1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

American college football season

1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Hayden Fry (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Snyder (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Brashier (1st season)
MVP	Dennis Mosley
Captain	5 Jim Molini Mario Pace Sam Palladino Cedric Shaw Jim Swift
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium
Seasons← 1978 1980 →

1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
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

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. It was the first season for new head coach Hayden Fry, who arrived in Iowa City after spending the previous six years at North Texas State.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 8	Indiana	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 26–30	59,700
September 15	at No. 3 Oklahoma*	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 6–21	72,531
September 22	No. 7 Nebraska*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 21–24	60,055
September 29	Iowa State*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 30–14	60,100
October 6	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 13–7	51,044
October 13	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 58–6	27,224
October 20	Minnesota	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	L 7–24	60,050
October 27	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 24–13	79,026
November 3	Purdue	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 14–20	59,940
November 10	at No. 3 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 7–34	87,835
November 17	Michigan State	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 33–23	58,320
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`28`	Phil Blatcher	So
QB	`11`	Gordy Bohannan	Jr
WR	`88`	Mike Brady	Sr
WR	`19`	Keith Chappelle	Jr
QB	`12`	Pete Gales	So
G	`76`	Ron Hallstrom	So
C	`54`	Jay Hilgenberg	Jr
FB	`35`	Dean McKillip
RB		Rod Morton	Sr
RB	`18`	Dennis Mosley	Sr
WR	`83`	Lon Olejniczak	Fr
WR	`87`	Brad Reid	Sr
QB	`16`	Phil Suess	Jr
TE		Jim Swift	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL	`63`	Mark Bortz	Fr
		Kent Ellis
DB	`10`	Jim Frazier	So
DB	`43`	Lou King	So
CB		Mario Pace
DB	`20`	Cedric Shaw
DB	`41`	Bob Stoops	Fr
DE	`99`	Andre Tippett	So
LB	`42`	Leven Weiss

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Dave Holsclaw
P/K	`7`	Reggie Roby	Fr
K		Scott Schilling

Head coach

Hayden Fry

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Bill Snyder – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Bill Brashier – Defensive Coordinator
Carl Jackson – Running backs
Del Miller – Offensive assistant
Dan McCarney – Defensive line
Barry Alvarez – Linebackers
Don Patterson – Defensive Backs
Bernie Wyatt – Defensive Ends/Recruiting Coordinator

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Indiana

Indiana at Iowa

	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

Scoring summary

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.

Game statistics	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

Iowa at #3 Oklahoma

	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

Scoring summary

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	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

#7 Nebraska at Iowa

	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

Scoring summary

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 3rd quarter, but Nebraska tied the game then recovered a fumble before kicking the winning field goal late.

Iowa State

Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy

	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

Scoring summary

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.

Game statistics	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

Iowa at Illinois

	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

Scoring summary

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

Iowa at Northwestern

	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

Scoring summary

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	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

Minnesota at Iowa

	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

	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

Scoring summary

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 single-season rushing record and caught a 75-yard touchdown pass in the win over the Badgers.

Purdue

Purdue at Iowa

	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

Scoring summary

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

Iowa at Ohio State

	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

Scoring summary

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

Michigan State at Iowa

	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

Scoring summary

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	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

Awards and honors

Team players in the 1980 NFL Draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Dennis Mosley	RB	9	232	Minnesota Vikings
Jim Swift	OT	9	238	Seattle Seahawks

References

"Hayden Fry named head coach" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. December 11, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
"Indiana rally turns back Hawkeyes, 30–26". The Times. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Oklahoma survives scare from Iowa". Springfield Leader and Press. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Winning edge helps Nebraska tip Iowa 24–21". The Idaho Statesman. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Iowa swamps Iowa State". Lincoln Journal Star. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Hawkeyes halt Illini". Journal and Courier. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Wildcats break long losing streak". The Dispatch. September 16, 1979. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
"Gophers pass Iowa test". Journal and Courier. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Mistakes ruin Badgers". Green Bay Press-Gazette. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Herrmann leads Boilermakers, 20–14". The Lima News. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Buckeyes rout Iowa 34–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Mosley earns rushing title as Iowa triumphs". The Pantagraph. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"1979 Iowa Hawkeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
^ "Indiana comeback sinks Hawks" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 10, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
^ "Upset-minded Hawks fall short, 21-6" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 17, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
"Hawkeye upset spoiled, 24-21" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 24, 1979. p. 7. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
^ "Awesome Iowa rushing attack devastates Cyclones' defense" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 1, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
"Hawkeyes hold the line, 13-7" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 8, 1979. p. 11. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
^ "Hawks run wild, 58-6" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 15, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
"Nothing went right for Hawks; Floyd goes back to Minnesota" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 22, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
"Suess, Mosley lead Hawkeyes' victory" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 29, 1979. p. 8. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
"No. 16 Purdue outduels Hawks in wild aerial showdown, 20-14" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 5, 1979. p. 10. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
"Buckeyes drop fumbling Hawks, 34-7" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 12, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
^ "Hawks soar to first-division finish, 33-23" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 19, 1979. p. 10. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
"1980 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2018.

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