# 1984 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1984 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. The Hawkeyes, led by head coach Hayden Fry, were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Kinnick Stadium.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 8 | Iowa State* | No. 10 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, Iowa (Cy-Hawk Trophy) | IPTV | W 59–21 | 66,150 |
| September 15 | No. 12 Penn State* | No. 5 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, Iowa | | L 17–20 | 66,145 |
| September 22 | at No. 5 Ohio State | No. 14 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, Ohio | SV | L 26–45 | 89,733 |
| September 29 | Illinois | | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, Iowa | CBS | W 21–16 | 66,322 |
| October 6 | at Northwestern | | Dyche StadiumEvanston, Illinois | | W 31–3 | 36,598 |
| October 13 | at No. 14 Purdue | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, Indiana | | W 40–3 | 66,359 |
| October 20 | Michigan | No. 18 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, Iowa | CBS | W 26–0 | 66,025 |
| October 27 | at Indiana | No. 17 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, Indiana | | W 24–20 | 37,747 |
| November 3 | Wisconsin | No. 17 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, Iowa | CBS | T 10–10 | 66,255 |
| November 10 | Michigan State | No. 18 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, Iowa | | L 16–17 | 65,887 |
| November 17 | at Minnesota | | Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis (Floyd of Rosedale) | | L 17–23 | 63,479 |
| December 1 | at Hawaii* | | Aloha StadiumHonolulu, HI | | W 17–6 | 50,000 |
| December 26 | vs. No. 19 Texas* | | Anaheim StadiumAnaheim, California (Freedom Bowl) | Mizlou | W 55–17 | 24,093 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 12 (1) | 10 (1) | 5 (2) | 14 | — | — | — | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | — | — | — | — | 16 |
| Coaches | 14 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 17 | — | — | — | — | 15 |

## Game summaries
### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cyclones | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| • Hawkeyes | 14 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 59 |

### No. 12 Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 12 Nittany Lions | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| No. 5 Hawkeyes | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### at No. 5 Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Hawkeyes | 3 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| • No. 5 Buckeyes | 10 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
The Hawkeyes outgained the Buckeyes 458–335, but four turnovers (one returned for a touchdown) were too much to overcome on this trip to Columbus. Keith Byars ran, caught, and threw touchdowns for Ohio State.

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| • Hawkeyes | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
The Hawkeyes exacted some revenge for the whipping laid on them in Champaign the previous season. The win over the defending Big Ten champions snapped the Illini's 12-game conference winning streak. Ronnie Harmon had 3 touchdown runs for Iowa.

### At Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hawkeyes | 14 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
The Hawkeyes held Northwestern to only 49 yards of total offense, a mark that still stands as a single-game school record. Ronnie Harmon recorded 3 touchdown runs for the second straight game.

### at No. 14 Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hawkeyes | 6 | 13 | 21 | 0 | 40 |
| No. 14 Boilermakers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Chuck Long went 17-21 for 369 yards and 4 TD as Iowa won in West Lafayette for the first time since 1956, snapping a 12-game losing skid at Ross–Ade Stadium.

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolverines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 18 Hawkeyes | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 26 |
The Hawkeyes' 26–0 shutout of the Wolverines would end up being Bo Schembechler's worst loss in 21 years as head coach at Michigan.

### At Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 17 Hawkeyes | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| Hoosiers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
Chuck Long set an NCAA record by completing 22 consecutive passes (record stood until 1998) and tossed two touchdowns, and Ronnie Harmon ran for 160 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Indiana. Iowa sat atop the Big Ten standings after beating the Hoosiers, but would not win another conference game in 1984.

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Badgers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 17 Hawkeyes | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Spartans | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 18 Hawkeyes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |

### At Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| • Golden Gophers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 23 |

### At Hawaii

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hawkeyes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### vs. No. 19 Texas (Freedom Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Longhorns | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| • Hawkeyes | 14 | 10 | 31 | 0 | 55 |
Chuck Long 29–39, 461 yards, 6 TD
| | Texas | Iowa |
| First Downs | 15 | 28 |
| Rushing Yards | 35-115 | 41-91 |
| Passing | 17-34-2 | 30-40-0 |
| Passing Yards | 185 | 469 |
| Total Offense | 300 | 560 |
| Fumbles Lost | 3-3 | 5-2 |
| Punts-Average | 5-43.0 | 4-42.0 |
| Penalties | 6-50 | 4-27 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas | Passing | Todd Dodge | 16/32, 180 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Texas | Rushing | Orr | 12 carries, 67 yards |
| Texas | Receiving | Bryant | 3 receptions, 50 yards, TD |
| Iowa | Passing | Chuck Long | 29/39, 461 yards, 6 TD |
| Iowa | Rushing | Owen Gill | 17 carries, 61 yards |
| Iowa | Receiving | Robert Smith Bill Happel | 4 receptions, 115 yards, TD 8 receptions, 104 yards, TD |

## Postseason awards

* Larry Station, linebacker – Consensus First-team All-American
* Paul Hufford, defensive tackle – Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year

## Team players in the 1985 NFL Draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Jonathan Hayes | Tight end | 2 | 41 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Owen Gill | Running back | 2 | 53 | Seattle Seahawks |
| George Little | Defensive tackle | 3 | 65 | Miami Dolphins |
| Dave Strobel | Linebacker | 8 | 211 | Cincinnati Bengals |