The 2007 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Heading into the season, several players left the team while several other players ran into criminal allegations. Following a disappointing 2006 season that included losses to Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota, the team was coached by Kirk Ferentz and played their six home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

Previous season

Entering 2006 ranked 16th in the AP Poll and 17th in the Coaches Poll, the Hawkeyes had high hopes for the season. Following victories over Montana, Syracuse, Iowa State and Illinois, the Hawkeyes were 4–0 heading into their game with top-ranked Ohio State. With tickets for the game going for US$500 on eBay, the game was hyped as one of the biggest in Kinnick Stadium history. But quarterback Drew Tate threw 3 interceptions, and the Hawkeyes lost 38–17. In total, Iowa had 4 turnovers while Ohio State had zero.

Following the loss to Ohio State, Iowa proceeded to score a season-high 47 points in a victory over Purdue. But the most notable score came during the 4th quarter, when Adam Shada intercepted a Curtis Painter pass and returned it a school record 98-yards for the touchdown. However, Iowa's joy would not last long, as the Hawkeyes were upset by Indiana only a week later. The 31–28 win was Indiana's biggest win since a victory over 9th-ranked Ohio State in 1987.

From there, the season unraveled, and the Hawkeyes lost four of their remaining five games en route to a 6–6 record. The Hawkeyes were not invited to a bowl game following the conclusion of the 2007 season.

Before the season On April 20, 2007, it was announced by Ferentz that two players, Ryan Bain and Justin Edwards, were leaving the team. Both are planning on transferring to other schools. Bain, who had 56 career tackles, was later found guilty on charges of disorderly conduct. About two months later, it was announced that Shonn Greene and Amari Spievey were no longer on the team. Greene, a junior running back, had 378 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his career. Another month later, and it was announced that Lucas Cox and Marcus Wilson were leaving the team. Wilson, a sophomore defensive back, played in all 13 games in 2006 and recorded 21 tackles and one interception. Earlier in July, senior defensive back Devan Moylan was given an additional year of eligibility. After suffering a leg injury in the fourth game of 2006 against Illinois, he applied for a medical hardship. Prior to the 2007 season, he had 28 tackles and one interception in his career.

Criminal charges On August 20, 2007, two Hawkeye wide receivers were arrested and charged with the unauthorized use of a credit card. Dominique Douglas and Anthony Bowman, both sophomores, were suspended indefinitely by Ferentz following allegations that they bought more than $2,000 in merchandise with stolen credit cards. The crime is a felony, and if convicted, the two players can face up to five years in prison along with a $7,500 fine. Another player, Arvell Nelson, also experienced trouble with the law. Nelson posted a $545 bond for failure to appear in court after being charged with driving with a suspended license. He also paid a $390 fine for not having insurance. 1 in every 10 Iowa football players during the 2007 season had off-field arrests, the highest among any year in Kirk Ferentz's tenure at Iowa.

Recruiting class The Hawkeyes received 22 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 7, 2007.

Awards

Kenny Iwebema First-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com First-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com Mitch King First-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Bryan Mattison First-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Second-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com Second-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com Mike Klinkenborg Lott Trophy watch list Bednarik Award watch list Second-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com Second-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Tony Moeaki Mackey Award watch list Albert Young Second-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Dace Richardson Second-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Matt Kroul Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Adam Shada Third-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Rafael Eubanks Rimington Trophy watch list Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports Seth Olsen Third-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports

Schedule

Schedule notes Due to the Big Ten's rotating schedule, Iowa did not play either Michigan or Ohio State in 2007. Instead, Iowa played Michigan State and Penn State, two teams that the Hawkeyes had not played since 2004.

Iowa's schedule was ranked as the 9th toughest (or 3rd easiest) in the Big Ten by SI.com.

Roster 2007 Iowa Hawkeyes football roster Quarterbacks 6 Christensen, Jake – sophomore 7 McNutt, Marvin – freshman 8 Nelson, Arvell – freshman 11 Farnsworth, Adam – junior 12 Stanzi, Ricky – freshman

Running backs 19 O'Meara, Paki – freshman 21 Young, Albert – senior 27 Pugh, Jevon – freshman 28 Sims, Damian – senior 29 Williams, Eddie – junior 31 Brown, Dana – sophomore 33 Mongongo, Brian – freshman 35 Busch, Tom – senior 36 Morse, Brett – freshman 38 McLaughlin, Jordan – junior

Wide receivers 10 Evans, Ben – freshman 15 Johnson-Koulianos, Derrell – freshman 22 Sandeman, Colin – freshman 26 Chaney Jr, Paul – freshman 32 Nordmann, Don – freshman 80 Brodell, Andy – junior 84 Bowman, Anthony – sophomore 86 Stross, Trey – sophomore 88 Douglas, Dominique – sophomore 89 Cleveland, James – freshman

Tight ends 30 Spading, Kyle – sophomore 81 Moeaki, Tony – junior 82 Reisner, Allen – freshman 83 Myers, Brandon – junior 85 Sabers, Michael – junior 87 Furlong, Zach – freshman 90 Gerstandt, Tyler – sophomore

Offensive line 51 Blum, Tyler – sophomore 52 Eubanks, Rafael – sophomore 54 Amendola, Richie – sophomore 55 Aumaitre, Nyere – junior 56 Zusevics, Markus – freshman 58 Bruggeman, Rob – junior 59 Thilges, Ben – freshman 60 Detweiler, Tyrel – freshman 60 Calloway, Kyle – sophomore 61 Meade, Travis – sophomore 63 Vandervelde, Julian – freshman 68 Kuempel, Andy – sophomore 69 Haganman, Kyle – freshman 70 Postler, Austin – junior 71 Olsen, Seth – junior 73 Gettis, Adam – freshman 74 Doering, Dan – sophomore 75 Aeschliman, Wesley – junior 76 Kanellis, Alex – junior 78 Richardson, Dace – junior 79 Bulaga, Bryan – freshman Defensive line 46 Ballard, Christian – freshman 47 King, Mitch – junior 53 Kroul, Matt – junior 56 Rashad, Dunn – junior 58 Oberland, Jared – junior 59 Narinskiy, Anton – junior 64 Hundertmark, Cody – freshman 72 Mahmens, Mark – sophomore 74 Brayton, Nick – freshman 87 Nardo, Thomas – freshman 90 McCracken, Grant – junior 91 Binns, Broderick – freshman 92 Iwebema, Kenny – senior 93 Daniels, Mike – freshman 94 Clayborn, Adrian – freshman 95 Klug, Karl – freshman 96 Daniel, Lebron – freshman 98 Geary, Chad – sophomore 99 Mattison, Bryan – senior

Linebackers 33 Tarpinian, Jeff – freshman 37 McGrath, Gavin – junior 40 Klinkenborg, Mike – senior 41 Gattas, Bryon – sophomore 42 Hunter, Jeremiha – freshman 43 Angerer, Pat – sophomore 44 Anderson, Mike – junior 45 Nielsen, Tyler – freshman 48 Johnson, Troy – freshman 49 Edds, A.J. – sophomore 50 Petersen, Ross – freshman 51 Moses, Dezman – freshman 55 Coleman, Jacody – freshman 57 Morio, Mike – freshman 57 Davis, Bruce – freshman

Defensive backs 1 Greiner, Justin – freshman 2 Dalton, Harold – junior 3 Morrow, Diauntae – freshman 4 Bernstine, Jordan – freshman 9 Sash, Tyler – freshman 13 Godfrey, Charles – senior 14 Moylan, Devan – senior 16 Gardner, Drew – junior 17 Murphy, Jayme – freshman 17 Satterfield, Abe – freshman 18 Tillison, Lance – freshman 19 Shada, Adam – senior 20 Everson, Cedric – freshman 20 Kuchel, Nick – freshman 29 Fletcher, Bradley – junior 30 Greenwood, Brett – freshman 32 Smith Derrick – freshman 34 Rowell, Chris – sophomore 36 Herbst, Taylor – sophomore Kickers 1 Murray, Daniel – freshman 39 Signor, Austin – sophomore

Punters 2 Guthrie, Eric – freshman 5 Donahue, Ryan – freshman

Long snappers 42 Murphy, Nick – freshman 65 Schulze, Andrew – freshman 65 Olszta, Daniel – senior 67 Koeppel, Josh – freshman 77 Huntrods, Clint – senior

– indicates redshirt (second-year freshman)

Coaches Name Position Year at Iowa Kirk Ferentz Head coach 9th Ken O'Keefe Offensive coordinator and Quarterbacks 9th Norm Parker Defensive coordinator and Linebackers 9th Chris Doyle Strength and conditioning 9th Lester Erb Receivers and Special Teams 8th Carl Jackson Running backs 22nd Eric Johnson Recruiting Coordinator and Tight Ends 9th Reese Morgan Offensive line 8th Rick Kaczenski Defensive line 3rd Phil Parker Defensive backs 9th Darrell Wilson Outside linebackers and Special Teams 6th Bill Dervrich Director of football operations 28th James Dobson Strength and conditioning Assistant 9th Seth Wallace Defensive Graduate Assistant Coach 2nd Ned Amendola Director, UI Sports Medicine Center 6th Matthew Engelbert Video Coordinator 19th Paul Federici Director of Athletic Training Services 4th Bob Rahfeldt Assistant Video Coordinator 11th Scott Southmayd Quality control Director 6th John Streif Assistant Athletic Trainer 35th

Game summaries

Northern Illinois

Playing in Soldier Field in Chicago, the Hawkeyes defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies 16–3. Albert Young ran for 144 yards and a touchdown as Iowa's defense kept the Huskies from scoring a touchdown. Damian Sims also made his mark by running for 110 yards. The Hawkeyes held Northern Illinois to 21 yards rushing, and Charles Godfrey intercepted two Dan Nicholson passes. Sophomore quarterback Jake Christensen opened the season with 133 yards and one touchdown.

Syracuse

Behind a strong defensive performance, the Hawkeyes shut out the Syracuse Orange at Kinnick Stadium. Rebounding from a shaky performance against Northern Illinois, Christensen threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to tight end Tony Moeaki. On special teams, Kenny Iwebema blocked two field goals to help preserve the worst loss for Syracuse coach Greg Robinson in his tenure with the Orange. After the game, Syracuse running back Curtis Brinkley said:

The 35-point loss was Syracuse's most-lopsided since a 51–14 loss to Georgia Tech in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl.

Iowa State

Source: ESPN

Iowa State kicked its way to a 15–13 victory in Ames.

Wisconsin

Iowa's defense forced three Wisconsin turnovers, but could not hold off the Badgers' 4th quarter rally, losing 17–13.

Indiana

Iowa was unable to contain a scoring explosion from Indiana, including three early touchdowns by Hoosier quarterback Kellen Lewis. Iowa added to its difficulties with penalties and breakdowns in pass protection. Although quarterback Jake Christensen passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns, he was sacked nine times, including four by Jammie Kirlew. The Hawkeyes also missed two field goals and an extra point.

Penn State

Quarterback Jake Christensen was sacked twice, and the Hawkeyes were held scoreless until an interception near the Penn State end zone set up Trey Stross' 4th-quarter touchdown reception in a 27–7 blowout loss on the road at Penn State. Iowa was held to eight first downs while Penn State had 26.

Illinois

Entering the game, Iowa had lost eight straight Big Ten games, with their last win a 47–17 decision over Purdue on October 7, 2006. Illinois, however, entered the game ranked 18th in the country, and was looking to become bowl eligible with a win over the Hawkeyes.