1968 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

American college football season

1968 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–5 (4–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ray Nagel (3rd season)
MVP	Ed Podolak
Captain	Ed Podolak, Steve Wilson
Home stadium	Iowa Stadium
Seasons← 1967 1969 →

1968 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Ohio State $	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	0
No. 12 Michigan	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Purdue	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Minnesota	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Indiana	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Iowa	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Michigan State	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Illinois	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1968 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach Ray Nagel, the Hawkeyes compiled an overall record of 5–5 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the Big Ten. The team played home games at Iowa Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 21	No. 8 Oregon State*	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 21–20	46,892
September 28	at TCU*	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 17–28
October 5	No. 5 Notre Dame*	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 28–51	58,043
October 12	Indiana	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 34–38	54,633
October 19	Wisconsin	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 41–0	45,651
October 26	at No. 7 Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 14–44	61,927
November 2	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 35–28	57,703
November 9	Northwestern	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 68–34
November 16	No. 2 Ohio State	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 27–33	44,131
November 23	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 37–13	35,055
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1968 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`10`	Larry Lawrence	Jr
RB	`14`	Ed Podolak	Sr
RB	`44`	Dennis Green	So
WR	`22`	Kerry Reardon	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Marcos Melendez

Head coach

Ray Nagel

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Oregon State

Oregon State at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Beavers	14	6	0	0	20
• Hawkeyes	7	7	0	7	21

Date: September 21
Location: Iowa Stadium
Iowa City, IA
Game attendance: 46,892

Scoring summary

1		OSU	TD (Arnold kick)	OSU 7–0

1		OSU	TD (Arnold kick)	OSU 14–0

1		Iowa	Podolak 2-yard run (Melendez kick)	OSU 14–7

2		Iowa	Podolak 10-yard run (Melendez kick)	Tied 14–14

2	8:36	OSU	Rich 1-yard run (kick failed)	OSU 20–14

4		Iowa	Dennis Green run (Melendez kick)	Iowa 21–20

At TCU

Notre Dame

At Purdue

Northwestern

Northwestern at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	7	14	6	34
• Hawkeyes	14	28	7	19	68

Date: November 9
Location: Iowa Stadium
Iowa City, IA
Game attendance: 44,876

Scoring summary

1	Iowa	Sullivan 3-yard run (Melendez kick)	Iowa 7–0

1	Iowa	Podolak 60-yard run (Melendez kick)	Iowa 14–0

1	NW	Kurzawski 32-yard pass from Shelbourne (Emmerich kick)	Iowa 14–7

2	Iowa	Podolak 32-yard run (Melendez kick)	Iowa 21–7

2	Iowa	Lawrence 7-yard run (Melendez kick)	Iowa 28–7

2	Iowa	Sullivan 9-yard run (Melendez kick)	Iowa 35–7

2	Iowa	Manning 19-yard pass from Cilek (Melendez kick)	Iowa 42–7

2	NW	Emmerich 1-yard run (Emmerich kick)	Iowa 42–14

3	Iowa	Reardon 95-yard kick return (Melendez kick)	Iowa 49–14

3	NW	Smeeton 1-yard run (Emmerich kick)	Iowa 49–21

3	NW	TD (Emmerich kick)	Iowa 49–28

4	Iowa	Sullivan 11-yard run (kick failed)	Iowa 55–28

4	Iowa	Manning 6-yard pass from Cilek (pass failed)	Iowa 61–28

4	Iowa	Green 19-yard pass from Cilek (Melendez kick)	Iowa 68–28

4	NW	Emmerich 3-yard run (pass failed)	Iowa 68–34

It was a record-setting day for the Hawkeyes. Iowa established a Big Ten record for total offense with 639 yards (431 rushing). Ed Podolak rushed for 286 yards (setting Iowa and Big Ten records) and two touchdowns on 17 carries. His performance still ranks #2 on Iowa's single-game rushing list.

Ohio State

No. 2 Ohio State at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 2 Buckeyes	6	6	14	7	33
Hawkeyes	0	0	6	21	27

Date: November 16
Location:
Kinnick Stadium
Iowa City, IA
Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 44,131
Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C), Rain, Wind E 12 mph

Scoring summary

Q1	12:13	OSU	Otis 7 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 6-0

Q2	6:42	OSU	Kern 3 yard run (pass failed)	OSU 12-0

Q3	10:40	OSU	Otis 1 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 19-0

Q3	6:45	IOWA	Lawrence 1 yard run (kick failed)	OSU 19-6

Q3	1:19	OSU	Kern 1 yard run (Zelina kick)	OSU 26-6

Q4	8:59	IOWA	Podolak 3 yard run (Melendez kick)	OSU 26-13

Q4	7:07	OSU	Brockington 22 yard run (Roman kick)	OSU 33-13

Q4	4:02	IOWA	Manning 12 yard pass from Lawrence (Melendez kick)	OSU 33-20

Q4	:09	IOWA	Reardon 9 yard pass from Lawrence (Melendez kick)	OSU 33-27

At Illinois

After winning only 4 games combined over the previous three seasons, the Hawkeyes earned their 5th victory of the season.

References

"Preece hurt, O-State upset by Iowa 21-20". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 22, 1968. p. 1B.
"1968 Iowa Hawkeyes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
"Hawk Sophs Prove Determination Can Be Valued over Experience" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 24, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
"Podolak Captures Lead in Big 10 Rushing" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 12, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
"Iowa Sets Mark". The Times (Shreveport). November 10, 1968. p. 39. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
"Seniors Close Careers on a Happy Note" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 26, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2018.

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