit]

Evashevski's departure from the sidelines began a two-decade downturn in Iowa's fortunes. Jerry Burns coached from 1961 though 1965. He had a 16–27–2 record, his first team finished 5–4, which would be Iowa's last winning record for 20 years. Ray Nagel followed from 1966–1970 with a 16–32–2 record. Consecutive 5–5 records in 1968 and 1969 would be the Hawks' only non-losing records from 1961 to 1980. Frank Lauterbur followed, coaching from 1971–1973 with a 4–28–1 record, with a 0–11 record in 1973. Bob Commings coached the Hawkeyes from 1974–1978. His record was 18 wins and 37 losses.

Hayden Fry era (1979–1998)[edit]

Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry was hired after the 1978 season to try to reverse Iowa’s fortunes, after decades of losing, Fry revived the Iowa program. In 20 years at Iowa, he led the Hawkeyes to 14 bowl games, including three Rose Bowl appearances (in 1982, 1986 and 1991), and won three Big Ten titles, among the legends that Fry left behind is the iconic pink visitors locker room, as well as a statement he made the day he started as Iowa Head Coach that he would take the team to a bowl game within four years, or he would step down. He would not only succeed in his boast, by sending Iowa to the 1982 Rose Bowl, he would do it in three years, besting his ambitious prognostication by one year. Fry retired in 1998, turning the program over to his former assistant Kirk Ferentz.

Kirk Ferentz era (1999–present)[edit]

Ferentz led Iowa to three consecutive top ten finishes from 2002 to 2004 and two Big Ten titles, the Hawkeyes have played in 14 bowl games in the past 17 seasons, and in 28 bowl games over the last 37 seasons. Kirk Ferentz has been the head coach since Hayden Fry's retirement after the 1998 season, and has led the team to a number of Bowl appearances, including two Orange Bowls and the 2016 Rose Bowl. Iowa has cracked the top 25 at the end of the season six times during the Kirk Ferentz era – No. 8 in 2002, 2003, and 2004, No. 20 in 2008, No. 7 in 2009, and No. 9 in 2015. In 2019, Iowa will begin its 131st season of football, and its 120th season in the Big Ten.

Championships[edit]

National championships[edit]

Iowa has been selected national champion in 1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, and 1960 by NCAA-designated major selectors.^{[7][8]:111, 113} All but the 1922 championship are claimed by the school.^[9]

Iowa finished the 1958 regular season ranked #2 in the AP and Coaches Polls, behind 11–0 LSU, although both votes were taken before the bowl games. Iowa convincingly won the 1959 Rose Bowl, 38–12, setting or tying six Rose Bowl records, the Football Writers Association of America gave their national championship trophy, the Grantland Rice Trophy, to Iowa.

Season	Coach	Selectors	Record
1921	Howard Jones	Billingsley, Parke Davis	7–0
1922	Howard Jones	Billingsley	7–0
1956	Forest Evashevski	Football Research	9–1
1958	Forest Evashevski	Football Writers	8–1–1
1960	Forest Evashevski	Berryman, Boand, Litkenhous, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)	8–1

Conference championships[edit]

Iowa has won 13 conference championships in school history, eight shared and five outright, winning 11 with the Big Ten, one with the WIUFA and one with the MVIAA. .^[10]

Season	Coach	Conference	Conference Record	Overall Record
1896	Alfred E. Bull	Western Interstate University Football Association	3–0–1	7–1–1
1900†	Alden Knipe	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association	2–0–1	7–0–1
1907†	Mark Catlin, Sr.	Big Ten Conference	1–0	3–2
1921	Howard Jones	Big Ten Conference	5–0	7–0
1922†	Howard Jones	Big Ten Conference	5–0	7–0
1956	Forest Evashevski	Big Ten Conference	5–1	9–1
1958	Forest Evashevski	Big Ten Conference	5–1	8–1–1
1960†	Forest Evashevski	Big Ten Conference	5–1	8–1
1981†	Hayden Fry	Big Ten Conference	6–2	8–4
1985	Hayden Fry	Big Ten Conference	7–1	10–2
1990†	Hayden Fry	Big Ten Conference	6–2	8–4
2002†	Kirk Ferentz	Big Ten Conference	8–0	11–2
2004†	Kirk Ferentz	Big Ten Conference	7–1	10–2

† Co-championship

Divisional championships[edit]

Iowa has one Big Ten division championship.

Season	Division	Opponent	CG Result
2015	Big Ten – West	Michigan State	L 13–16

Bowl games[edit]

Iowa has appeared in 32 bowl games, including 30 bowl games since 1982; in bowl games, Iowa has a 16–15–1 record:

Season	Coach	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1956	Forest Evashevski	Rose Bowl	Oregon State	W 35–19
1958	Forest Evashevski	Rose Bowl	California	W 38–12
1981	Hayden Fry	Rose Bowl	Washington	L 0–28
1982	Hayden Fry	Peach Bowl	Tennessee	W 28–22
1983	Hayden Fry	Gator Bowl	Florida	L 6–14
1984	Hayden Fry	Freedom Bowl	Texas	W 55–17
1985	Hayden Fry	Rose Bowl	UCLA	L 28–45
1986	Hayden Fry	Holiday Bowl	San Diego State	W 39–38
1987	Hayden Fry	Holiday Bowl	Wyoming	W 20–19
1988	Hayden Fry	Peach Bowl	North Carolina State	L 23–28
1990	Hayden Fry	Rose Bowl	Washington	L 34–46
1991	Hayden Fry	Holiday Bowl	BYU	T 13–13
1993	Hayden Fry	Alamo Bowl	California	L 3–37
1995	Hayden Fry	Sun Bowl	Washington	W 38–18
1996	Hayden Fry	Alamo Bowl	Texas Tech	W 27–0
1997	Hayden Fry	Sun Bowl	Arizona State	L 7–17
2001	Kirk Ferentz	Alamo Bowl	Texas Tech	W 19–16
2002	Kirk Ferentz	Orange Bowl	USC	L 17–38
2003	Kirk Ferentz	Outback Bowl	Florida	W 37–17
2004	Kirk Ferentz	Capital One Bowl	LSU	W 30–25
2005	Kirk Ferentz	Outback Bowl	Florida	L 24–31
2006	Kirk Ferentz	Alamo Bowl	Texas	L 24–26
2008	Kirk Ferentz	Outback Bowl	South Carolina	W 31–10
2009	Kirk Ferentz	Orange Bowl	Georgia Tech	W 24–14
2010	Kirk Ferentz	Insight Bowl	Missouri	W 27–24
2011	Kirk Ferentz	Insight Bowl	Oklahoma	L 14–31
2013	Kirk Ferentz	Outback Bowl	LSU	L 14–21
2014	Kirk Ferentz	TaxSlayer Bowl	Tennessee	L 28–45
2015	Kirk Ferentz	Rose Bowl	Stanford	L 16–45
2016	Kirk Ferentz	Outback Bowl	Florida	L 3–30
2017	Kirk Ferentz	Pinstripe Bowl	Boston College	W 27–20
2018	Kirk Ferentz	Outback Bowl	Mississippi State	W 27–22

Head coaches[edit]

Coach	Season	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Alfred E. Bull (1896)	1	9	7	1	1	.833
John Chalmers (1903–1905)	3	32	24	8	0	.750
Howard Jones (1916–1923)	8	60	42	17	1	.708
Alden Knipe (1899–1902)	5	44	29	11	4	.705
Forest Evashevski (1952–1960)	9	83	52	27	4	.651
Hayden Fry (1979–1998)	20	238	143	89	6	.613
Kirk Ferentz (1999–Present)	20	253	152	101	0	.601
Edward A. Dalton (1892)	1	6	3	2	1	.583
Jesse Hawley (1910–1915)	6	42	24	18	0	.571
Burt Ingwersen (1924–1931)	8	64	33	27	4	.547
Eddie Anderson ^ (1939–1949)	8	70	35	33	2	.514
Roger Sherman (1894)	1	9	4	4	1	.500
Otto Wagonhurst (1897)	1	8	4	4	0	.500
Ben "Sport" Donnelly (1893)	1	7	3	4	0	.429
Oscar "Ossie" Solem (1932–1936)	5	40	15	21	4	.425
Mark Catlin (1906–1908)	3	17	7	10	0	.412
Jerry Burns (1961–1965)	5	45	16	27	2	.378
Leonard Raffensperger (1950–1951)	2	18	5	10	3	.361
John Griffith (1909)	1	7	2	4	1	.357
Ray Nagel (1966–1970)	5	49	16	32	1	.337
Bob Commings (1974–1978)	5	55	18	37	0	.327
Clem Crowe (1945)	1	9	2	7	0	.222
Irl Tubbs (1937–1938)	2	16	2	13	1	.156
Edward "Slip" Madigan (1943–1944)	2	16	2	13	1	.156
Frank Lauterbur (1971–1973)	3	33	4	28	1	.136

^ Eddie Anderson did not coach during the 1943–1945 seasons to serve in World War II.

–Iowa did not hire their first head coach until 1892, even though their football program began in 1889. They have had 25 total head coaches in their program's history.

Rivalries[edit]

Iowa State[edit]

Iowa plays Iowa State annually for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, which began in 1977, the teams' first meeting was in 1894. The teams quit meeting after the 1934 season until they renewed their rivalry in 1977, it was in 1977 when the tradition of the Cy-Hawk Trophy began, when the Des Moines Athletic Club donated a trophy dedicated to the rivalry. It was quickly dubbed the "Cy-Hawk Trophy". Iowa leads the overall series 44–22, and Iowa also leads the trophy series 28–14.

Minnesota[edit]

Iowa plays Minnesota annually for the Floyd of Rosedale, which is Iowa's oldest trophy game that began in 1935, the teams' first meeting was in 1891. Minnesota leads the overall series 62–48–2, and also leads the trophy series 42–40–2. Floyd of Rosedale was created in 1935 after Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson bet a prize pig that the Gophers would win the game, a goal which the Gophers would accomplish that year, after the death of the pig, its image was cast in bronze, and the Floyd of Rosedale trophy was created.

Nebraska[edit]

Iowa plays Nebraska annually for the Heroes Trophy, which began when Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Nebraska leads the overall series 29–17–3, but Iowa leads the trophy series 5–3, since the inauguration of the series as a conference game, the game has been played on the Friday following Thanksgiving.

Wisconsin[edit]

Iowa has played Wisconsin for the Heartland Trophy since 2004, the teams' first meeting was in 1894. Wisconsin leads the overall series 47–43–2, and the trophy series at 8–5.

Logos and uniforms[edit]

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Iowa's home jersey is black with white numerals, with gold and white stripes on the sleeves, the away jersey is white with black numerals, and gold stripes on the sleeves. Players' names are located above the numerals on the back of the jersey. Gold pants with a black stripe are worn with both the home and away jersey. Iowa's helmets are black with a black facemask, they also have a gold stripe and the gold Iowa Hawkeye logo included on both sides of the helmet.

In 1979, Hayden Fry helped to create the Tiger Hawk, the logo seen on Iowa's football helmets,^[11] since both teams shared the colors of black and yellow gold, Fry sought and gained permission from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the dominant National Football League (NFL) team of the 1970s, to overhaul Iowa’s uniforms in the Steelers’ image. Fry's idea was that if the team were going to act like winners, they first needed to dress like winners. Fry had originally asked Steelers defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene for a replica helmet and home jersey; Greene was able to send Fry to one of the team owners, and three days later, the owners sent Fry reproduction copies of the home and away uniform of Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, making Iowa one of only a few schools to use the uniform scheme of an NFL team; others include the Blue Devils of Duke University whose football uniforms resemble those of the Indianapolis Colts. Although the uniforms appear substantially the same, there are subtle differences, mainly in the font of the numerals, the scheme of the white away jerseys, and the width of the jersey stripe.

The Hawkeyes have removed the Tiger Hawk helmet logo and the single yellow gold stripe from their game helmets on several occasions as a symbolic gesture of mourning, the first instance was on November 2, 1991, in recognition of the six victims of a fatal campus shooting. The second occasion was for a December 29, 1996, appearance in the Alamo Bowl, it served to commemorate the family of linebacker Mark Mitchell, who were involved in a fatal vehicle accident while en route to the game. The accident resulted in the death of Mitchell's mother and severe injuries to his father and two brothers.^[12] Third came on Veterans' Day 2011 when they used a red, white, and blue tiger hawk on one side and left the other side blank in honor of our fallen heroes against Michigan. All three games resulted in Iowa victories. Fourth, and most recent, was September 12, 2015 when they honored #9 Tyler Sash, former Iowa Safety and NFL Veteran, who had died on September 8, 2015, during this last removal of the helmet logo, only one side was removed, while the other had a large #9 placed, honoring the jersey number Sash wore while he played at Iowa.

The Iowa Athletic Director has okayed only six stickers on the helmets from 1985 to the present, the first was in 1985, when a gold disk appeared, with the black letters "ANF," which stands for America Needs Farmers. This sticker has remained in place since it was first placed onto the helmet, the second was a small black sticker on the back of the helmet, with white letters that spelled out "EVY," the nickname of legendary Iowa head coach, and Athletic Director, Forest Evasheski, to commemorate his death in 2009. The third was in memory of Iowa high school football coaching legend Ed Thomas, who was killed in his team's weight room by a former player. A small gold sticker with the black letters "FFF" placed near the crown of the helmet represents Faith, Family, Football, a motto Coach Thomas preached to his players to represent what his players' priorities should be not only through the season, but throughout life, the fourth was a small green sticker, with the number 30 on it to honor former Hawkeye Safety Brett Greenwood, who had recently fallen into a coma while working out at his old high school. Fifth was a small black sticker with a gold "TS", worn on the back of the helmet to commemorate the death of former Hawkeye safety Tyler Sash. Then on October 9, 2016, former Polk County deputy sheriff Ron Stewart died at the age of 76. Stewart volunteered his time providing security for the Iowa Football team at home and road games from 1982-2014. For the remainder of the season, the Hawkeyes wore a decal on the back of their helmets bearing his initials "RS" within a sheriff's badge in his memory.^{[citation needed]}

Kinnick Stadium[edit]

Kinnick Stadium, formerly known as Iowa Stadium, is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa. It opened as Iowa Stadium in 1929; prior to that time, Iowa played its home games at Iowa Field. Iowa Stadium was renamed Kinnick Stadium in 1972 in honor of Nile Kinnick, the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner and the only Heisman winner in university history, who died in service during World War II. It currently holds up to 69,250 people, making it the 25th largest college football stadium in America and the 82nd largest sports stadium in the world.

Notable games and seasons[edit]

1953: #20 Iowa vs #1 Notre Dame[edit]

On Nov. 21, 1953, an undefeated #1 ranked Notre Dame team was set to face the Hawkeyes in South Bend. In the first quarter, Iowa defensive back Dusty Rice intercepted the Irish, which allowed the Hawkeyes to drive the ball 72-yards for an Iowa touchdown and a 7–0 lead, with only 2 seconds left in the first half, Irish tackle Frank Varrichione fell down with an injury which stopped the clock (Notre Dame had no time outs left). Varrichione went in that same play and the Irish scored on a touchdown pass to Dan Shannon, to tie the game 7–7 at the half, with the score still deadlocked late into the fourth quarter, Iowa intercepted a pass on their own 48-yard line. The Hawkeyes then scored on a touchdown pass to end Frank Gilliam to give the Hawkeyes a 14–7 lead with 2:06 left in the game, with Notre Dame having no time outs remaining, with only 6 seconds left and the clock ticking away Frank Varrichione came down with another injury which stopped the clock (again he went back in that very same play). Notre Dame then scored a touchdown to tie the game up and stay unbeaten, after the game, sportswriters such as Grantland Rice and others were infuriated calling it unfair, and the Irish earned the label: "The Fainting Irish of Notre Dame". Iowa head coach Forest Evashevski said after the game: "When the One Great Scorer comes to write against our name, He won't write whether we won or lost, but how come we got gypped at Notre Dame", the Hawkeyes, who were ranked #20 before the game, jumped teams with better records to gain the #9 ranking. Varrichione has since admitted that the injuries were fake, in Steve Delsohn’s book, Talking Irish: The Oral History Of Notre Dame Football. In addition, Notre Dame Heisman winner Johnny Lattner praised his team's tactics calling it "Pretty smart thinking, wasn't it?".^[13] Because of this game, the NCAA changed the rules making players sit out at least one down before returning to the game.

1956: #6 Ohio State at #7 Iowa[edit]

On November 17, Iowa (ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll) defeated Ohio State (ranked No. 6), 6–0, before a crowd of 57,732 at Iowa Stadium. Ohio State went into the game with the second best rushing attack in the country but were held to 147 rushing yards, their lowest rushing yardage total in two years, the result broke Ohio State's winning streak of 17 games against conference opponents and clinched for Iowa the conference championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. After time expired, Iowa fans hauled down the goal posts and paraded through Iowa City.^[14]

1957 Rose Bowl: #3 Iowa vs. #10 Oregon State[edit]

Aided by three rushing touchdowns, the Big Ten Champion Iowa Hawkeyes got off to a 21-6 start at the half, after the half, Iowa scored two more touchdowns and beat Oregon State 35-19. With the victory, Iowa won their first Rose Bowl Game in program history. Quarterback Ken Ploen was the games MVP ending the game with one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown.

1959 Rose Bowl: #2 Iowa vs. #16 California[edit]

With their win in the Rose Bowl in 1959, the Iowa Hawkeyes won their first, and only, National Championship. However, although Iowa won the Grantland Rice Trophy as awarded by the Football Writers Association of America following the Bowl games, LSU was voted #1 in both major polls, the AP and Coaches polls, which were tallied before the Bowl games were played.

This game was lopsided and by the end of the third quarter, with a 22–6 advantage over the California Golden Bears, Iowa could smell victory, the championship, however, is disputed. The AP, whose poll came out before the bowl games, had picked LSU as their National Champion. Many believe that the Iowa Hawkeyes rightfully hold the 1958 National Championship.^[15]

1981: #7 Nebraska at Iowa[edit]

Official recap—There weren't many among the 60,160 who jammed Iowa's Kinnick Stadium who thought they were watching a matchup of the eventual Midwest entries in the Rose and Orange Bowls. There probably weren't a whole lot more who thought Iowa would avenge a 57–0 slaughter the Hawkeyes had suffered in Lincoln the year before. However, Iowa took advantage of excellent field position to jump to a 10–0 first-half lead, then held on to win a 10–7 stunner over the seventh-ranked Huskers.

The Hawkeye defense held the Huskers to their lowest total offense output of the season—234 yards—and stopped the Nebraska offense three straight times in Iowa territory after Roger Craig's one-yard TD had pulled the Huskers within 10–7 early in the final period. NU was stymied in the fourth quarter by a missed 30-yard field goal, a fumble, and Lou King's diving interception, which secured Iowa's victory with 39 seconds remaining.

In the first half, the Hawkeyes capitalized on a short punt and an interception to set up a two-yard TD run by Eddie Phillips and a 35-yard field goal by Lon Olejniczak. Meanwhile, the Huskers were held scoreless through three quarters for the first time since 1973 and didn't get out of their own territory until late in the second period, partly because of Iowa punter Reggie Roby's 50-plus yard average. NU quarterbacks Mark Maurer and Nate Mason completed only 8-of-18 passes for 81 yards and rushed 12 times for minus-2 yards.

Iowa used its upset win as a launching pad to defeat such teams as UCLA, Michigan and Purdue and post its first winning season since 1961.^[16]

“At this minute, this is the greatest victory of my life," Iowa coach Hayden Fry said. "I’m getting to be an old man and I don’t want to hurt any of my other teams that pulled off some upsets. But while I’ve been at Iowa, this is far and away the greatest victory.

“If you stay with this game long enough, the worm is bound to turn. Don’t think we didn’t earn this one, either. We did it fair and square, plus we showed a lot of character.” ^[17]

1985: #2 Michigan at #1 Iowa[edit]

The Hawkeyes trailed 10–9 late in the fourth quarter, in what may be considered the greatest game ever played at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa got the ball, with 5:27 left, on their own 22-yard line. Led by their All-American Quarterback, Chuck Long, Iowa drove the ball to the Michigan 12-yard line, as the clock expired, kicker Rob Houghtlin sent one through the uprights, to give Iowa the win. The Hawkeyes would go on to accept an invitation to the 1986 Rose Bowl.^[18]

2005 Capital One Bowl: #11 Iowa vs. #12 LSU ("The Catch")[edit]

The game has gone down in Hawkeye history known simply as "The Catch". Iowa was set to play the defending National Champion LSU Tigers, despite leading the entire game, Iowa found itself down 24–25 and got the ball with only 46 seconds left on the clock. With only a few seconds left in the game, Iowa found itself on their own 44-yard line facing a 2nd and 6. Iowa Quarterback Drew Tate threw the ball 56 yards to Warren Holloway for an Iowa touchdown that gave the Hawkeyes a 30–25 victory over Nick Saban's defending champion Tigers, the touchdown was Holloway's first and only career touchdown.^[19]

2008: #3 Penn State at Iowa[edit]

The undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions came into the game ranked #3 in the country with hopes of a BCS national championship, the Hawkeyes, on the other hand, were 5–4 and coming off a tough loss at Illinois. The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early lead following a Penn State fumble on their first drive, but the Nittany Lions would come back to take a 13–7 lead into halftime, with less than four minutes left in the game, and trailing 23–21, Iowa strong safety Tyler Sash intercepted Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark's pass inside Iowa territory. The Hawkeyes drove to within field goal range where kicker Daniel Murray made a 31-yard field goal with :01 left to play. Iowa would go on to win 24–23 and hand Penn State its only regular season loss of the year, the Hawkeyes would go on to beat South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. The win would be the first in a 13-game winning streak for Iowa stretching into the 2009 season.

2010 Orange Bowl: #9 Georgia Tech vs. #10 Iowa[edit]

The game pitted the ACC Champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets against #10 Iowa, on Iowa's second drive of the game, quarterback Ricky Stanzi drove the Hawkeyes 80 yards, culminating in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Marvin McNutt, putting Iowa on top 7-0. Iowa scored another touchdown on their next drive, following a Georgia Tech punt, with Stanzi hitting Colin Sandeman for 21 yards, extending the Hawkeyes lead to 14-0, on the ensuing drive, GT punted for the third time in a row. On Iowa's next drive, Stanzi was intercepted by Jerrard Tarrant who returned the pick for a touchdown, cutting Iowa's lead to 14-7. Georgia Tech received the ball at the start of the second half. Iowa took over on downs after Georgia Tech missed a 41 yard field goal, on Iowa's next drive, they extended their lead by three thanks to a 33 yard field goal from kicker Daniel Murray. At the start of the 4th Quarter, Iowa had a 17-7 lead, this lead was cut when Georgia Tech drove down the field for its first and only offensive touchdown of the game. The touchdown cut Iowa's lead to 17-14. However, Iowa running back Brandon Wegher sealed the win for the Hawkeyes with his 32 yard rushing touchdown late in the 4th Quarter. Iowa beat Georgia Tech by a final score of 24-14.

The win marked the first ever BCS Bowl win for the Iowa program (Iowa had won two Rose Bowls prior to the formation of the BCS), the win also marked Iowa's first ever Orange Bowl victory. Iowa is one of only five Big Ten teams to compete in and win an Orange Bowl.

2016: #2 Michigan at Iowa[edit]

Iowa entered this matchup against the 9–0 Wolverines with a 5–4 record, a letdown given the high expectations entering the season. Michigan arrived in Iowa City with the #1 scoring defense and the #3 scoring offense in the country. A week after being humbled 41–14 at Penn State, in the midst of a 3-game home losing streak, and after trailing 10–0 in the second quarter of this game, the Hawkeyes put forth a gritty, spirited effort. Freshman Keith Duncan drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired to deliver Iowa a much needed win. Akrum Wadley was the offensive standout for the Hawkeyes with 115 yards rushing, and another 52 yards receiving that included a touchdown late in the first half. The Hawkeye defense did their part as well, allowing only 201 total yards and scoring a safety in the 14–13 win.

With Clemson and Washington both losing, this marked only the second time #2, #3, and #4 fell during the same day in the regular-season, the other time was October 19, 1985, and one of the games that day was #1 Iowa's 12–10 win over #2 Michigan.

2017: #6 Ohio State at Iowa[edit]

Iowa entered this matchup against the 7–1 Buckeyes with a 5–3 record. At kickoff, the Buckeyes were ranked #6 in the nation and although the game was being played at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium, Ohio State was a 21 point favorite to win. Early on, it was an even contest as the teams traded scores on their way to a 17-17 midway through the second quarter. However in the last 3 minutes of the first half, Iowa TE Noah Fant was on the receiving end of two Nate Stanley TD passes, sending Iowa into the locker room with a 31-17 lead. The second half belonged to the Hawkeyes as they sliced through the Ohio State defense on TD drives of 78, 60 and 47 yards on their way to a resounding 55-24 win. Notable performances from the game were 5 TD passes by Iowa QB Nathan Stanley, Iowa CB Joshua Jackson's 3 interceptions, Iowa RB Akrum Wadley rushing for 118 yards on 20 carries (5.9) and Ohio State QB J. T. Barrett throwing 4 INT's along with 3 TD's. On the day Iowa racked up a total of 487 yards against an Ohio State defense that came into the game only allowing 302 per contest. Many pundits remarked after the season that the lop-sided loss to Iowa was the reason that Ohio State was not part of the College Football Playoff, even though the Buckeyes ended the season as the B1G Champ.^[20]

Traditions[edit]

Songs[edit]

Iowa's official fight song is the "Iowa Fight Song" which is sung by the marching band and the fans. Iowa's school song is "On Iowa". Iowa also plays a third fight song, entitled "Roll Along Iowa", after victories the band plays the Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier Polka, which translates to "In Heaven There is No Beer". Before the game (since 2005) the team has exited the tunnel together to "Back in Black" by AC/DC before joining hands and running onto the field in unison to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.^[21]

Mascot[edit]

Iowa's mascot is Herky the Hawk, a black and gold caricature of a Hawk. Herky was created as a cartoon in 1948, and first appeared at a sporting event in 1959. Herky was actually named after the Greek God Hercules, the term "Hawkeye" originally appeared in the book The Last of the Mohicans and was later used in its plural form to describe the people of Iowa. The University of Iowa adopted this as the nickname for its athletic teams.

Hawkeye Marching Band[edit]

Founded in 1881, the Hawkeye Marching Band now performs at all Iowa Hawkeye home football games, the band also travels with the team to usually one away game per year and any post-season bowl games.

Kinnick Wave[edit]

In 2017, Hawkeyes fans created what ESPN called "college football's coolest new tradition"; in February of that year, the university's children's hospital, which has long had a close relationship with the Iowa football program, opened a new 12-story building across the street from Kinnick Stadium, with the top few floors featuring an unobstructed view of the playing field.^[22] The top floor of the hospital features the Press Box Cafe, a lounge area with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the field that is reserved for patients and their families on Hawkeyes game days, with big-screen TVs available when Iowa plays on the road.^[23][22] Following a suggestion posted to a Hawkeyes fan page on Facebook, by Iowan Krista Young, fans now face the hospital and wave to the children and their families at the end of the first quarter of every home game, for home night games, the first of which was against Penn State on September 23, 2017, "The Wave" features fans waving with their cell phone flashlights turned on.^[23] Two weeks after the Penn State game, with the Hawkeyes at home to Illinois, the Hawkeye Marching Band joined in this new tradition, forming a hand moving side-to-side and "waving" at the children during its halftime show,^[24] the Wave was even seen in the offseason—on February 15, 2018, inspired by a suggestion from nurses at the children's hospital, the stadium's maintenance crew created a pattern of a waving hand in snow that was covering the playing field. At least one patient was reported to have seen the crew creating the design, and upon completion, the crew went into the Press Box Cafe to see their final product.^[25]

The tradition has even spread beyond the Iowa fan base, with Iowa playing at Michigan State on September 30, ESPN's College GameDay aired a six-minute feature on The Wave, followed by the feature's reporter, Tom Rinaldi, leading the crowd at the Virginia Tech campus in a wave of their own.^[26] A few hours later at the end of the first quarter of the Iowa–Michigan State game, Spartans fans joined in The Wave with visiting Iowa fans.^[27]

Disney Sports announced it would present the Iowa football program with its Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award, which annually goes to college football’s most inspirational figure on November 20, 2017. The award was presented to the University of Iowa for The Wave on ESPN on December 7, 2017.^[28]

Current coaching staff[edit]

Name	Position	First Year Position	First Year at Iowa	Alma Mater
Kirk Ferentz	Head Coach	1999	1999*	Connecticut
Phil Parker	Defensive Coordinator/Secondary	2013	1999	Michigan State
Kelvin Bell	Recruiting Coordinator/ Assistant Defensive Line	2016	2012	Iowa
Brian Ferentz	Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs	2017	2012	Iowa
Ken O'Keefe	Quarterbacks	2017	1999***	John Carroll
Reese Morgan	Defensive Line	2012	2000	Wartburg
LeVar Woods	Tight Ends	2015	2008	Iowa
Seth Wallace	Linebackers	2016	2014**	Coe
Tim Polasek	Offensive Line	2017	2017	Concordia (WI)
Kelton Copeland	Wide Receivers	2017	2017	Northern Illinois
Chris Doyle	Strength & Conditioning	1999	1999	Boston University
Raimond Braithwaite	Assistant, Strength & Conditioning	2008	2008	West Florida
Justin Lima	Assistant, Strength & Conditioning	2013	2013	Bridgewater State
Cody Myers	Assistant, Strength & Conditioning	2014	2014	Coe
Paul Federici	Director, Football Operations	2009	2004	Penn State
Ben Hansen	Assistant Director, Football Operations	2012	2009	Iowa
Broderick Binns	Director, Player Development	2016	2014	Iowa
Scott Southmayd	Director, Player Personnel	2014	2002	Central (IA)
Max Allen	Director, Football New Media	2014	2014	Colorado
Tyler Barnes	Director, Player Recruiting	2016	2009	Iowa
Tyler Anderson	Graduate Assistant	2015	2015	Iowa
Martin Hopkins	Graduate Assistant	2016	2013	Iowa
Joe Pawlak	Graduate Assistant	2016	2016	Northern Illinois
Don Shumpert	Graduate Assistant	2016	2016	Iowa
Tyler Parker	Football Analyst
Austin Showalter	Football Analyst/Administrative Assistant	2015	2011	Iowa
Bob Rahfeldt	Video Coordinator	2013	1999	Iowa
Chris Ruth	Assistant Video Coordinator

*Kirk Ferentz was the offensive line coach at Iowa from 1981–1989.

**Seth Wallace was graduate assistant from 2006–2008. ^[29]

***Ken O'Keefe was the offensive coordinator at Iowa from 1999–2011. He left to become the wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins. ^[30]

Top 25 rankings[edit]

Through the conclusion of the 2018 season, Iowa has appeared in the Associated Press poll 318 times^[31] including 123 weeks in the top 10.^[32] Iowa has finished the year ranked in the final Associated Press poll of the season 23 times.^{[citation needed]}

Year Ranking Record 1939 9 6–1–1 1953 9 5–3–1 1956 3 8–1 1957 6 7–1–1 1958 2 7–1–1 1960 3 8–1 1981 18 8–4 1983 14 9–3

Year Ranking Record 1984 16 8–4–1 1985 10 10–2 1986 16 9–3 1987 16 10–3 1990 18 8–4 1991 10 10–1–1 1995 25 8–4 1996 18 9–3

Year Ranking Record 2002 8 11–2 2003 8 10–3 2004 8 10–2 2008 20 9–4 2009 7 11–2 2015 9 12–2 2018 25 9–4

Honors and awards[edit]

Annual awards[edit]

Individual award winners[edit]

Coaching award winners[edit]

Team awards[edit]

Retired numbers[edit]

No.	Player	Position	Tenure
24	Nile Kinnick	QB	1936–1939
62	Cal Jones	OG	1952–1955

Two numbers have been retired by the Hawkeye football program, Nile Kinnick's No. 24 and Cal Jones' No. 62. Both Kinnick and Jones were consensus first team All-Americans, and both men died in separate plane crashes before their 25th birthday.

Kinnick won the University of Iowa's only Heisman Trophy in 1939 and is the man for whom Kinnick Stadium is named. Jones was the first African-American to win the Outland Trophy and is the only Hawkeye to be named first-team All-American three times.^[33]

Iowa's All-Time Team[edit]

As selected by Iowa's fans in 1989.

Special Mention

Hall of Fame[edit]

College Football Hall of Fame[edit]

Iowa has 14 inductees in the College Football Hall of Fame.^[34]

Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
Howard Jones	Coach	1916–1923	1951
Duke Slater	Tackle	1918–1921	1951
Nile Kinnick	Quarterback	1936–1939	1951
Gordon Locke	Fullback	1920–1922	1960
Eddie Anderson	Coach	1939–1949	1971
Aubrey Devine	Quarterback	1919–1921	1973
Slip Madigan	Coach	1943–1944	1974
Cal Jones	Guard	1952–1955	1980
Alex Karras	Defensive tackle	1954–1957	1981
Randy Duncan	Quarterback	1956–1958	1997
Chuck Long	Quarterback	1981–1985	1999
Forest Evashevski	Coach	1952–1960	2000
Hayden Fry	Coach	1979–1998	2003
Larry Station	Linebacker	1982–1985	2009

Pro Football Hall of Fame[edit]

Three Hawkeyes have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.^[35]

Induction	Player	Position	Teams
1967	Emlen Tunnell	Defensive back	New York Giants, Green Bay Packers
1998	Paul Krause	Safety	Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins
2008	Andre Tippett	Linebacker	New England Patriots

Iowa and the NFL[edit]

Current NFL players[edit]

This list includes players on active team rosters, this list does not include free agents or players on practice squads in 2018.^[36]

Name Year Debuted Position Team C. J. Beathard 2017 QB San Francisco 49ers Austin Blythe 2016 C Los Angeles Rams Ike Boettger 2018 OT Buffalo Bills Bryan Bulaga 2010 OT Green Bay Packers Adrian Clayborn 2011 DE New England Patriots Cole Croston 2017 OL New England Patriots James Daniels 2018 OG Chicago Bears Mike Daniels 2012 DE Green Bay Packers Carl Davis 2015 DT Baltimore Ravens Andrew Donnal 2015 OT Baltimore Ravens Anthony Hitchens 2014 LB Kansas City Chiefs Micah Hyde 2015 S Buffalo Bills Joshua Jackson 2018 CB Green Bay Packers Josey Jewell 2018 LB Denver Broncos Jaleel Johnson 2017 DT Minnesota Vikings Desmond King 2017 CB Los Angeles Chargers Christian Kirksey 2014 LB Cleveland Browns George Kittle 2017 TE San Francisco 49ers Casey Kreiter 2016 LS Denver Broncos Greg Mabin 2017 CB San Francisco 49ers Ben Niemann 2018 LB Kansas City Chiefs Riley Reiff 2012 OT Minnesota Vikings Brandon Scherff 2016 OG Washington Redskins Tevaun Smith 2016 WR Jacksonville Jaguars Marshal Yanda 2007 OG Baltimore Ravens

First round NFL draft picks[edit]

Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978. Through the 2017 NFL Draft, Iowa has had 282 draft picks. 254 in the NFL, 21 in the AFL, and 7 in the AAFC (the AFC and AAFC both merged with the NFL). and 76 players have gone in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. Iowa has had 20 first round NFL Draft selections:^[37]

Season	Player	Team	Selection
1936	Dick Crayne	Brooklyn Dodgers	4th
1958	Alex Karras	Detroit Lions	10th
1959	Randy Duncan	Green Bay Packers	1st
1966	John Niland	Dallas Cowboys	5th
1973	Craig Clemons	Chicago Bears	12th
1976	Rod Walters	Kansas City Chiefs	14th
1982	Ron Hallstrom	Green Bay Packers	22nd
1984	John Alt	Kansas City Chiefs	21st
1986	Chuck Long	Detroit Lions	12th
1986	Ronnie Harmon	Buffalo Bills	16th
1986	Mike Haight	New York Jets	22nd
1997	Tom Knight	Arizona Cardinals	9th
1997	Ross Verba	Green Bay Packers	30th
2003	Dallas Clark	Indianapolis Colts	24th
2004	Robert Gallery	Oakland Raiders	2nd
2006	Chad Greenway	Minnesota Vikings	17th
2010	Bryan Bulaga	Green Bay Packers	23rd
2011	Adrian Clayborn	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	20th
2012	Riley Reiff	Detroit Lions	23rd
2015	Brandon Scherff	Washington Redskins	5th

Series records[edit]

Records through the conclusion of the 2018 season.^[38]

Division I opponents[edit]

Big Ten Opponents[edit]

This is the Hawkeyes football record against current Big Ten Conference opponents.

School	Total Games	W	L	T	Pct.	PF	PA	First Year	Last Year
Chicago1	10	3	7	0	.300	83	178	1900	1938
Illinois	74	34	38	2	.473	1209	1421	1901	2018
Indiana	77	45	28	4	.610	1798	1242	1912	2018
Maryland	3	2	1	0	.667	85	53	2014	2018
Michigan	60	15	41	4	.283	855	1475	1900	2016
Michigan State	47	23	22	2	.511	901	996	1954	2017
Minnesota	111	48	61	2	.441	1922	2469	1891	2018
Nebraska	49	17	29	3	.378	241	159	1891	2018
Northwestern	80	50	27	3	.644	1992	1152	1900	2018
Ohio State	64	15	46	3	.258	948	1701	1922	2017
Penn State	19	9	10	0	.474	350	484	1993	2018
Purdue	89	38	48	3	.444	1583	1732	1910	2018
Rutgers	1	1	0	0	1.000	14	7	2016	2016
Wisconsin	92	43	47	2	.478	1534	1583	1906	2018
14 Opponents	730	328	377	25	.466	13,280	14,574	1900	2018

1. The University of Chicago was a Big Ten Conference member from 1896–1946.

Future non-conference opponents[edit]

Announced schedules as of August 5, 2018^[39]

2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
vs Miami (OH)	vs Northern Iowa	at Iowa State	vs Iowa State	at Iowa State
at Iowa State	vs Iowa State	vs Colorado State
vs Middle Tennessee	vs Northern Illinois

References[edit]

Additional sources[edit]

• 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
• 25 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, 1964–1988, by Al Grady (ASIN: B0006ES3GS)
• Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore, by Mike Finn & Chad Leistikow (ISBN 1-57167-178-1)
• University of Iowa Football, by Chuck Bright (ISBN 0-87397-233-3)
• Black & Gold Memories, by George Wine (ISBN 0-615-12398-8)
• Greatest Moments In Iowa Hawkeyes Football History, by Mark Dukes & Gus Schrader (ISBN 1-57243-261-6)
• Tales From The Iowa Sidelines, by Ron Maly (ISBN 1-58261-574-8)
• Stadium Stories: Iowa Hawkeyes, by Buck Turnbull (ISBN 0-7627-3819-7)

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iowa Hawkeyes football.

• Official website