FEATURED GAME
Beat Wisconsin
24
vs
13
Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 11
Football History
Season Snapshot 1979 at a glance
1979 Iowa Football
5-6
Overall
4-4
Big Ten
Hayden Fry
Head coach
By the Numbers
Power rating
+7.3
Simple Rating System — #40 nationally
Memorable Games
Highest score
58
vs Northwestern on Oct 13
Best defensive game
held them to 6
vs Northwestern (58-6)
Closest game
3-point loss
vs (7) Nebraska (21-24)
Biggest win
by 52
vs Northwestern (58-6)
Rankings & Streaks
Longest win streak
3
consecutive wins during the season
Home record
2-4
at Carver / Kinnick / home court
Road record
3-2
true road games (excludes neutral sites)
Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers
Signature Wins
VS CY-HAWK
Beat Iowa State
30
vs
14
Kept the Cy-Hawk — won by 16
BLOWOUT WIN
Beat Northwestern
58
vs
6
Wire-to-wire control — won by 52
ROAD WIN
Beat Illinois
13
vs
7
Quality road victory
Heartbreakers & Tough Tests
VS HEROES GAME
Faced Nebraska
21
vs
24
Trophy game came up just short
VS A TOP TEAM
Faced #15 Purdue
14
vs
20
Tough matchup against #15
VS A TOP TEAM
Faced #3 Oklahoma
6
vs
21
Tough matchup against #3
Compare This Team
See how the 1979 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1979 Schedule 11 games
| Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | Home Indiana | 26–30 | L |
| Sep 15 | Away (3) Oklahoma | 6–21 | L |
| Sep 22 | Home (7) Nebraska | 21–24 | L |
| Sep 29 | Home Iowa State | 30–14 | W |
| Oct 6 | Away Illinois | 13–7 | W |
| Oct 13 | Away Northwestern | 58–6 | W |
| Oct 20 | Home Minnesota | 7–24 | L |
| Oct 27 | Away Wisconsin | 24–13 | W |
| Nov 3 | Home (15) Purdue | 14–20 | L |
| Nov 10 | Away (3) Ohio State | 7–34 | L |
| Nov 17 | Home Michigan State | 33–23 | W |
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
21.7
vs
19.6
Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
+2.1 points per game
Total yards
—
vs
—
How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
151.7
vs
167.5
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
-15.8 difference per game
Rush yards
193.6
vs
171.0
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+22.6 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
11.3
13.2
-1.9
Pass Att
22.5
25.6
-3.1
Pass Cmp %
50.0
51.4
-1.4
Pass Yds
151.7
167.5
-15.8
Pass TD
1.1
0.8
+0.3
Rush Att
47.8
47.7
+0.1
Rush Yds
193.6
171.0
+22.6
Rush Y/A
4.0
3.6
+0.4
Rush TD
1.9
1.5
+0.4
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil SuessQB | 11 | 88 | 159 | 55.3 | 1,165 | 6 | 9 | 7.3 | 5.5 | 13.2 | 105.9 | 118.0 |
| Pete GalesQB | 11 | 22 | 57 | 38.6 | 281 | 4 | 3 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 12.8 | 25.5 | 92.6 |
| Gordy BohannonQB | 11 | 13 | 30 | 43.3 | 202 | 2 | 2 | 6.7 | 5.1 | 15.5 | 18.4 | 108.6 |
| Reggie RobyK | 11 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 1.9 | 276.4 |
| Doug DunhamWR | 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 | ||
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 270 | 1,267 | 4.7 | 12 | 115.2 | 21 | 235 | 11.2 | 4 | 21.4 | 291 | 1,502 | 16 |
| Dean McKillipRB | 11 | 95 | 407 | 4.3 | 6 | 37.0 | 9 | 68 | 7.6 | 1 | 6.2 | 104 | 475 | 7 |
| Keith ChappelleWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 22 | 340 | 15.5 | 3 | 30.9 | 22 | 340 | 3 |
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 25 | 290 | 11.6 | 0 | 26.4 | 25 | 290 | 0 |
| Jim SwiftTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 13 | 219 | 16.8 | 1 | 19.9 | 13 | 219 | 1 |
| Mike BradyWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 193 | 16.1 | 1 | 17.5 | 12 | 193 | 1 |
| Jeff BrownWR | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0.2 | 11 | 182 | 16.5 | 0 | 16.5 | 12 | 184 | 0 |
| Dwayne WilliamsRB | 11 | 22 | 113 | 5.1 | 0 | 10.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 22 | 113 | 0 |
| Nate PersonWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 98 | 19.6 | 0 | 8.9 | 5 | 98 | 0 |
| Phil SuessQB | 11 | 63 | 96 | 1.5 | 1 | 8.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 63 | 96 | 1 |
| Phil BlatcherRB | 11 | 8 | 56 | 7.0 | 0 | 5.1 | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | 1.7 | 10 | 75 | 0 |
| Louis BurkeRB | 11 | 12 | 59 | 4.9 | 0 | 5.4 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 1 | 1.1 | 13 | 71 | 1 |
| Gordy BohannonQB | 11 | 23 | 57 | 2.5 | 2 | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 23 | 57 | 2 |
| Marty BallRB | 11 | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 0 | 3.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 37 | 0 |
| Pete GalesQB | 11 | 25 | 34 | 1.4 | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 25 | 34 | 0 |
| Doug DunhamWR | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0.2 | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 1 | 1.2 | 4 | 15 | 1 |
Defense & Fumbles
| Player | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre TippettDL | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Bob StoopsDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Brad WebbDL | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Cedric ShawDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Kent EllisDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 67 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Kevin EllisDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Leven WeissLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 14 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Lon OlejniczakTE | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mario PaceDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mel ColeLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mike JacksonDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
Kick & Punt Returns
| Player | G | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | APYd | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| Jeff BrownWR | 11 | 14 | 234 | 16.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 418 |
| Brad ReidWR | 11 | 10 | 176 | 17.6 | 0 | 18 | 50 | 2.8 | 0 | 516 |
| Dwayne WilliamsRB | 11 | 9 | 175 | 19.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 288 |
| Phil BlatcherRB | 11 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 113 |
| Jim MoliniDL | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Cedric ShawDB | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
Kicking & Punting
| Player | G | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts | Pnt | Yds | Y/P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reggie RobyK | 11 | 22 | 25 | 88.0 | 5 | 11 | 45.5 | 37 | 35 | 1,492 | 42.6 |
| Dave HolsclawP | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 13 | 399 | 30.7 |
| Scott SchillingK | 11 | 2 | 4 | 50.0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 107 | 35.7 |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis MosleyRB | 11 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 96 | 8.7 |
| Dean McKillipRB | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 42 | 3.8 |
| Reggie RobyK | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 22 | 25 | 5 | 11 | 0 | — | 37 | 3.4 |
| Keith ChappelleWR | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1.6 |
| Gordy BohannonQB | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Louis BurkeRB | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 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 |
| Phil SuessQB | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Doug DunhamWR | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Mike BradyWR | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Scott SchillingK | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0.2 |
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 8 | Indiana | L 26–30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 15 | @ Oklahoma | L 6–21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 22 | Nebraska | L 21–24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 29 | Iowa State | W 30–14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 6 | @ Illinois | W 13–7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 13 | @ Northwestern | W 58–6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 20 | Minnesota | L 7–24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 27 | @ Wisconsin | W 24–13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 3 | Purdue | L 14–20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 10 | @ Ohio State | L 7–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 17 | Michigan State | W 33–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1979 Roster 30 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Stoops | FR | DB | |
| Cedric Shaw | — | DB | |
| Kent Ellis | — | DB | |
| Mario Pace | — | DB | |
| Mike Jackson | — | DB | |
| Andre Tippett | — | DL | |
| Brad Webb | — | DL | |
| Jim Molini | — | DL | |
| Reggie Roby | — | K | |
| Scott Schilling | — | K | |
| Leven Weiss | — | LB | |
| Mel Cole | — | LB | |
| Dave Holsclaw | — | P | |
| Gordy Bohannon | — | QB | 13 Cmp, 30 Att, 202 Yds, 2 TD |
| Pete Gales | — | QB | 22 Cmp, 57 Att, 281 Yds, 4 TD |
| Phil Suess | — | QB | 88 Cmp, 159 Att, 1165 Yds, 6 TD |
| Dean McKillip | — | RB | 95 Att, 407 Yds, 4.3 Avg |
| Dennis Mosley | — | RB | 270 Att, 1267 Yds, 4.7 Avg |
| Dwayne Williams | — | RB | 22 Att, 113 Yds, 5.1 Avg |
| Louis Burke | — | RB | 12 Att, 59 Yds, 4.9 Avg |
| Marty Ball | — | RB | 6 Att, 37 Yds, 6.2 Avg |
| Phil Blatcher | — | RB | 8 Att, 56 Yds, 7.0 Avg |
| Jim Swift | — | TE | 13 Rec, 219 Yds, 16.8 Avg |
| Lon Olejniczak | — | TE | |
| Brad Reid | — | WR | 25 Rec, 290 Yds, 11.6 Avg |
| Doug Dunham | — | WR | 3 Rec, 13 Yds, 4.3 Avg |
| Jeff Brown | — | WR | 11 Rec, 182 Yds, 16.5 Avg |
| Keith Chappelle | — | WR | 22 Rec, 340 Yds, 15.5 Avg |
| Mike Brady | — | WR | 12 Rec, 193 Yds, 16.1 Avg |
| Nate Person | — | WR | 5 Rec, 98 Yds, 19.6 Avg |
1979 AP Poll Movement
Iowa wasn't ranked in the AP poll this season.
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Updated Jun 1, 5:30 AM