Football History
Season Snapshot 1978 at a glance
1978 Iowa Football
2-9
Overall
2-6
Big Ten
Bob Commings
Head coach
By the Numbers
Power rating
-5.5
Simple Rating System — #92 nationally
Compare This Team
See how the 1978 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1978 Schedule 0 games
Schedule not yet imported for this season.
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
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vs
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Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
Total yards
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vs
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How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
98.5
vs
177.0
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
-78.5 difference per game
Rush yards
124.2
vs
186.7
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
-62.5 difference per game
First downs
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vs
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A first down means a fresh set of four tries — earning more is good.
Turnovers
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vs
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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
8.2
12.5
-4.3
Pass Att
20.0
24.5
-4.5
Pass Cmp %
40.9
51.1
-10.2
Pass Yds
98.5
177.0
-78.5
Pass TD
0.4
1.9
-1.5
Rush Att
47.5
49.7
-2.2
Rush Yds
124.2
186.7
-62.5
Rush Y/A
2.6
3.8
-1.2
Rush TD
1.0
1.3
-0.3
Plays
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Total Yds
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Yds/Play
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1st Downs
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Penalties
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Penalty Yds
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Fumbles
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Interceptions
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Turnovers
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Player Stats
Passing
| Player | G | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff GreenQB | 9 | 41 | 103 | 39.8 | 556 | 3 | 4 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 13.6 | 61.8 | 87.0 |
| Bill DolanQB | 11 | 21 | 48 | 43.8 | 197 | 0 | 6 | 4.1 | -1.5 | 9.4 | 17.9 | 53.2 |
| Pete GalesQB | 11 | 15 | 40 | 37.5 | 112 | 0 | 4 | 2.8 | -1.7 | 7.5 | 10.2 | 41.0 |
| Bobby CommingsQB | 7 | 8 | 19 | 42.1 | 87 | 0 | 3 | 4.6 | -2.5 | 10.9 | 12.4 | 49.0 |
| Rod MortonRB | 11 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 73 | 1 | 0 | 18.3 | 23.2 | 24.3 | 6.6 | 310.8 |
| Doug DunhamWR | 11 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 22.5 | 22.5 | 45.0 | 4.1 | 239.0 |
| Kenny BurkeRB | 11 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 13.0 | 1.2 | 104.6 |
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jon LazarRB | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Rushing & Receiving
| Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | TD | ||
| Jon LazarRB | 11 | 108 | 423 | 3.9 | 1 | 38.5 | 18 | 72 | 4.0 | 1 | 6.5 | 126 | 495 | 2 |
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 10 | 168 | 16.8 | 5 | 15.3 | 14 | 322 | 23.0 | 1 | 29.3 | 24 | 490 | 6 |
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 96 | 292 | 3.0 | 0 | 26.5 | 9 | 74 | 8.2 | 0 | 6.7 | 105 | 366 | 0 |
| Kenny BurkeRB | 11 | 76 | 293 | 3.9 | 0 | 26.6 | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | 1.7 | 78 | 312 | 0 |
| Jim SwiftTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 211 | 17.6 | 1 | 19.2 | 12 | 211 | 1 |
| Rod MortonRB | 11 | 13 | 54 | 4.2 | 0 | 4.9 | 11 | 130 | 11.8 | 1 | 11.8 | 24 | 184 | 1 |
| Doug DunhamWR | 11 | 2 | -18 | -9.0 | 0 | -1.6 | 9 | 148 | 16.4 | 0 | 13.5 | 11 | 130 | 0 |
| Phil BlatcherRB | 11 | 19 | 98 | 5.2 | 2 | 8.9 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 0 | 1.5 | 22 | 115 | 2 |
| Milton TurnerRB | 11 | 55 | 113 | 2.1 | 0 | 10.3 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 56 | 114 | 0 |
| Dean McKillipRB | 11 | 8 | 28 | 3.5 | 0 | 2.5 | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 9 | 50 | 0 |
| Jim FrazierRB | 11 | 8 | 6 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.5 | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 0 | 3.9 | 13 | 49 | 0 |
| Pete GalesQB | 11 | 19 | 15 | 0.8 | 0 | 1.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 19 | 15 | 0 |
| Victor HollowayRB | 11 | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| Tracy CrockerRB | 11 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 0.6 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0.4 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Ben WozniakTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 0.8 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Jeff GreenQB | 9 | 51 | -14 | -0.3 | 2 | -1.6 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 53 | 4 | 2 |
| Marty BallRB | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| _ Jones | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -7 | -7.0 | 0 | -0.6 | 1 | -7 | 0 |
| Bobby CommingsQB | 7 | 16 | -10 | -0.6 | 1 | -1.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 16 | -10 | 1 |
| Dave HolsclawP | 11 | 1 | -14 | -14.0 | 0 | -1.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | -14 | 0 |
| Bill DolanQB | 11 | 34 | -87 | -2.6 | 0 | -7.9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 34 | -87 | 0 |
Defense & Fumbles
| Player | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan SkradisLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 31 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Dave BeckerDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 12 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Kent EllisDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Lou KingDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mario PaceDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Todd SimonsenLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
Kick & Punt Returns
| Player | G | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | APYd | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| Phil BlatcherRB | 11 | 25 | 615 | 24.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 730 |
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 13 | 245 | 18.8 | 0 | 17 | 104 | 6.1 | 0 | 839 |
| Kevin EllisDB | 11 | 4 | 77 | 19.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 77 |
| Dave BeckerDB | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 11 | 68 | 6.2 | 0 | 80 |
| Tracy CrockerRB | 11 | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 51 |
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 395 |
| Victor HollowayRB | 11 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 32 |
| Bobby HillLB | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike BradyKR | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
Kicking & Punting
| Player | G | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts | Pnt | Yds | Y/P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave HolsclawP | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 85 | 3,107 | 36.6 |
| Scott SchillingK | 11 | 12 | 13 | 92.3 | 5 | 8 | 62.5 | 27 | — | — | — |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 3.3 |
| Scott SchillingK | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | — | 27 | 2.5 |
| Phil BlatcherRB | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Jeff GreenQB | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.3 |
| Jon LazarRB | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Todd SimonsenLB | 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 |
| Rod MortonRB | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Bobby CommingsQB | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.9 |
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 16 | Northwestern | W 20–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 23 | Iowa State | L 0–31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 30 | @ Arizona | L 3–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 7 | Utah | L 9–13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 14 | @ Minnesota | L 20–22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 21 | @ Ohio State | L 7–31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 28 | Purdue | L 7–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 4 | Michigan | L 0–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 11 | @ Indiana | L 14–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 18 | Wisconsin | W 38–24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 25 | @ Michigan State | L 7–42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1978 Roster 31 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Becker | — | DB | |
| Kent Ellis | — | DB | |
| Kevin Ellis | — | DB | |
| Lou King | — | DB | |
| Mario Pace | — | DB | |
| Scott Schilling | — | K | |
| Mike Brady | — | KR | |
| Bobby Hill | — | LB | |
| Bryan Skradis | — | LB | |
| Todd Simonsen | — | LB | |
| Dave Holsclaw | — | P | |
| Bill Dolan | — | QB | 21 Cmp, 48 Att, 197 Yds, 0 TD |
| Bobby Commings | — | QB | 8 Cmp, 19 Att, 87 Yds, 0 TD |
| Jeff Green | — | QB | 41 Cmp, 103 Att, 556 Yds, 3 TD |
| Pete Gales | — | QB | 15 Cmp, 40 Att, 112 Yds, 0 TD |
| Dean McKillip | — | RB | 8 Att, 28 Yds, 3.5 Avg |
| Dennis Mosley | — | RB | 96 Att, 292 Yds, 3.0 Avg |
| Jim Frazier | — | RB | 8 Att, 6 Yds, 0.8 Avg |
| Jon Lazar | — | RB | 108 Att, 423 Yds, 3.9 Avg |
| Kenny Burke | — | RB | 76 Att, 293 Yds, 3.9 Avg |
| Marty Ball | — | RB | 1 Att, 1 Yds, 1.0 Avg |
| Milton Turner | — | RB | 55 Att, 113 Yds, 2.1 Avg |
| Phil Blatcher | — | RB | 19 Att, 98 Yds, 5.2 Avg |
| Rod Morton | — | RB | 13 Att, 54 Yds, 4.2 Avg |
| Tracy Crocker | — | RB | |
| Victor Holloway | — | RB | 4 Att, 11 Yds, 2.8 Avg |
| Ben Wozniak | — | TE | 1 Rec, 9 Yds, 9.0 Avg |
| Jim Swift | — | TE | 12 Rec, 211 Yds, 17.6 Avg |
| Brad Reid | — | WR | 14 Rec, 322 Yds, 23.0 Avg |
| Doug Dunham | — | WR | 9 Rec, 148 Yds, 16.4 Avg |
| _ Jones | — | — |
1978 AP Poll Movement
Iowa wasn't ranked in the AP poll this season.
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Updated Jun 1, 5:30 AM