1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Big Ten Champions
Rose Bowl, L 45-28 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#9
AP	#10
1985 record	10-2 (3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Hayden Fry (77th year)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Snyder (77th year)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Brashier (77th year)
MVP	Nate Creer Mike Haight Bill Happel Ronnie Harmon Scott Helverson Tom Humphrey Chuck Long George Millett Devon Mitchell Jay Norvell Kelly O'Brien Hap Peterson Larry Station
Captain	Mike Haight Ronnie Harmon Chuck Long Hap Peterson Larry Station
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium

1985 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#10 Iowa $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#2 Michigan	6	–	1	–	1			10	–	1	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
#14 Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Hayden Fry and played their home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

Season

Chuck Long declared that he would return for his senior season. He became an instant Heisman Trophy candidate, and Iowa was a preseason top five team. After three weeks in 1985, the Hawkeyes ascended to #1 in the national rankings for the second time in team history (1960).

Three weeks later, in the sixth game of the season, #1 Iowa faced #2 Michigan in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa trailed 10-9 as the Hawkeyes regained possession of the football at their own 22-yard line with just 5:27 remaining in the game. Long drove the Iowa team to the 12-yard line with two seconds remaining to set up kicker Rob Houghtlin's game winning field goal as time expired. After a rout of Northwestern, the Hawkeyes were upset by the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus.

The loss to Ohio State cost Iowa their #1 ranking, but the Hawkeyes still won the Big Ten title outright for the first time in 27 years. Chuck Long won many major national awards as a senior, including the 1985 Maxwell Award, given to the nation's top player and the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus first team All-American. Finally, Chuck Long was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy to Bo Jackson of Auburn in what used to be the closest margin in Heisman history, losing by just 45 points.

Iowa lost in Chuck Long's final game in the 1986 Rose Bowl. Long's Iowa teams compiled a 35-13-1 record. He graduated with 10,461 passing yards and 74 touchdowns on 782 completions.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 14	Drake*	#5	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA		W 58–0	66,135
September 21	Northern Illinois*	#4	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA		W 48–20	66,014
September 28	at Iowa State*	#3	Cyclone Stadium • Ames, IA (Cy-Hawk Trophy)	Raycom	W 57–3	53,202
October 5	Michigan State	#1	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	CBS	W 35–31	66,044
October 12	at Wisconsin	#1	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Rivalry)		W 23–13	79,023
October 19	#2 Michigan	#1	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	CBS	W 12–10	66,350
October 26	at Northwestern	#1	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL		W 49–10	47,269
November 2	at #8 Ohio State	#1	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	CBS	L 13–22	90,467
November 9	Illinois	#6	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA		W 59–0	66,120
November 16	at Purdue	#5	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	CBS	W 27–24	57,762
November 23	Minnesota	#3	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	TBS	W 31–9	66,020
January 1	vs. #13 UCLA*	#4	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (1986 Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 28–45	103,292
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Further information: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	4 (7)	4 (5)	5 (5)	4 (5)	3 (5)	1 (35)	1 (34)	1 (27)	1 (60)	1 (58)	6	5	3	2 (3)	3 (3)	4 (2)	10
Coaches'																3	9

Game notes

Drake

Drake at #5 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 • Hawkeyes 0 14 37 7 58 Date: September 14 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 66,135 Source: Box score and Game story

Scoring summary 2 IOWA Clark 6-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 2 IOWA Helverson 4-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 14-0 3 IOWA R. Harmon 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 21-0 3 IOWA R. Harmon 6-yard run (kick failed) IOWA 27-0 3 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 46-yard field goal IOWA 30-0 3 IOWA K. Harmon 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 37-0 3 IOWA Hudson 10-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 44-0 3 IOWA Helverson 31-yard pass from Vlasic (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 51-0 4 IOWA Bayless 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 58-0

See also: Drake Bulldogs football

Northern Illinois

See also: Northern Illinois Huskies football

Iowa State

#3 Iowa at Iowa State

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 7 34 9 7 57 Cyclones 0 0 0 3 3 Date: September 28 Location: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA Game attendance: 53,202 Television network: Raycom Source:

Scoring summary 1 IOWA Bush 4-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 2 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 47-yard field goal IOWA 10-0 2 IOWA R. Harmon 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 17-0 2 IOWA R. Harmon 23-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 24-0 2 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 41-yard field goal IOWA 27-0 2 IOWA Mike Flagg 3-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 34-0 2 0:47 IOWA Smith 9-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 41-0 3 IOWA Scott Helverson 46-yard pass from Chuck Long (kick failed) IOWA 47-0 3 2:10 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 27-yard field goal IOWA 50-0 4 IOWA Scott Helverson 26-yard pass from Vlassic (Cook kick) IOWA 57-0 4 9:21 ISU Frank 52-yard field goal IOWA 57-3

See also: Iowa State Cyclones football and Iowa–Iowa State football rivalry

The Hawkeyes earned the third of 15 consecutive wins over their in-state rivals. To date, this remains the largest margin of victory in the series. The convincing win vaulted Iowa to the #1 ranking in the country, a spot they would occupy for five consecutive weeks.

Michigan State

Spartans at #1 Hawkeyes

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan State 0 10 14 7 31 • Iowa 7 6 15 7 35 Date: October 5 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 66,044 TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian Source:

Scoring summary 1 10:23 IOWA Robert Smith 60-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 2 13:12 IOWA Mike Flagg 17-yard pass from Chuck Long (kick failed) IOWA 13-0 2 11:34 MSU Chris Caudell 32-yard field goal IOWA 13-3 2 9:15 MSU Andre Rison 50-yard pass from Bobby McAllister (Caudell kick) IOWA 13-10 3 12:30 MSU Lorenzo White 23-yard run (Caudell kick) MSU 17-13 3 7:01 MSU Lorenzo White 1-yard run (Caudell kick) MSU 24-13 3 6:16 IOWA Robert Smith 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Flagg pass from Long for two-point conversion) MSU 24-21 3 IOWA Mike Flagg 12-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 28-24 4 4:06 MSU Craig Johnson 25-yard run (Caudell kick) MSU 31-28 4 0:27 IOWA Chuck Long 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 35-31

See also: 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team

In their first game since ascending to the #1 ranking, the Hawkeyes survived a wild, back and forth thriller. The teams combined for well over 1,000 yards of total offense. Chuck Long (30-39, 380 yards, 4 TD) scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard bootleg with 27 seconds remaining.

Wisconsin

#1 Hawkeyes at Badgers

1 2 3 4 Total • Iowa 3 7 10 3 23 Wisconsin 0 0 10 3 13 Date: October 12 Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI Game attendance: 79,023

Scoring summary 1 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 30-yard field goal IOWA 3-0 2 IOWA Bill Happel 8-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 10-0 3 WIS Joe Armentrout 3-yard pass from Bud Keyes (Todd Gregoire kick) IOWA 10-7 3 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 40-yard field goal IOWA 13-7 3 WIS Todd Gregoire 27-yard field goal IOWA 13-10 3 IOWA Ronnie Harmon 12-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 20-10 4 WIS Todd Gregoire 24-yard field goal IOWA 20-13 4 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 35-yard field goal IOWA 23-13

See also: 1985 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry

Michigan

#2 Wolverines at #1 Hawkeyes

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 7 0 3 10 • Iowa 0 6 0 6 12 Date: October 19 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 66,350 TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian Source: [1]

Scoring summary 2 IOWA Houghtlin 25-yard field goal IOWA 3-0 2 MICH White 6-yard pass from Harbaugh (Gillette kick) MICH 7-3 2 IOWA Houghtlin 27-yard field goal MICH 7-6 4 IOWA Houghtlin 36-yard field goal IOWA 9-7 4 MICH Gillette 40-yard field goal MICH 10-9 4 IOWA Houghtlin 29-yard field goal IOWA 12-10

See also: 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team

Rob Houghtlin kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired to lift the top-ranked Hawkeyes to victory over the #2 Wolverines.

Northwestern

#1 Hawkeyes at Wildcats

1 2 3 4 Total • Iowa 7 21 7 14 49 Northwestern 3 0 0 7 10 Date: October 26 Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL Game attendance: 47,276

Scoring summary 1 IOWA Bill Happel 28-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 1 NW John Duvic 21-yard field goal IOWA 7-3 2 IOWA Ronnie Harmon 44-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 14-3 2 IOWA Robert Smith 89-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 21-3 2 IOWA Bill Happel 35-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 28-3 3 IOWA Bill Happel 25-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 35-3 4 IOWA Craig Clark 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 42-3 4 IOWA Kevin Harmon 2-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 49-3 4 2:02 NW Marc Bumgarner 4-yard pass from Mike Greenfield (John Duvic kick) IOWA 49-10

See also: Northwestern Wildcats football

On a windy day in Evanston, Chuck Long went 19-26 for 399 yards and a Big Ten record-tying 6 TDs. Bill Happel hauled in 3 TDs, finishing with 117 yards on 5 receptions.

Ohio St.

#1 Hawkeyes at #8 Buckeyes

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 0 7 0 6 13 • Ohio State 5 10 0 7 22 Date: November 2 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH Game attendance: 90,467 Game weather: 59°F, Rain, Wind S 10 Referee: Gil Marchman TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian Source: Box score

Scoring summary 1 OSU Rich Spangler 28-yard field goal OSU 3-0 1 OSU Safety, Sonny Gordan blocked punt out of end zone OSU 5-0 2 OSU John Woolridge 57-yard run (Spangler kick) OSU 12-0 2 OSU Rich Spangler 26-yard field goal OSU 15-0 2 Iowa Ronnie Harmon 3-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) OSU 15-7 4 OSU Vince Workman 4-yard run (Spangler kick) OSU 22-7 4 Iowa David Hudson 2-yard run (run failed) OSU 22-13

See also: 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Illinois

Illinois at #6 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Fighting Illini 0 0 0 0 0 • Hawkeyes 35 14 0 10 59 Date: November 9 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 66,120 Source: Box score and Game story, 1985: The Unexpected Blowout

Scoring summary 1 IOWA R. Smith 49-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 1 IOWA Hudson 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 14-0 1 7:28 IOWA R. Smith 43-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 21-0 1 IOWA R. Harmon ?-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 28-0 1 0:59 IOWA Hudson 10-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 35-0 2 5:16 IOWA Flagg 1-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 42-0 2 IOWA Helverson 8-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 49-0 4 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 37-yard field goal IOWA 52-0 4 IOWA Goodman 16-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 59-0

See also: Illinois Fighting Illini football

Purdue

#5 Iowa at Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 7 17 0 3 27 Boilermakers 7 10 0 7 24 Date: November 16 Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian Source:

Scoring summary 1 Purdue Griffin 49-yard pass from Jim Everett (kick) Purdue 7-0 1 Iowa Ronnie Harmon 2-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) Tied 7-7 2 Iowa Hudson 1-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 14-7 2 Purdue Medlock 1-yard run (kick) Tied 14-14 2 Iowa Hudson 1-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 21-14 2 Purdue field goal IOWA 21-17 2 0:00 Iowa Rob Houghtlin 33-yard field goal IOWA 24-17 4 Purdue Medlock 2-yard run (kick) Tied 24-24 4 1:08 Iowa Rob Houghtlin 25-yard field goal IOWA 27-24

See also: 1985 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Minnesota

Minnesota at #3 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 3 0 0 6 9 • Hawkeyes 7 10 7 7 31 Date: November 23 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 66,020 TV announcers (TBS Sports): Pete van Wieren and Ron Kramer Source:

Scoring summary 1 9:48 Iowa Ronnie Harmon 5-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 1 1:54 Minn Chip Lohmiller 35-yard field goal IOWA 7-3 2 5:15 Iowa Rob Houghtlin 26-yard field goal IOWA 10-3 2 1:40 Iowa Mike Flagg 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 17-3 3 9:39 Iowa Kevin Harmon 10-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 24-3 4 14:11 Iowa Rick Bayless 5-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick) IOWA 31-3 4 2:01 Minn Gailord 16-yard pass from Holt (conversion failed) IOWA 31-9

See also: 1985 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry

In the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale, Iowa beat the Golden Gophers in Lou Holtz's last game as Minnesota's head coach. Chuck Long, in his final game at Kinnick Stadium, became the first player in Big Ten history to eclipse 10,000 career passing yards.

Rose Bowl

#13 UCLA vs. #4 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total • Bruins 10 14 7 14 45 Hawkeyes 7 3 7 11 28 Date: January 1, 1986 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Game attendance: 103,292 Referee: Tom Quinn TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen

Scoring summary 1 IOWA David Hudson 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick) IOWA 7-0 1 UCLA Eric Ball 30-yard run (Lee kick) Tied 7-7 1 UCLA John Lee 42-yard field goal UCLA 10-7 2 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 24-yard field goal Tied 10-10 2 UCLA Eric Ball 40-yard run (Lee kick) UCLA 17-10 2 UCLA Eric Ball 6-yard run (Lee kick) UCLA 24-10 3 IOWA Chuck Long 4-yard run (Houghtlin kick) UCLA 24-17 3 UCLA Mike Sherrard 6-yard pass from Matt Stevens (J. Lee kick) UCLA 31-17 4 UCLA Eric Ball 32-yard run (Lee kick) UCLA 38-17 4 IOWA Rob Houghtlin 52-yard field goal UCLA 38-20 4 UCLA Matt Stevens 1-yard run (Lee kick) UCLA 45-20 4 IOWA Bill Happel 11-yard pass from Chuck Long (Harmon run) UCLA 45-28

See also: 1985 UCLA Bruins football team and 1986 Rose Bowl

Awards and honors

• Chuck Long, Quarterback - Big Ten Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award, and Runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Consensus First-team All-American.
• Larry Station, Linebacker - Consensus First-team All-American.

See also: 1985 College Football All-America Team and 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team

Team players in the 1986 NFL Draft

Main article: 1986 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Chuck Long	Quarterback	1	12	Detroit Lions
Ronnie Harmon	Running Back	1	16	Buffalo Bills
Mike Haight	Tackle	1	22	New York Jets
Devon Mitchell	Defensive Back	4	92	Detroit Lions
Larry Station	Linebacker	11	287	Pittsburgh Steelers