2004 Iowa Hawkeyes football team The 2004 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 2004 NCAA Division I - A football season . They played their home games in Kinnick Stadium and were coached by Kirk Ferentz . Finishing the 2003 season with a 10 – 3 record and an Outback Bowl victory , the Hawkeyes began the season 2 – 0 with wins over Kent State and Iowa State . But after rocky performances at Arizona State and Michigan , the Hawkeyes sat at 2 – 2 going into their game with Michigan State . The Hawkeyes handily defeated the Spartans 38 – 16 , and turned their attention to Ohio State , a team whom the Hawkeyes had not beaten at home since 1983 . Behind a strong defensive performance that allowed only 177 yards , the Hawkeyes easily defeated the Buckeyes by 26 points , the largest margin of victory over Ohio State in Iowa history . However , tragedy struck soon thereafter , when head coach Kirk Ferentz ' s father died . In the emotional game that ensued , the Hawkeyes narrowly defeated Penn State 6 – 4 on two Kyle Schlicher field goals . The Hawkeyes then raised their record to 8 – 2 with victories over Illinois , Purdue , and Minnesota . With a share of the Big Ten championship on the line , the Hawkeyes met Wisconsin in the final regular season game of the year . Iowa won the game , and thousands of Hawkeye fans swarmed the field in celebration . Several weeks following the victory , Iowa accepted a bid to play the LSU Tigers in the 2005 Capital One Bowl . In a game that was originally thought to be a defensive matchup , the Hawkeyes took a 24 – 12 lead early in the fourth quarter . But behind freshman quarterback JaMarcus Russell , the Tigers stormed back , and took a one - point lead with 46 seconds remaining . However , LSU ' s comeback was all for naught , as Iowa ' s Drew Tate completed a 56 - yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway as time expired , giving Iowa the 30 – 25 win and a 10 – 2 final record . Previous season . In 2003 , Iowa began the season 4 - 0 and would eventually complete the regular season with a 9 – 3 record that included wins over Iowa State , Michigan ( Iowa ' s second straight victory against Michigan ) , and Minnesota . However , the Hawkeyes lost to Michigan State , Ohio State , and Purdue . Finishing fourth in the Big Ten standings , the Hawkeyes accepted a bid to play the Florida Gators in the Outback Bowl . Despite falling behind early on a 70 - yard touchdown pass from Chris Leak to Kelvin Knight , the Hawkeyes reeled off 27 straight points en route to a 37 – 17 victory . It was a milestone victory , as it gave Iowa its second consecutive 10 - win season along with the first Hawkeye victory in a January bowl game since the Rose Bowl in 1959 . Following the season , five Iowa players were selected in the 2004 NFL Draft . Robert Gallery , the 2003 Outland Trophy winner , became the second - highest pick in school history when he was selected 2nd by the Oakland Raiders . Following Gallery in Iowa ' s draft order were Bob Sanders , taken 44th by Indianapolis , Nate Kaeding , taken 65th by San Diego , Jared Clauss , taken in the seventh round by Tennessee , and Erik Jensen , who was taken in the seventh round by St . Louis . Before the season . Prior to the season , the Hawkeyes looked to replace seven offensive starters and four defensive starters . Key losses from 2003 included Maurice Brown , Robert Gallery , Nate Chandler , Fred Russell , and Ramon Ochoa on offense . Defensively , the Hawkeyes looked to replace Howard Hodges , Jared Clauss , Grant Steen , and Bob Sanders . Replacement starters on offense were Drew Tate , Champ Davis , Jermelle Lewis , Calvin Davis , Tony Jackson , Lee Gray , Mike Elgin , and Chris Felder . On defense , Derreck Robinson , Tyler Luebke , George Lewis , and Marcus Paschal assumed their roles on the starting lineup . On special teams , David Bradley returned for his senior season as punter , while Kyle Schlicher replaced Nate Kaeding as the starting kicker . Recruiting class . Iowa signed 21 players on National Signing Day , which was February 4 , 2004 . The Hawkeyes added another commit to the class with the late addition of defensive lineman Ettore Ewen . Another recruit , Kyle Williams , later de - committed from the Hawkeyes and committed to the Purdue Boilermakers . Schedule . Schedule note . Due to the Big Ten ' s rotating schedule , the Hawkeyes did not play either Northwestern or Indiana . Game notes . Iowa State . Michigan State . Minnesota . In one of the more unlikely victories of the season , Iowa travelled to the Metrodome to challenge the Golden Gophers powerful rushing duo of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney . The Hawkeye defense came into the game rated # 1 in the country in rushing defense . Despite that , the Gopher tandem shredded the Hawkeye defense with the Gophers outrushing Iowa by an outlandish margin of 338 to 6 in yards gained . The Hawkeyes prevailed however behind the deft passing and scrambling of sophomore quarterback Drew Tate , a pass defense that held the Gophers to 64 yards through the air and forced three turnovers , and Iowa ' s sophomore place - kicker Kyle Schlicher , who was a perfect 5 - 5 in field goals . The Hawkeyes led virtually the entire game , but needed a huge defensive stop in the closing minutes , with Jr . linebacker Chad Greenway stopping Marion Barber III for a key loss on 2nd down in Iowa territory and eventually forcing Minnesota to attempt a 51 - yard field goal , trailing by two . Although Gopher placekicker Rhyss Lloyd had won three games in his career with last - minute field goals , this time his attempt shanked wide . QB Drew Tate then guided the Hawks to one closing first down with the help of an offside penalty on Minnesota , and the Hawks survived , winning their sixth consecutive game , all against Big 10 teams . By the time the Hawkeyes kicked off in their next ( and final ) regular - season game , they learned they would be playing for a portion of the Big Ten title .