1958 Iowa Hawkeyes football team The 1958 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1958 college football season . The team was coached by Forest Evashevski and captained by fullback John Nocera . The Football Writers Association of America awarded the team the Grantland Rice Award , which is presented annually to the college football team adjudged by the FWAA to be national champion . Preseason . Prior to 1958 , coach Forest Evashevski had compiled a 31 - 21 - 3 record in six seasons with the Hawkeyes . His most successful years were the previous two , 1956 and 1957 , in which Iowa went 16 - 2 - 1 . The 1956 team became the first to win the Big Ten Conference championship in thirty - four years , and their Rose Bowl victory over Oregon State was the first postseason trip and win in school history . Both teams finished in the top ten in the final Associated Press Poll . Expectations for the 1958 season were high , despite the graduation of two star players . Tackle Alex Karras , who won the 1957 Outland Trophy and was twice selected as an All - American , and end Jim Gibbons , an All - American in 1957 , were both drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 1958 NFL Draft . Senior quarterback Randy Duncan , who also started in 1957 , would be relied on heavily to replace the lost talent . Season . Texas Christian . Iowa ' s season opener against TCU was played under the shadow of a new press box , which would watch over nearly five decades of Hawkeye football . Iowa beat the No . 6 Horned Frogs easily , 17 - 0 . The win shot the Hawkeyes up to No . 8 in the September 29 poll . TCU , the eventual Southwest Conference champions , would finish in the top ten of the final poll with an 8 - 2 - 1 record . Air Force . The Air Force Academy had only played two seasons of varsity football when they came to Iowa City on October 4 . The Falcons surprised the Hawkeyes with a 13 - 13 tie . The draw dropped Iowa to No . 17 in the October 6 poll , but Evashevski later said , " If we had beaten the Air Force we never in the world would have won the Big Ten championship . " Air Force won their next nine games and tied TCU in the Cotton Bowl Classic to finish in the top ten of the final poll with a 9 - 0 - 2 record . Indiana . Iowa recovered from the tie with Air Force by crushing usually weak Indiana in both teams ' Big Ten opener , 34 - 13 . The victory was the Hawkeyes ' sixth straight over the Hoosiers and Iowa rose to No . 13 in the October 13 poll . Wisconsin . Wisconsin was Iowa ' s first test in the Big Ten . The No . 4 Badgers hosted the Hawkeyes on October 18 . Iowa had not won in Madison since 1946 . It was the second game in four weeks the Hawkeyes had played against a top ten team . Iowa had little trouble with Wisconsin , winning by a score of 20 - 9 , the Badgers ' only Big Ten loss of the season . The game would end up deciding the Big Ten championship , as Iowa finished 5 - 1 in the Big Ten and Wisconsin finished 5 - 1 - 1 . Having now defeated two top ten teams , Iowa jumped to No . 7 in the October 20 poll . Northwestern . Iowa hosted No . 8 Northwestern on October 25 , the third game in five weeks the Hawkeyes had played against a top ten team . It was the first game between two top ten Big Ten teams of the season . Iowa ' s homecoming game against the Wildcats was tighter than the Wisconsin game , but the Hawkeyes prevailed 26 - 20 . The highlight of the game was All - American end Curt Merz ' s one - handed touchdown catch . The Hawkeyes ' second victory over a top ten team in as many weeks earned them the No . 2 spot in the October 27 poll . The next day , Iowa was ranked No . 1 by United Press International . It was the first time the Hawkeyes had ever topped a national football poll . Michigan . Michigan was in the midst of its worst season in twenty - two years when undefeated Iowa came to town on November 1 . Michigan Stadium was only two - thirds full that day , and the Hawkeyes blew out the uninspired Wolverines . All - Big Ten halfback Willie Fleming opened the scoring , running 72 yards for a touchdown on a punt return on the final play of the first quarter . Halfback Ray Jauch , who led the nation in yards per carry in 1958 , ran 74 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter to put Iowa up 14 - 0 . Michigan also scored a touchdown in the second quarter , but Iowa led by eight points at halftime . Michigan scored another touchdown and completed a two - point conversion to tie the game early in the third quarter . Iowa responded with twenty - three unanswered points to win the game 37 - 14 . Bob Jeter had touchdown runs of 3 yards in the third quarter and 27 yards in the fourth quarter , the latter of which was followed by a two - point conversion pass from John Nocera to Curt Merz . Fleming also ran 61 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter , which was followed by a two - point conversion pass from Randy Duncan to Merz . The victory was Iowa ' s first over Michigan in thirty - four years , and Michigan alumnus Evashevski ' s first in six attempts . Iowa remained No . 2 in the November 3 AP Poll and No . 1 in the November 4 UPI Poll . Minnesota . Iowa played their final road game of the season in Minneapolis on November 8 . Minnesota did not figure to be much of a challenge . The Golden Gophers were 0 - 6 and had not won a football game in over a year . The Hawkeyes did not disappoint , winning 28 - 6 . The victory clinched the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl for Iowa , whose Big Ten record remained perfect . Iowa remained No . 2 in the November 10 AP Poll , but dropped to No . 2 in the November 11 UPI Poll . Ohio State . Ohio State was the only team to beat Iowa in 1957 , so the Hawkeyes had a chip on their shoulder when they hosted the No . 16 Buckeyes on November 15 . Despite their efforts , Iowa fell to Ohio State , 38 - 28 . It was again the Hawkeyes ' only loss of the season , but this year they had already clinched the Big Ten championship . Iowa sank to No . 6 in the November 17 and 18 polls . Notre Dame . Iowa hosted No . 15 Notre Dame on November 22 in the Hawkeyes ' final game of the regular season and the seniors ' final game in Iowa Stadium . Iowa defeated the Fighting Irish by a score of 31 - 21 . The Hawkeyes finished the season with a 7 - 1 - 1 record , as in 1957 , but this year they would travel to Pasadena to play the Pacific Coast Conference champion California in the Rose Bowl . Iowa rose to No . 4 and No . 2 in the penultimate AP and UPI Polls on November 24 and 25 , respectively . Postseason . Rose Bowl . The No . 2 Iowa Hawkeyes ( 7 - 1 - 1 , 5 - 1 Big Ten ) and the No . 16 California Golden Bears ( 7 - 3 , 6 - 1 Pacific Coast ) met in the forty - fifth Rose Bowl Game on January 1 , 1959 , in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena , California . The Hawkeyes were favored by 18½ points . Randy Duncan helped Iowa take a 14 - 0 lead with a touchdown run in the first quarter and a touchdown pass to Jeff Langston in the second quarter . The Hawkeye backfield carried Iowa the rest of the way , as Willie Fleming ran for two touchdowns and Bob Jeter , the Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player , and Don Horn each ran for one touchdown . Iowa attempted a Rose Bowl record three two - point conversions and failed on all three , while Bob Prescott made one of two extra points . End Jack Hart scored all of California ' s twelve points , running for a touchdown in the third quarter and catching a touchdown in the fourth quarter , both of which were followed by failed two - point conversion attempts . Iowa broke four Rose Bowl records : longest run ( Jeter 81 ) , team rushing yards ( 429 ) , team total yards ( 516 ) and individual rushing yards ( Jeter 194 ) ; and tied another Rose Bowl record set by Georgia in 1943 : first downs ( 24 ) . The attendance was 98 , 297 . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Rose Bowl record Awards . Iowa finished 8 - 1 - 1 overall and 5 - 1 in the Big Ten Conference in 1958 . The Hawkeyes won the 1958 Big Ten football championship and the 1959 Rose Bowl Game . The Football Writers Association of America named Iowa the 1958 college football national champion by awarding the team the 1958 Grantland Rice Award . It is the only national championship in Iowa football history . The Hawkeyes finished No . 2 in the final AP and UPI polls , which were released before the bowl games , behind LSU . The undefeated Tigers won their bowl game also , but not so impressively as Iowa . At the end of the season , Iowa had beaten # 7 Wisconsin , # 10 TCU , # 16 California and # 17 Notre Dame while tying # 6 Air Force and losing to # 8 Ohio State . LSU had managed only two wins against ranked opponents , # 11 Ole Miss and # 14 Florida . The final AP Poll ranking is the highest in school history . Iowa also finished No . 2 in the final UPI Poll in 1960 . The Hawkeyes led the nation in total offense ( 405 . 9 yards per game ) , were ranked second in passing offense ( 170 . 0 yards per game ) , ninth in rushing offense ( 235 . 9 yards per game ) and ninth in scoring offense ( 26 . 0 points per game ) . Quarterback Randy Duncan was named the 1958 Big Ten Most Valuable Player and was selected to the 1958 All - Big Ten first team and the 1958 All - America first team . He finished second in the 1958 Heisman Trophy voting behind Pete Dawkins of Army . In 1997 Duncan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . End Curt Merz was selected to the 1958 All - America first team . Halfback Willie Fleming was selected to the 1958 All - Big Ten first team . Thirty - four Iowa Hawkeyes , including Duncan , Merz and Fleming , won letters in 1958 . Shared National Championship with LSU . The University of Iowa was awarded the Grantland Rice trophy in 1958 by the Football Writers Association of America ( FWAA ) . The FWAA judged Iowa to be the 1958 National Champions . Both the AP and Coaches polls awarded their 1958 national titles to 11 - 0 LSU .