1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
American college football season
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The 1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1979 Big Ten football season. In their first year under head coach Hayden Fry, the Hawkeyes compiled a 5–6 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 239 to 216.[1][2] Fry was hired as the head coach in December 1978 after spending the previous six years at North Texas State.[3] Fry in 1979 hired Bill Snyder as his offensive coordinator and Barry Alvarez as his linebackers coach and recruited 18-year-old Bob Stoops to play defensive back at Iowa; all four are now in the College Football Hall of Fame and rank among the greatest coaches in modern college football history.
- Hayden Fry (1st season)
| 1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 5–6 (4–4 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Bill Snyder (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Bill Brashier (1st season) |
| MVP | Dennis Mosley |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Kinnick Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Ohio State $ | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Purdue | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Michigan | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Indiana | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 9 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tailback Dennis Mosley won the Big Ten rushing title and set Iowa single-season records with 1,267 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 96 points scored. He was selected as the team's most valuable player and received second-team All-America honors. Mosley, linebacker Leven Weiss and center Jay Hilgenberg also received first-team All-Big Ten honors. The team had a strong recruiting class that included linebacker Andre Tippett, defensive tackle Mark Bortz, punter Reggie Roby, and Bob Stoops.
The team played its home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 8 | Indiana | L 26–30 | 59,700 | [4][5] | |
| September 15 | at No. 3 Oklahoma* | L 6–21 | 72,531 | [6][7] | |
| September 22 | No. 7 Nebraska* |
| L 21–24 | 60,055 | [8][9] |
| September 29 | Iowa State* |
| W 30–14 | 60,100 | [10][11] |
| October 6 | at Illinois | W 13–7 | 51,044 | [12][13] | |
| October 13 | at Northwestern | W 58–6 | 27,224 | [14][15] | |
| October 20 | Minnesota |
| L 7–24 | 60,050 | [16] |
| October 27 | at Wisconsin | W 24–13 | 79,026 | [17] | |
| November 3 | Purdue |
| L 14–20 | 59,940 | [18] |
| November 10 | at No. 3 Ohio State | L 7–34 | 87,835 | [19] | |
| November 17 | Michigan State |
| W 33–23 | 58,320 | [20] |
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Game summaries
Indiana
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Hoosiers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 30 |
| Hawkeyes | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
- Date: September 8
- Location: Kinnick Stadium
- Game attendance: 59,780
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
| Q1 | IOWA | Mosley 23-yard run (kick failed) | IOWA 6–0 | |
| Q1 | IOWA | Mosley 5-yard run (Schilling kick) | IOWA 13–0 | |
| Q2 | Indiana | Straub 29-yard field goal | IOWA 13–3 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Mosley 5-yard pass from Suess (Schilling kick) | IOWA 20–3 | |
| Q2 | 3:06 | IOWA | Mosley 1-yard run (pass failed) | IOWA 26–3 |
| Q3 | Indiana | Johnson 51-yard pass from Clifford (Straub kick) | IOWA 26–10 | |
| Q4 | Indiana | Johnson 1-yard run (pass failed) | IOWA 26–16 | |
| Q4 | Indiana | Clifford 1-yard run (Straub kick) | IOWA 26–23 | |
| Q4 | 0:58 | Indiana | Johnson 66-yard pass from Clifford (Straub kick) | Indiana 30–26 |
On October 22, 2016, former Indiana University coach and current ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso described the game on College Gameday. He said at halftime he told the Hoosiers (who were losing the game 26-3) to not bother coming out for the 2nd half unless they were prepared to win the game. Indiana would then go on to win the game, 30-26, spoiling the debut of head coach Hayden Fry. [4]
| Game statistics[4] | INDIANA | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 22 |
| Total yards | 479 | 389 |
| Passing yards | 316 | 227 |
| Rushing yards | 143 | 162 |
| Penalties | 6–53 | 8–87 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
At No. 3 Oklahoma
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkeyes | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 3 Sooners | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
- Date: September 15
- Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
- Game attendance: 71,187
- Source: Box Score and Game Story
| 1 | 3:30 | IOWA | Dennis Mosley 10-yard pass from Phil Seuss (kick failed) | IOWA 6-0 |
| 2 | 4:00 | OU | Billy Sims 1-yard run (John Hoge kick) | OU 7-6 |
| 4 | 13:08 | OU | Billy Sims 3-yard run (John Hoge kick) | OU 14-6 |
| 4 | 3:36 | OU | J.C. Watts 1-yard run (John Hoge kick) | OU 21-6 |
| Game statistics[6] | OKLAHOMA | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 23 | 12 |
| Total yards | 452 | 202 |
| Passing yards | 183 | 139 |
| Rushing yards | 269 | 63 |
| Penalties | 4–40 | 5–36 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 2 |
No. 7 Nebraska
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • No. 7 Cornhuskers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
- Date: September 22
- Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
- Game start: 1:05 p.m. CDT
- Elapsed time: 2:35
- Game attendance: 60,055
- Referee: Richard McVay
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
| 1 | 11:51 | IOWA | McKillip 2-yard run (Reggie Roby kick) | IOWA 7-0 |
| 2 | 2:12 | NEB | Quinn 1-yard run (Sukup kick) | Tied 7-7 |
| 3 | 6:53 | IOWA | McKillip 2-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 14-7 |
| 3 | 5:21 | IOWA | Chappelle 29-yard pass from Gales (Roby kick) | IOWA 21-7 |
| 3 | 2:02 | NEB | Hager 4-yard run (Sukup kick) | IOWA 21-14 |
| 4 | 11:02 | NEB | Johnson 5-yard run (Sukup kick) | Tied 21-21 |
| 4 | 5:52 | NEB | Sukup 30-yard field goal | NEB 24-21 |
For the second week in a row, the Hawkeyes faced a Big 8 opponent ranked in the top 10. Iowa led, 21-14, at the end of the third quarter, but Nebraska tied the game then recovered a fumble before kicking the winning field goal late.[8]
Iowa State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclones | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Hawkeyes | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
- Date: September 29
- Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
- Game start: 1:05 p.m. CDT
- Elapsed time: 2:55
- Game attendance: 60,100
- Referee: Gene Calhoun
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
| 1 | 9:38 | IOWA | Mosley 1-yard run (Reggie Roby kick) | IOWA 7-0 |
| 1 | 0:07 | ISU | Mack 1-yard run (Giffords kick) | Tied 7-7 |
| 2 | 4:38 | IOWA | Mosley 9-yard pass from Gales (Roby kick) | IOWA 14-7 |
| 3 | 11:12 | IOWA | Mosley 18-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 21-7 |
| 3 | 8:48 | ISU | Less 26-yard interception return (Giffords kick) | IOWA 21-14 |
| 4 | 6:46 | IOWA | McKillip 27-yard run (kick failed) | IOWA 27-14 |
| 4 | 4:33 | IOWA | Roby 44-yard field goal | IOWA 30-14 |
This game marked Hayden Fry's first win as head coach of the Hawkeyes.[10]
| Game statistics[10] | ISU | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 30 |
| Total yards | 162 | 429 |
| Passing yards | 56 | 51 |
| Rushing yards | 106 | 378 |
| Penalties | 4–35 | 7–63 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
At Illinois
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Hawkeyes | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
- Date: October 6
- Location: Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 51,044
| Q2 | IOWA | Roby 25 yard field goal | IOWA 3–0 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Roby 33 yard field goal | IOWA 6–0 | |
| Q2 | ILL | Strader 4 yard pass from McCullough (Bostrom kick) | ILL 7–6 | |
| Q3 | IOWA | McKillip 1 yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 13–7 | |
At Northwestern
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Hawkeyes | 7 | 28 | 0 | 23 | 58 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
- Date: October 13
- Location: Dyche Stadium
- Game attendance: 27,224
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
| Q1 | IOWA | Mosley 1-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 7–0 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Bohannon 5-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 14–0 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Chappelle 44-yard pass from Bohannon (Roby kick) | IOWA 21–0 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Burke 12-yard pass from Bohannon (Roby kick) | IOWA 28–0 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Bohannon 6-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 35–0 | |
| Q4 | IOWA | McKillip 7-yard pass from Suess (Roby kick) | IOWA 42–0 | |
| Q4 | IOWA | Mosley 1-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 49–0 | |
| Q4 | NW | Bogan 69-yard pass from Kerrigan (pass failed) | IOWA 49–6 | |
| Q4 | IOWA | Roby 27-yard field goal | IOWA 52–6 | |
| Q4 | IOWA | Dunham 2-yard pass from Gales (kick failed) | IOWA 58–6 | |
- Gordy Bohannan, a junior college transfer, made his first career start
| Game statistics[14] | IOWA | NW |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 16 |
| Total yards | 509 | 320 |
| Passing yards | 145 | 202 |
| Rushing yards | 364 | 118 |
| Penalties | 3–35 | 4–52 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 8 |
Minnesota
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Golden Gophers | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
- Date: October 20
- Location: Kinnick Stadium
- Game attendance: 60,050
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
At Wisconsin
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Hawkeyes | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| Badgers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
- Date: October 27
- Location: Camp Randall Stadium
- Game attendance: 79,026
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
| Q2 | 12:13 | WIS | Veith 27-yard field goal | WIS 3–0 |
| Q2 | WIS | Mohapp 15-yard run (Veith kick) | WIS 10–0 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Swift 6-yard pass from Suess (Roby kick) | WIS 10–7 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Brady 27-yard pass from Suess (Roby kick) | IOWA 14–10 | |
| Q4 | 14:14 | IOWA | Roby 22-yard field goal | IOWA 17–10 |
| Q4 | WIS | Veith 37-yard field goal | IOWA 17–13 | |
| Q4 | IOWA | Mosley 75-yard pass from Suess (Roby kick) | IOWA 24–13 | |
Dennis Mosley broke Ed Podolak's Iowa single-season rushing record and caught a 75-yard touchdown pass in the win over the Badgers.[23]
Purdue
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Boilermakers | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| Hawkeyes | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
- Date: November 3
- Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
- Game attendance: 59,940
| 1 | Purdue | D. Young 3-yard pass from Herrmann (Seibel kick) | Purdue 7-0 | |
| 1 | Iowa | Mosley 1-yard run (kick failed) | Purdue 7-6 | |
| 2 | Iowa | McKillip 16-yard run (Reid pass from Mosley) | Iowa 14-7 | |
| 2 | Purdue | McCall 17-yard pass from Herrmann (Seibel kick) | Tie 14-14 | |
| 3 | Purdue | McCall 6-yard run (kick failed) | Purdue 20-14 | |
At No. 3 Ohio State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • No. 3 Buckeyes | 13 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
- Date: November 10
- Location: Ohio Stadium
- Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
- Elapsed time: 2:51
- Game attendance: 87,835
- Game weather: Cloudy; 41 °F (5 °C); wind 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) NW
| 1 | 5:55 | OHST | Schlichter 1-yard run (Janakievski kick) | OHST 7–0 |
| 1 | 3:18 | OHST | Janakievski 35-yard field goal | OHST 10–0 |
| 1 | 1:38 | OHST | Janakievski 29-yard field goal | OHST 13–0 |
| 2 | 8:56 | OHST | Volley 1-yard run (Jankievski kick) | OHST 20–0 |
| 2 | 6:40 | OHST | Donley 33-yard pass from Schlichter (Janakievski kick) | OHST 27–0 |
| 4 | 12:16 | OHST | Spencer 1-yard run (Janakievski kick) | OHST 34–0 |
| 4 | 4:07 | IOWA | Chappelle 40-yard pass from Gales (Roby kick) | OHST 34–7 |
Michigan State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 6 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
| • Hawkeyes | 7 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 33 |
- Date: November 17
- Location: Kinnick Stadium
- Game attendance: 58,320
- Sources: Box Score and Game Story
| Q1 | IOWA | Mosley 1-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 7–0 | |
| Q1 | MSU | Morten Andersen 54-yard field goal | IOWA 7–3 | |
| Q1 | MSU | Andersen 25-yard field goal | IOWA 7–6 | |
| Q2 | IOWA | Mosley 1-yard run (run failed) | IOWA 13–6 | |
| Q2 | MSU | Clark 1-yard run (Andersen kick) | Tied 13–13 | |
| Q2 | MSU | Andersen 45-yard field goal | MSU 16–13 | |
| Q3 | IOWA | Suess 7-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 20–16 | |
| Q3 | IOWA | McKillip 18-yard run (Roby kick) | IOWA 27–16 | |
| Q4 | IOWA | Mosley 5-yard run (pass failed) | IOWA 33–16 | |
| Q4 | MSU | Hughes 1-yard run (Andersen kick) | IOWA 33–23 | |
| Game statistics[26] | MSU | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 23 |
| Total yards | 395 | 444 |
| Passing yards | 244 | 204 |
| Rushing yards | 151 | 238 |
| Penalties | 3–28 | 1–20 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
Roster
| 1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Statistical achievements
The 1975 Hawkeyes gained 2,130 rushing yards and 1,669 passing yards. On defense, they gave up 1,881 rushing yards and 1,843 passing yards.[27]
Tailback Dennis Mosley won the Big Ten rushing title,[28] became Iowa's first 1,000-yard rusher,[29] and set Iowa single-season records with 1,267 rushing yards (including 239 yards against Iowa State), 16 touchdowns, and 96 points scored.[30] He was selected as the team's most valuable player,[31] was selected as a second-team All-American by the UPI,[30] and received first-team honors on the 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[32]
The team's other statistical leaders included quarterback Phil Suess (88-of-159 passing for 1,165 yards), Brad Reid (25 receptions, 290 yards), and linebacker Leven Weiss (112 total tackles).[33]
Home attendance totaled 358,245, an average of 59,708 per game.[34]
Awards and honors
Tailback Dennis Mosley received second-team honors from the UPI and third-team honors form the AP on the 1979 All-America college football team.[35][36]
Mosley was also selected as the most valuable player of the 1979 team.[37]
The following players received recognition on the 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Dennis Mosley at running back (AP-1, UPI-1); Jay Hilgenberg at center (AP-1); Leven Weiss at linebacker (AP-1, UPI-2); and Reggie Roby at punter (UPI-2).[32][38]
The following five players were co-captains of the 1979 team: defensive end Jim Molini, defensive back Mario Pace, offensive tackle Sam Palladino, defensive back Cedric Shaw, and tight end Jim Swift.[39]
Two players (Bob Stoops and Andre Tippett) and three coaches (Hayden Fry, Bill Snyder, and Barry Alvarez) from the 1978 team have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Three players (Andre Tippett, Mark Bortz, and Reggie Roby) were included on the all-time Iowa team selected by fans in 1989.[40]
1980 NFL draft
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Mosley | RB | 9 | 232 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Jim Swift | OT | 9 | 238 | Seattle Seahawks |