FEATURED GAME
Beat #20 Minnesota
13
vs
9
Trophy game — beat #20 Minnesota
Football History
Season Snapshot 1939 at a glance
1939 Iowa Football
6-1-1
Overall
4-1-1
Western
#9
Final AP rank
Edward Anderson
Head coach
By the Numbers
Shutouts
2
South Dakota, Purdue
Power rating
+10.0
Simple Rating System — #25 nationally
Memorable Games
Highest score
41
vs South Dakota on Sep 30
Best defensive game
held them to 0
vs South Dakota (41-0)
Closest game
0-point loss
vs Northwestern (7-7)
Biggest win
by 41
vs South Dakota (41-0)
Rankings & Streaks
Final AP rank
#9
end-of-season Associated Press poll
Longest win streak
4
consecutive wins during the season
Home record
4-0
at Carver / Kinnick / home court
Road record
2-1
true road games (excludes neutral sites)
Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers
Signature Wins
RANKED WIN
Beat #3 Notre Dame
7
vs
6
Took down #3 at home
VS HEARTLAND TROPHY
Beat Wisconsin
19
vs
13
Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 6
BLOWOUT WIN
Beat South Dakota
41
vs
0
Wire-to-wire control — won by 41
Compare This Team
See how the 1939 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1939 Schedule 8 games
| Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30 | Home South Dakota | 41–0 | W |
| Oct 7 | Home Indiana | 32–29 | W |
| Oct 14 | Away Michigan | 7–27 | L |
| Oct 28 | Away Wisconsin | 19–13 | W |
| Nov 4 | Away Purdue | 4–0 | W |
| Nov 11 | Home (3) Notre Dame | 7–6 | W |
| Nov 18 | Home (20) Minnesota | 13–9 | W |
| Nov 25 | Away Northwestern | 7–7 | T |
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
16.2
vs
11.4
Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
+4.9 points per game
Total yards
—
vs
—
How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
93.6
vs
75.6
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+18.0 difference per game
Rush yards
126.8
vs
134.3
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
-7.5 difference per game
First downs
—
vs
—
A first down means a fresh set of four tries — earning more is good.
Turnovers
—
vs
—
Times Iowa lost the ball (lower is better) versus times the defense took it back (higher is better).
Top Performers
Team Stats per Game
Stat
Offense
Defense
Diff
Pass Cmp
4.5
4.9
-0.4
Pass Att
12.5
13.4
-0.9
Pass Cmp %
36.0
36.4
-0.4
Pass Yds
93.6
75.6
+18.0
Pass TD
1.4
—
+1.4
Rush Att
39.8
46.1
-6.3
Rush Yds
126.8
134.3
-7.5
Rush Y/A
3.2
2.9
+0.3
Rush TD
0.9
—
+0.9
Plays
—
—
—
Total Yds
—
—
—
Yds/Play
—
—
—
1st Downs
—
—
—
Penalties
—
—
—
Penalty Yds
—
—
—
Fumbles
—
—
—
Interceptions
—
—
—
Turnovers
—
—
—
Player Stats
Passing
| Player | G | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nile KinnickH-1,Maxwell,AA | 8 | 31 | 93 | 33.3 | 638 | 11 | 13 | 6.9 | 2.9 | 20.6 | 79.8 | 102.0 |
| Buzz DeanRB | 8 | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 18.0 | 6.8 | 150.7 |
| Ed McLainRB | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Erwin PrasseWR | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Roger PettitRB | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | -45.0 | — | 0.0 | -200.0 |
Rushing & Receiving
| Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | TD | ||
| Nile KinnickH-1,Maxwell,AA | 8 | 106 | 374 | 3.5 | 5 | 46.8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 106 | 374 | 5 |
| Bill GreenRB | 8 | 70 | 232 | 3.3 | 1 | 29.0 | 4 | 77 | 19.3 | 2 | 9.6 | 74 | 309 | 3 |
| Buzz DeanRB | 8 | 39 | 118 | 3.0 | 0 | 14.8 | 8 | 150 | 18.8 | 1 | 18.8 | 47 | 268 | 1 |
| Erwin PrasseWR | 8 | 6 | 11 | 1.8 | 0 | 1.4 | 7 | 188 | 26.9 | 4 | 23.5 | 13 | 199 | 4 |
| Ray MurphyRB | 8 | 34 | 145 | 4.3 | 1 | 18.1 | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 0 | 3.8 | 36 | 175 | 1 |
| Al CouppeeRB | 8 | 7 | 46 | 6.6 | 0 | 5.8 | 5 | 90 | 18.0 | 1 | 11.3 | 12 | 136 | 1 |
| Russell BuskRB | 8 | 8 | 45 | 5.6 | 0 | 5.6 | 1 | 62 | 62.0 | 1 | 7.8 | 9 | 107 | 1 |
| Dick EvansWR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 76 | 25.3 | 1 | 9.5 | 3 | 76 | 1 |
| Ed McLainRB | 8 | 28 | 42 | 1.5 | 0 | 5.3 | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 0 | 3.8 | 30 | 72 | 0 |
| Jack McKinnonRB | 8 | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 25 | 0 |
| Johnny MaherWR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | 3.1 | 1 | 25 | 0 |
| Robert KellyWR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 1 | 1.9 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| Burdell GilleardRB | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Roger PettitRB | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Bill GallagherRB | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Gerald AnkenyRB | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nile Kinnick | 8 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | 3.8 |
| Erwin PrasseWR | 8 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | 3.0 |
| Bill GreenRB | 8 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 2.3 |
| Ray MurphyRB | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0.8 |
| Robert KellyWR | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0.8 |
| Al CouppeeRB | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0.8 |
| Russell BuskRB | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0.8 |
| Buzz DeanRB | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0.8 |
| Dick EvansWR | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0.8 |
Game Logs
| Date | Opp | Rslt | Passing | Rushing | Total | Penalties | TO | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | Rate | Att | Yds | TD | Plays | Yds | Y/P | No | Yds | FL | Int | TO | |||
| Sep 30 | South Dakota | W 41–0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 7 | Indiana | W 32–29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 14 | @ Michigan | L 7–27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 28 | @ Wisconsin | W 19–13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 4 | @ Purdue | W 4–0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 11 | Notre Dame | W 7–6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 18 | Minnesota | W 13–9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 25 | @ Northwestern | T 7–7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1939 Roster 1 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nile Kinnick | — | — |
1939 AP Poll Movement
AP Poll
Final
#9
Final Ranking
Season Summary
- Highest Rank
- #8
- Lowest Rank
- #15
- Weeks in Poll
- 5
- Total Weeks
- 11
Week-by-week rankings
10/2
NR
10/9
NR
10/16
NR
10/23
NR
10/30
NR
11/6
NR
11/13
#15
11/20
#9
11/27
#9
12/4
#8
Final
#9
History Library
Chapters of Iowa football history
Explore Iowa football history by chapter. Dive into legendary seasons, unforgettable rivalries, and the program's rich tradition.
Greatest Teams
The squads that defined greatness in Iowa history.
Bowl Games
Iowa's iconic bowl performances.
Rivalries
Historic matchups that shaped tradition.
Best Defenses
The stingiest units to ever wear black & gold.
Player Leaders
Single-season stars in passing, rushing, and tackles.
AP Poll History
Iowa's standing through the national rankings.
Updated Oct 21, 12:30 AM