The 1985 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 1985 Big Ten football season. In their seventh year under head coach Hayden Fry, the Hawkeyes compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 304 to 184. They won the first seven games, including a 12–10 victory over No. 2 Michigan, and were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll until losing to No. 8 Ohio State. They finished the regular season as Big Ten champion, but lost to No. 13 UCLA in the 1986 Rose Bowl and were ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll and No. 9 in the final UPI poll.
Quarterback Chuck Long won the Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award, and Chicago Tribune Silver Football, and finished second to Bo Jackson in the Heisman Trophy voting. Long and linebacker Larry Station were consensus first-team All-Americans. Eight Hawkeyes, including Long, Station, and running back Ronnie Harmon received first-team honors on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
The team played its home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries
Drake
Source: Box score and Game story
Drake Iowa First Downs 9 25 Rushing yards –36 167 Passing 19–37–1 25–37–0 Passing yards 184 324 Total Offense 148 491 Fumbles Lost 2–2 0–0 Punts-Average 9–35.5 4–36.5 Penalties 6–59 6–37
Team Category Player StatisticsDrake Passing Ed Cheatham 12–17, 121 yards, INT Rushing Lawrence 3 carries, 10 yards Receiving Peterson 6 receptions, 85 yardsIowa Passing Chuck Long 21–31, 248 yards, 2 TD Rushing Ronnie Harmon 14 carries, 58 yards, 2 TD Receiving Scott Helverson 7 receptions, 88 yards, 2 TD
Northern Illinois
Source: Box score and Game story
Senior WR Bill Happel had a big day with 207 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. The yardage total marked the first time a Hawkeye had more than 200 yards receiving in a single game and stood as the school record for two years.
NIU Iowa First Downs 8 25 Rushing yards 16 187 Passing 5–14–2 20–32–3 Passing yards 69 347 Total Offense 85 534 Fumbles Lost 4–3 3–3 Punts-Average 10–43.8 3–48.0 Penalties 2–10 7–55 Time of Possession 30:35 29:25
Team Category Player StatisticsNorthern Illinois Passing Marshall Taylor 3–9, 41 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Antonio Davis 6 carries, 27 yards Receiving Andy Wooldridge 2 receptions, 37 yards, TDIowa Passing Chuck Long 18–28, 270 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 17 carries, 92 yards Receiving Bill Happel 9 receptions, 207 yards, 3 TD
at Iowa State
Source: Box score and Game story
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.
Iowa ISU First Downs 23 13 Rushing yards 138 73 Passing 24–40–0 16–33–1 Passing yards 357 157 Total Offense 495 230 Fumbles Lost 3–2 6–3 Punts-Average 3–38.7 8–35.1 Penalties 6–55 4–26 Time of Possession 28:33 31:27
Team Category Player StatisticsIowa Passing Chuck Long 19–32, 223 yards, 3 TD Rushing Ronnie Harmon 19 carries, 103 yards, 2 TD Receiving Scott Helverson 8 receptions, 154 yards, 2 TDIowa State Passing Alex Espinoza 16–33, 157 yards, INT Rushing Marques Rodgers 12 carries, 55 yards Receiving Danny Gantt 4 receptions, 43 yards
Michigan State
Source: Box score and Game story
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.
MSU Iowa First Downs 28 25 Rushing yards 305 108 Passing 18–28–0 30–39–2 Passing yards 275 380 Total Offense 580 488 Fumbles Lost 1–0 0–0 Punts-Average 6–37.0 5–45.2 Penalties 9–50 4–40 Time of Possession 36:15 23:45
Team Category Player StatisticsMichigan State Passing Bobby McAllister 18–27, 275 yards, TD Rushing Lorenzo White 39 carries, 226 yards, 2 TD Receiving Mark Ingram 7 receptions, 148 yardsIowa Passing Chuck Long 30–39, 380 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 20 carries, 84 yards Receiving Scott Helverson 9 receptions, 102 yards
at Wisconsin
Source: Box score and Game story
Iowa Wis First Downs 15 17 Rushing yards 174 172 Passing 18–30–1 13–31–3 Passing yards 167 134 Total Offense 341 306 Fumbles Lost 2–2 0–0 Punts-Average 5–43.4 8–36.8 Penalties 7–49 5–35 Time of Possession 26:58 33:02
Team Category Player StatisticsIowa Passing Chuck Long 18–28, 167 yards, TD, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 20 carries, 175 yards, TD Receiving Ronnie Harmon 8 receptions, 62 yardsWisconsin Passing Bud Keyes 7–19, 88 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Larry Emery 19 carries, 104 yards Receiving Scott Sharron 5 receptions, 47 yards
No. 2 Michigan
Source: Box score and Game story
The #1 Hawkeyes dominated the game statistically — holding major advantages in total yards (422–182), offensive plays (84–41), and time of possession (38:05-21:55) — but could not find the end zone. Rob Houghtlin kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired to lift the top-ranked Hawkeyes to victory over the #2 Wolverines.Big Ten Elite, Season 2, Episode 3
Mich Iowa First Downs 9 26 Rushing yards 127 125 Passing 8–13–0 26–39–1 Passing yards 55 297 Total Offense 182 422 Fumbles Lost 0–0 1–0 Punts-Average 6–39.8 3–31.7 Penalties 4–35 3–26 Time of Possession 21:55 38:05
Team Category Player StatisticsMichigan Passing Jim Harbaugh 8–13, 55 yards, TD Rushing Jamie Morris 14 carries, 70 yards Receiving Paul Jokisch 2 receptions, 23 yardsIowa Passing Chuck Long 26–39, 297 yards, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 32 carries, 120 yards Receiving Bill Happel 9 receptions, 107 yards
at Northwestern
Source: Box score and Game story
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 three touchdowns, finishing with 117 yards on 5 receptions.
Iowa NW First Downs 20 18 Rushing yards 124 46 Passing 19–26–1 21–40–3 Passing yards 399 242 Total Offense 523 288 Fumbles Lost 1–0 1–0 Punts-Average 4–36.3 7–42.6 Penalties 4–34 3–15
Team Category Player StatisticsIowa Passing Chuck Long 19–26, 399 yards, 6 TD, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 14 carries, 74 yards Receiving Bill Happel 5 receptions, 117 yards, 3 TDNorthwestern Passing Mike Greenfield 21–40, 242 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing Mike Greenfield 29 carries, 18 yards Receiving George Jones 4 receptions, 84 yards
at No. 8 Ohio State
Source: Box score
Iowa Ohio St First Downs 21 16 Rushing yards 186 233 Passing 17–34–4 10–17–2 Passing yards 169 151 Total Offense 345 370 Fumbles Lost 2–1 1–0 Punts-Average 4–32.5 4–45.3 Penalties 3–16 7–57
Team Category Player StatisticsIowa Passing Chuck Long 19–26, 169 yards, 4 INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 26 carries, 120 yards, TD Receiving Ronnie Harmon 5 receptions, 19 yardsOhio State Passing Jim Karsatos 10–17, 151 yards, 2 INT Rushing George Cooper 17 carries, 104 yards Receiving Cris Carter 3 receptions, 65 yards
Illinois
Source: Box score
Illinois Iowa First Downs 14 27 Rushing yards 5 232 Passing 30–58–5 27–41–1 Passing yards 227 316 Total Offense 232 548 Fumbles Lost 5–4 1–0 Punts-Average 9–34.8 6–42.2 Penalties 10–82 5–62 Time of Possession 27:09 32:51
Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Passing Jack Trudeau 26–47, 208 yards, 4 INT Rushing Thomas Rooks 7 carries, 26 yards Receiving David Williams 10 receptions, 70 yardsIowa Passing Chuck Long 22–30, 289 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 32 carries, 120 yards Receiving Robert Smith 3 receptions, 98 yards, 2 TD
at Purdue
Source: Box score and Game story
Iowa Purdue First Downs 28 16 Rushing yards 206 36 Passing 20–33–1 23–32–1 Passing yards 268 315 Total Offense 474 351 Fumbles Lost 1–0 2–1 Punts-Average 5–31.8 4–29.8 Penalties 4–19 2–10 Time of Possession 34:30 25:30
Team Category Player StatisticsIowa Passing Chuck Long 20–33, 268 yards, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 25 carries, 122 yards, TD Receiving Ronnie Harmon 9 receptions, 118 yardsPurdue Passing Jim Everett 23–32, 315 yards, TD, INT Rushing Ray Wallace 10 carries, 21 yards Receiving Steve Griffin 4 receptions, 110 yards, TD
Minnesota
Source: Box score and Game story
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.
Minn Iowa First Downs 18 24 Rushing yards 154 177 Passing 9–18–0 21–31–1 Passing yards 118 268 Total Offense 272 445 Fumbles Lost 4–2 2–1 Punts-Average 6–32.8 2–39.5 Penalties 1–5 6–30 Time of Possession 30:10 29:50
Team Category Player StatisticsMinnesota Passing Rickey Foggie 6–13, 69 yards Rushing David Puk 13 carries, 61 yards Receiving Eugene Gailord 3 receptions, 57 yards, TDIowa Passing Chuck Long 21–31, 268 yards, TD, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 13 carries, 75 yards, TD Receiving Scott Helverson 7 receptions, 86 yards
vs. No. 13 UCLA (Rose Bowl)
UCLA Iowa First Downs 29 25 Rushing yards 55–299 34–82 Passing 16–26–1 29–38–1 Passing yards 189 319 Total Offense 488 401 Fumbles Lost 3–2 4–4 Punts-Average 2–38.5 2–32.5 Penalties 6–36 5–40
Team Category Player StatisticsUCLA Passing Matt Stevens 16–26, 189 yards, TD, INT Rushing Eric Ball 12 carries, 67 yards Receiving Mike Sherrard 4 receptions, 48 yardsIowa Passing Chuck Long 29–37, 319 yards, TD, INT Rushing Ronnie Harmon 14 carries, 55 yards Receiving Ronnie Harmon 11 receptions, 102 yards
Roster
Statistics Team statistics. On offense, the Hawkeyes gained an average of 299.3 passing yards and 164.9 rushing yards per games. They led the Big Ten with an average of 36.7 points per game. On defense, they gave up 175.2 passing yards and 101.5 rushing yards per game. They ranked second in the conference in scoring defense, giving up 15.6 points per game.
Passing. Quarterback Chuck Long set Iowa single-season records with 351 pass attempts, 231 pass completions, and 2,978 passing yards. He had a 65.8% completion rate, 26 passing touchdowns,and a 153.0 passer rating. Long also became the first Big Ten player to tally over 10,000 passing yards in his career.
Rushing. Running back Ronnie Harmon led the team with 1,111 rushing yards on 209 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per carry. Harmon also tallied 49 receptions for 597 yards. He also led the team with 10 touchdowns (nine rushing and one receiving)
Receiving. Wide receiver Bill Happel led the team with 812 receiving yards on 50 receptions with seven receiving touchdowns. Happel also returned 19 punts for 925 yards, an average of 5.9 yards per return. Scott Helverson led with 53 receptions, good for 686 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Scoring. Kicker Rob Houghtlin set a new Iowa scoring record with 97 points, converting 46 of 49 extra points and 17 of 25 field goal attempts.
Awards and honors Senior quarterback Chuck Long won the Maxwell Award (best player in college football) by a two-to-one margin over runner-up Bo Jackson, Davey O'Brien Award (best quarterback), and Chicago Tribune Silver Football (Big Ten most valuable player). He also finished second in close voting behind Jackson in the 1985 Heisman Trophy voting. Long also received first-team honors from, among others, the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) on the 1985 All-America college football team.
Linebacker Larry Station was a consensus first-team All-American, receiving first-team honors from the AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, and NEA.
Both Long and Station were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.