FEATURED GAME
Beat Wisconsin
24
vs
8
Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 16
Football History
Season Snapshot 1977 at a glance
1977 Iowa Football
4-7
Overall
3-5
Big Ten
Bob Commings
Head coach
By the Numbers
Shutouts
1
Northwestern
Power rating
+3.6
Simple Rating System — #57 nationally
Memorable Games
Highest score
24
vs Northwestern on Sep 10
Best defensive game
held them to 0
vs Northwestern (24-0)
Closest game
2-point win
vs Iowa State (12-10)
Biggest win
by 24
vs Northwestern (24-0)
Rankings & Streaks
Longest win streak
2
consecutive wins during the season
Home record
3-4
at Carver / Kinnick / home court
Road record
1-3
true road games (excludes neutral sites)
Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers
Signature Wins
VS FLOYD OF ROSEDALE
Beat Minnesota
18
vs
6
Kept the Floyd of Rosedale — won by 12
VS CY-HAWK
Beat Iowa State
12
vs
10
Kept the Cy-Hawk — won by 2
BLOWOUT WIN
Beat Northwestern
24
vs
0
Wire-to-wire control — won by 24
Heartbreakers & Tough Tests
VS A TOP TEAM
Faced #5 Ohio State
6
vs
27
Tough matchup against #5
VS A TOP TEAM
Faced #6 Michigan
6
vs
23
Tough matchup against #6
HEARTBREAKER
Lost by 3 to Indiana
21
vs
24
Lost by just 3 in the final minutes
Compare This Team
See how the 1977 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1977 Schedule 11 games
| Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | Home Northwestern | 24–0 | W |
| Sep 17 | Home Iowa State | 12–10 | W |
| Sep 24 | Home Arizona | 7–41 | L |
| Oct 1 | Away UCLA | 16–34 | L |
| Oct 8 | Home Minnesota | 18–6 | W |
| Oct 15 | Home (5) Ohio State | 6–27 | L |
| Oct 22 | Away Purdue | 21–34 | L |
| Oct 29 | Away (6) Michigan | 6–23 | L |
| Nov 5 | Home Indiana | 21–24 | L |
| Nov 12 | Away Wisconsin | 24–8 | W |
| Nov 19 | Home Michigan State | 16–22 | L |
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
15.5
vs
20.8
Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
-5.3 points per game
Total yards
—
vs
—
How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
116.0
vs
136.4
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
-20.4 difference per game
Rush yards
142.0
vs
181.1
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
-39.1 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
9.1
8.7
+0.4
Pass Att
17.9
17.2
+0.7
Pass Cmp %
50.8
50.8
0.0
Pass Yds
116.0
136.4
-20.4
Pass TD
0.5
1.3
-0.8
Rush Att
49.1
51.5
-2.4
Rush Yds
142.0
181.1
-39.1
Rush Y/A
2.9
3.5
-0.6
Rush TD
1.3
1.2
+0.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom McLaughlinQB | 11 | 78 | 152 | 51.3 | 1,081 | 4 | 13 | 7.1 | 3.8 | 13.9 | 98.3 | 102.6 |
| Bobby CommingsQB | 11 | 21 | 43 | 48.8 | 199 | 2 | 3 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 9.5 | 18.1 | 89.1 |
| Doug PiroQB | 11 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | -2.0 | -2.0 | -4.0 | -0.4 | 33.2 |
Rushing & Receiving
| Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | TD | ||
| Jon LazarRB | 11 | 100 | 411 | 4.1 | 3 | 37.4 | 19 | 225 | 11.8 | 2 | 20.5 | 119 | 636 | 5 |
| Mike BradyWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 26 | 357 | 13.7 | 2 | 32.5 | 26 | 357 | 2 |
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 59 | 327 | 5.5 | 1 | 29.7 | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 0 | 1.5 | 62 | 343 | 1 |
| Rod MortonRB | 11 | 61 | 259 | 4.2 | 4 | 23.5 | 6 | 82 | 13.7 | 0 | 7.5 | 67 | 341 | 4 |
| Jim SwiftTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 211 | 19.2 | 1 | 19.2 | 11 | 211 | 1 |
| Jim FrazierWR | 11 | 38 | 77 | 2.0 | 1 | 7.0 | 12 | 126 | 10.5 | 0 | 11.5 | 50 | 203 | 1 |
| James ArkeilpaneRB | 11 | 54 | 184 | 3.4 | 2 | 16.7 | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | 1.7 | 56 | 203 | 2 |
| Jesse CookWR | 11 | 60 | 154 | 2.6 | 0 | 14.0 | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 1 | 3.0 | 65 | 187 | 1 |
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 151 | 18.9 | 0 | 13.7 | 8 | 151 | 0 |
| Ernie SheelerRB | 11 | 25 | 58 | 2.3 | 0 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 25 | 58 | 0 |
| Dean McKillipRB | 11 | 9 | 49 | 5.4 | 0 | 4.5 | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | -0.1 | 10 | 48 | 0 |
| Doug DunhamTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 | 3.1 | 3 | 34 | 0 |
| John ThomasRB | 11 | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 0 | 1.5 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 1.4 | 6 | 31 | 0 |
| Tom RennRB | 11 | 11 | 23 | 2.1 | 0 | 2.1 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 13 | 28 | 0 |
| Doug PiroQB | 11 | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | 0 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 26 | 0 |
| Chris MackeyWR | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 0.3 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Tom McLaughlinQB | 11 | 77 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 77 | 0 | 3 |
| Jeff GreenQB | 11 | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | -0.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Bobby CommingsQB | 11 | 32 | -26 | -0.8 | 0 | -2.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 32 | -26 | 0 |
Defense & Fumbles
| Player | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave BeckerDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mario PaceDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Rod SearsDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 116 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Roger StechDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Shanty BurksDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — |
Kick & Punt Returns
| Player | G | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | APYd | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| Kevin EllisDB | 11 | 10 | 195 | 19.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 195 |
| Jesse CookWR | 11 | 10 | 167 | 16.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 354 |
| Dave BeckerDB | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 16 | 99 | 6.2 | 0 | 99 |
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 5 | 78 | 15.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 229 |
| Dennis MartinKR | 11 | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 40 |
| Chuck SodergrenDB | 11 | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 39 |
| Jim FrazierWR | 11 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 220 |
| Rod MortonRB | 11 | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 354 |
| Rod SearsDB | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 128 |
| Ernie SheelerRB | 11 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 68 |
| Mike BradyWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 366 |
| Dean McKillipRB | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 48 |
Kicking & Punting
| Player | G | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts | Pnt | Yds | Y/P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave HolsclawK | 11 | 12 | 14 | 85.7 | 9 | 16 | 56.3 | 39 | 73 | 2,617 | 35.8 |
| Scott SchillingK | 11 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 6 | — | — | — |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave HolsclawK | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 0 | — | 39 | 3.5 |
| Jon LazarRB | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 2.7 |
| Rod MortonRB | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2.2 |
| Tom McLaughlinQB | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1.6 |
| Mike BradyWR | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| James ArkeilpaneRB | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Jesse CookWR | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Jim FrazierWR | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Rod SearsDB | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Jim SwiftTE | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Scott SchillingK | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
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 10 | Northwestern | W 24–0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 17 | Iowa State | W 12–10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 24 | Arizona | L 7–41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 1 | @ UCLA | L 16–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 8 | Minnesota | W 18–6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 15 | Ohio State | L 6–27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 22 | @ Purdue | L 21–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 29 | @ Michigan | L 6–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 5 | Indiana | L 21–24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 12 | @ Wisconsin | W 24–8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 19 | Michigan State | L 16–22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1977 Roster 29 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Sodergren | — | DB | |
| Dave Becker | — | DB | |
| Kevin Ellis | — | DB | |
| Mario Pace | — | DB | |
| Rod Sears | — | DB | |
| Roger Stech | — | DB | |
| Shanty Burks | — | DB | |
| Dave Holsclaw | — | K | |
| Scott Schilling | — | K | |
| Dennis Martin | — | KR | |
| Bobby Commings | — | QB | 21 Cmp, 43 Att, 199 Yds, 2 TD |
| Doug Piro | — | QB | 1 Cmp, 2 Att, -4 Yds, 0 TD |
| Jeff Green | — | QB | |
| Tom McLaughlin | — | QB | 78 Cmp, 152 Att, 1081 Yds, 4 TD |
| Dean McKillip | — | RB | 9 Att, 49 Yds, 5.4 Avg |
| Dennis Mosley | — | RB | 59 Att, 327 Yds, 5.5 Avg |
| Ernie Sheeler | — | RB | 25 Att, 58 Yds, 2.3 Avg |
| James Arkeilpane | — | RB | 54 Att, 184 Yds, 3.4 Avg |
| John Thomas | — | RB | 5 Att, 16 Yds, 3.2 Avg |
| Jon Lazar | — | RB | 100 Att, 411 Yds, 4.1 Avg |
| Rod Morton | — | RB | 61 Att, 259 Yds, 4.2 Avg |
| Tom Renn | — | RB | 11 Att, 23 Yds, 2.1 Avg |
| Doug Dunham | — | TE | 3 Rec, 34 Yds, 11.3 Avg |
| Jim Swift | — | TE | 11 Rec, 211 Yds, 19.2 Avg |
| Brad Reid | — | WR | 8 Rec, 151 Yds, 18.9 Avg |
| Chris Mackey | — | WR | 1 Rec, 3 Yds, 3.0 Avg |
| Jesse Cook | — | WR | 5 Rec, 33 Yds, 6.6 Avg |
| Jim Frazier | — | WR | 12 Rec, 126 Yds, 10.5 Avg |
| Mike Brady | — | WR | 26 Rec, 357 Yds, 13.7 Avg |
1977 AP Poll Movement
Iowa wasn't ranked in the AP poll this season.
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Updated Oct 21, 12:30 AM