1977 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Season — Schedule, Stats, Results

Football Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Wrestling

Seasons All-Time Records In the NFL Legends

Choose a season

1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970

Season Snapshot 1977 at a glance

1977 Iowa Football

4-7

Overall

3-5

Big Ten

Bob Commings

Head coach

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

Numbers in plain English. Switch to Advanced to see every column. Full stat tables — passing rates, splits, game-by-game breakdowns.

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

Quarterback

Tom McLaughlin

1,081 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 13 interceptions (11 games).

Lead rusher

Jon Lazar

411 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns over 11 games.

Lead receiver

Mike Brady

26 catches, 357 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns.

Top tackler

Dave Becker

0 total tackles, — sacks, 3 interceptions.

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

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	Int	FR	Oth	TD	XPM	XPA	FGM	FGA	Sfty	Pts	Pts/G
Dave HolsclawK	11	0	0	0	—	—	0	12	14	9	16	—	39	3.5
Jon LazarRB	11	3	2	0	—	—	5	0	0	0	0	—	30	2.7
Rod MortonRB	11	4	0	0	—	—	4	0	0	0	0	—	24	2.2
Tom McLaughlinQB	11	3	0	0	—	—	3	0	0	0	0	—	18	1.6
Mike BradyWR	11	0	2	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
James ArkeilpaneRB	11	2	0	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Dennis MosleyRB	11	1	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Jesse CookWR	11	0	1	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Jim FrazierWR	11	1	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Rod SearsDB	11	0	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Jim SwiftTE	11	0	1	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Scott SchillingK	11	0	0	0	—	—	0	3	3	1	1	—	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

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 Iowa Teams

Season	Record	AP Final	Coach	Bowl
1922	7-0	—	Howard Jones	—
1921	7-0	—	Howard Jones	—
1956	9-1	#3	Forest Evashevski	Won — Rose Bowl
1960	8-1	#3	Forest Evashevski	—
1899	8-0-1	—	Alden Knipe	—
1900	7-0-1	—	Alden Knipe	—
2015	12-2	#9	Kirk Ferentz	Lost — Rose Bowl
2009	11-2	#7	Kirk Ferentz	Won — Orange Bowl
2002	11-2	#8	Kirk Ferentz	Lost — Orange Bowl
1991	10-1-1	#10	Hayden Fry	Tied — Holiday Bowl

Iowa Bowl Games

Season	Bowl	Result	Score	Opponent
2025	ReliaQuest Bowl	Won	34-27	vanderbilt
2024	Music City Bowl	Lost	24-27	missouri
2023	Citrus Bowl	Lost	0-35	tennessee
2022	Music City Bowl	Won	21-0	kentucky
2021	Citrus Bowl	Lost	17-20	kentucky
2019	Holiday Bowl	Won	49-24	southern-california
2018	Outback Bowl	Won	27-22	mississippi-state
2017	Pinstripe Bowl	Won	27-20	boston-college
2016	Outback Bowl	Lost	3-30	florida
2015	Rose Bowl	Lost	16-45	stanford
2014	TaxSlayer Bowl	Lost	28-45	tennessee
2013	Outback Bowl	Lost	14-21	louisiana-state
2011	Insight Bowl	Lost	14-31	oklahoma
2010	Insight Bowl	Won	27-24	missouri
2009	Orange Bowl	Won	24-14	georgia-tech
2008	Outback Bowl	Won	31-10	south-carolina
2006	Alamo Bowl	Lost	24-26	texas
2005	Outback Bowl	Lost	24-31	florida
2004	Capital One Bowl	Won	30-25	louisiana-state
2003	Outback Bowl	Won	37-17	florida
2002	Orange Bowl	Lost	17-38	southern-california
2001	Alamo Bowl	Won	19-16	texas-tech
1997	Sun Bowl	Lost	7-17	arizona-state
1996	Alamo Bowl	Won	27-0	texas-tech
1995	Sun Bowl	Won	38-18	washington
1993	Alamo Bowl	Lost	3-37	california
1991	Holiday Bowl	Tied	13-13	brigham-young
1990	Rose Bowl	Lost	34-46	washington
1988	Peach Bowl	Lost	23-28	north-carolina-state
1987	Holiday Bowl	Won	20-19	wyoming
1986	Holiday Bowl	Won	39-38	san-diego-state
1985	Rose Bowl	Lost	28-45	ucla
1984	Freedom Bowl	Won	55-17	texas
1983	Gator Bowl	Lost	6-14	florida
1982	Peach Bowl	Won	28-22	tennessee
1981	Rose Bowl	Lost	0-28	washington
1958	Rose Bowl	Won	38-12	california
1956	Rose Bowl	Won	35-19	oregon-state

Iowa Rivalries

Trophy	Opponent	W-L-T	Years
Cy-Hawk Trophy	Iowa State	47-21	1899–2025
Floyd of Rosedale	Minnesota	54-61-2	1901–2025
Heartland Trophy	Wisconsin	47-48-2	1906–2025
Heroes Trophy	Nebraska	19-26-1	1903–2025

All-time numbers will fill in as historical Iowa schedules are imported.

Best Iowa Defenses

Season	Pts allowed/G	National rank	Record
1899	0.6	#1	8-0
1900	1.5	#3	7-0
1910	2.1	#18	5-2
1929	3.5	#10	4-2
1918	4.0	#14	6-2
1922	4.7	#23	7-0
1935	4.9	#14	4-2
1914	5.1	#21	4-3
1921	5.1	#22	7-0
1928	5.2	#22	6-2

All-Time Single-Season Leaders

Passing yards

Player	Season	Passing
Chuck Hartlieb	1988	3,310
James Vandenberg	2011	3,022
Ricky Stanzi	2010	3,004
Chuck Long	1985	2,978
Nathan Stanley	2019	2,951

Rushing yards

Player	Season	Rushing
Shonn Greene	2008	1,850
Tavian Banks	1997	1,639
Kaleb Johnson	2024	1,537
Marcus Coker	2011	1,384
Fred Russell	2003	1,355

Receiving yards

Player	Season	Receiving
Marvin McNutt	2011	1,315
Keith Chappelle	1980	1,037
Kevin Kasper	2000	1,010
Quinn Early	1987	978
Maurice Brown	2002	966

Tackles

Player	Season	Tackles
Jay Higgins	2023	171
Abdul Hodge	2005	158
Chad Greenway	2005	156
Pat Angerer	2009	145
Jack Campbell	2021	143

AP Poll History

Season	Final AP rank
2025	#17
2023	#24
2021	#23
2020	#16
2019	#15
2018	#25
2015	#9
2009	#7
2008	#20
2004	#8
2003	#8
2002	#8
1996	#18
1995	#25
1991	#10
1990	#18
1987	#16
1986	#16
1985	#10
1984	#16
1983	#14
1981	#18
1960	#3
1958	#2
1957	#6
1956	#3
1953	#9
1939	#9

Updated Jun 1, 5:30 AM

Football History

Season Snapshot 1977 at a glance

1977 Iowa Football

By the Numbers

Memorable Games

Rankings & Streaks

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

Beat Wisconsin

Signature Wins

Beat Minnesota

Beat Iowa State

Beat Northwestern

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

Faced #5 Ohio State

Faced #6 Michigan

Lost by 3 to Indiana

Compare This Team

1977 Schedule 11 games

Team & Player Stats

Per-Game Averages

Top Performers

Team Stats per Game

Player Stats

Passing

Rushing & Receiving

Defense & Fumbles

Kick & Punt Returns

Kicking & Punting

Scoring

Game Logs

1977 Roster 29 players

1977 AP Poll Movement

History Library

Greatest Teams

Bowl Games

Rivalries

Best Defenses

Player Leaders

AP Poll History