1981 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Season — Schedule, Stats, Results

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Seasons All-Time Records In the NFL Legends

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Season Snapshot 1981 at a glance

1981 Iowa Football

8-4

Overall

6-2

Big Ten

Bowl

Postseason

Lost 0-28 · Rose Bowl

#18

Final AP rank

Hayden Fry

Head coach

By the Numbers

Shutouts

Northwestern

Power rating

+11.4

Simple Rating System — #23 nationally

Memorable Games

Highest score

vs Northwestern on Oct 3

Best defensive game

held them to 0

vs Northwestern (64-0)

Closest game

2-point win

vs (5) Michigan (9-7)

Biggest win

by 64

vs Northwestern (64-0)

Rankings & Streaks

Final AP rank

#18

end-of-season Associated Press poll

Longest win streak

consecutive wins during the season

Home record

5-1

at Carver / Kinnick / home court

Road record

3-2

true road games (excludes neutral sites)

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

FEATURED GAME

Beat #7 Nebraska

10 vs 7

home vs Nebraska · Sep 12, 1981

Trophy game — beat #7 Nebraska

Signature Wins

ROAD WIN

Beat #5 Michigan

9 vs 7

at Michigan · Oct 17, 1981

Signature road win against a ranked opponent

RANKED WIN

Beat #6 UCLA

20 vs 7

home vs UCLA · Sep 26, 1981

Took down #6 at home

VS HEARTLAND TROPHY

Beat Wisconsin

17 vs 7

at Wisconsin · Nov 14, 1981

Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 10

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

ROSE BOWL (PASADENA, CA)

Lost to Washington

0 vs 28

vs Washington (neutral) · Jan 1, 1982

Came up short on the season's biggest stage

VS FLOYD OF ROSEDALE

Faced Minnesota

10 vs 12

home vs Minnesota · Oct 24, 1981

Trophy game came up just short

VS CY-HAWK

Faced Iowa State

12 vs 23

at Iowa State · Sep 19, 1981

Trophy game came up just short

Compare This Team

See how the 1981 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.

1981 Schedule 12 games

Date	Opponent	Score
Sep 12	Home (7) Nebraska	10–7	W
Sep 19	Away Iowa State	12–23	L
Sep 26	Home (6) UCLA	20–7	W
Oct 3	Away Northwestern	64–0	W
Oct 10	Home Indiana	42–28	W
Oct 17	Away (5) Michigan	9–7	W
Oct 24	Home Minnesota	10–12	L
Oct 31	Away Illinois	7–24	L
Nov 7	Home Purdue	33–7	W
Nov 14	Away Wisconsin	17–7	W
Nov 21	Home Michigan State	36–7	W
Jan 1	Neutral (12) Washington Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)	0–28	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

21.7 vs 13.1

Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.

+8.6 points per game

Total yards

— vs —

How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.

Pass yards

129.3 vs 166.7

Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.

-37.4 difference per game

Rush yards

195.7 vs 86.9

Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.

+108.8 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

Gordy Bohannon

999 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, 7 interceptions (11 games).

Lead rusher

Phil Blatcher

708 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns over 11 games.

Lead receiver

Dave Moritz

17 catches, 390 receiving yards, 1 touchdowns.

Top tackler

Andre Tippett

0 total tackles, — sacks, 1 interceptions.

Team Stats per Game

Stat

Offense

Defense

Diff

Pass Cmp

9.9

14.2

-4.3

Pass Att

19.5

28.6

-9.1

Pass Cmp %

50.9

49.5

+1.4

Pass Yds

129.3

166.7

-37.4

Pass TD

0.6

0.0

Rush Att

47.3

38.3

+9.0

Rush Yds

195.7

86.9

+108.8

Rush Y/A

4.1

2.3

+1.8

Rush TD

1.8

0.6

+1.2

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
Gordy BohannonQB	11	72	142	50.7	999	6	7	7.0	5.7	13.9	90.8	113.9
Pete GalesQB	11	34	67	50.7	385	1	2	5.7	4.7	11.3	35.0	98.0
Tom GroganQB	11	1	3	33.3	20	0	1	6.7	-8.3	20.0	1.8	22.7
Chuck LongQB	11	1	1	100.0	14	0	0	14.0	14.0	14.0	1.3	217.6
Lon OlejniczakTE	11	1	1	100.0	4	0	0	4.0	4.0	4.0	0.4	133.6

Rushing & Receiving

Player	G	Rushing					Receiving					Scrimmage
		Att	Yds	Y/A	TD	Y/G	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Y/G	Plays	Yds	TD
Phil BlatcherRB	11	145	708	4.9	8	64.4	16	124	7.8	0	11.3	161	832	8
Eddie PhillipsRB	11	121	543	4.5	5	49.4	8	23	2.9	0	2.1	129	566	5
Dave MoritzWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	17	390	22.9	1	35.5	17	390	1
Jeff BrownWR	11	8	44	5.5	0	4.0	20	301	15.1	2	27.4	28	345	2
Gordy BohannonQB	11	81	304	3.8	2	27.6	0	0	—	0	0.0	81	304	2
Norm GrangerRB	11	62	264	4.3	2	24.0	6	7	1.2	0	0.6	68	271	2
Mike HuffordTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	10	181	18.1	2	16.5	10	181	2
Ivory WebbWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	16	170	10.6	0	15.5	16	170	0
Owen GillRB	11	24	143	6.0	1	13.0	0	0	—	0	0.0	24	143	1
Lon OlejniczakTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	8	97	12.1	0	8.8	8	97	0
Jeff ForteRB	11	12	57	4.8	0	5.2	0	0	—	0	0.0	12	57	0
Charles JonesWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	51	51.0	1	4.6	1	51	1
Dwayne WilliamsRB	11	12	48	4.0	0	4.4	0	0	—	0	0.0	12	48	0
Dave StrobelWR	11	1	3	3.0	0	0.3	3	41	13.7	0	3.7	4	44	0
Pete GalesQB	11	45	22	0.5	1	2.0	1	4	4.0	0	0.4	46	26	1
Glenn BuggsRB	11	7	23	3.3	1	2.1	0	0	—	0	0.0	7	23	1
Vince CampbellWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	2	20	10.0	1	1.8	2	20	1
John Alt*TE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	13	13.0	0	1.2	1	13	0
Tom GroganQB	11	2	-6	-3.0	0	-0.5	0	0	—	0	0.0	2	-6	0

Defense & Fumbles

Player	G	Solo	Ast	Comb	TFL	Sk	Int	Yds	TD	PD	FR	FF
Andre TippettDLAA	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	8	0	—	—	—
Bob StoopsDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	—	—	—
Brad WebbDL	11	—	—	—	—	—	2	29	1	—	—	—
James ErbLB	11	—	—	—	—	—	2	21	0	—	—	—
Jeff JansenDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	24	0	—	—	—
Jim FrazierDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	3	93	0	—	—	—
Lou KingDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	8	62	0	—	—	—
Mel ColeLB	11	—	—	—	—	—	2	7	0	—	—	—
Todd SimonsenLB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	9	0	—	—	—
Tracy CrockerDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	16	0	—	—	—

Kick & Punt Returns

Player	G	Kick Returns				Punt Returns				APYd
		Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
Norm GrangerRB	11	7	287	41.0	1	0	0	—	0	558
Glenn BuggsRB	11	8	198	24.8	0	0	0	—	0	221
Jeff BrownWR	11	0	0	—	0	21	137	6.5	1	482
James ErbLB	11	0	0	—	0	1	47	47.0	0	68
Lon OlejniczakTE	11	0	0	—	0	4	33	8.3	0	130
Dave StrobelWR	11	2	31	15.5	0	0	0	—	0	75
Eddie PhillipsRB	11	1	22	22.0	0	0	0	—	0	588
Jeff ForteRB	11	1	14	14.0	0	0	0	—	0	71
Bob StoopsDB	11	0	0	—	0	1	3	3.0	0	3
Tracy CrockerDB	11	0	0	—	0	1	0	0.0	1	16

Kicking & Punting

Player	G	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts	Pnt	Yds	Y/P
Reggie Roby	11	0	0	—	0	0	—	0	44	2,193	49.8
Tom NicholK	11	26	28	92.9	11	20	55.0	59	11	349	31.7
Lon OlejniczakTE	11	2	3	66.7	1	1	100.0	5	1	43	43.0

Scoring

Player	G	Rush	Rec	PR	KR	Int	FR	Oth	TD	XPM	XPA	FGM	FGA	Sfty	Pts	Pts/G
Tom NicholK	11	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	0	26	28	11	20	—	59	5.4
Phil BlatcherRB	11	8	0	0	0	0	—	—	8	0	0	0	0	—	48	4.4
Eddie PhillipsRB	11	5	0	0	0	0	—	—	5	0	0	0	0	—	30	2.7
Norm GrangerRB	11	2	0	0	1	0	—	—	3	0	0	0	0	—	18	1.6
Jeff BrownWR	11	0	2	1	0	0	—	—	3	0	0	0	0	—	18	1.6
Gordy BohannonQB	11	2	0	0	0	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Mike HuffordTE	11	0	2	0	0	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Vince CampbellWR	11	0	1	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Charles JonesWR	11	0	1	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Dave MoritzWR	11	0	1	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Glenn BuggsRB	11	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Owen GillRB	11	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Pete GalesQB	11	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Brad WebbDL	11	0	0	0	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Tracy CrockerDB	11	0	0	1	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Lon OlejniczakTE	11	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	0	2	3	1	1	—	5	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 12	Nebraska	W 10–7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 19	@ Iowa State	L 12–23	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 26	UCLA	W 20–7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 3	@ Northwestern	W 64–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 10	Indiana	W 42–28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 17	@ Michigan	W 9–7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 24	Minnesota	L 10–12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 31	@ Illinois	L 7–24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 7	Purdue	W 33–7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 14	@ Wisconsin	W 17–7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 21	Michigan State	W 36–7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Jan 1	vs Washington Rose Bowl	L 0–28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

1981 Roster 32 players

Player	Class	Pos	Season summary
Bob Stoops	JR	DB
Jeff Jansen	—	DB
Jim Frazier	—	DB
Lou King	—	DB
Tracy Crocker	—	DB
Andre Tippett	—	DL
Brad Webb	—	DL
Tom Nichol	—	K
James Erb	—	LB
Mel Cole	—	LB
Todd Simonsen	—	LB
Chuck Long	—	QB	1 Cmp, 1 Att, 14 Yds, 0 TD
Gordy Bohannon	—	QB	72 Cmp, 142 Att, 999 Yds, 6 TD
Pete Gales	—	QB	34 Cmp, 67 Att, 385 Yds, 1 TD
Tom Grogan	—	QB	1 Cmp, 3 Att, 20 Yds, 0 TD
Dwayne Williams	—	RB	12 Att, 48 Yds, 4.0 Avg
Eddie Phillips	—	RB	121 Att, 543 Yds, 4.5 Avg
Glenn Buggs	—	RB	7 Att, 23 Yds, 3.3 Avg
Jeff Forte	—	RB	12 Att, 57 Yds, 4.8 Avg
Norm Granger	—	RB	62 Att, 264 Yds, 4.3 Avg
Owen Gill	—	RB	24 Att, 143 Yds, 6.0 Avg
Phil Blatcher	—	RB	145 Att, 708 Yds, 4.9 Avg
John Alt*	—	TE	1 Rec, 13 Yds, 13.0 Avg
Lon Olejniczak	—	TE	8 Rec, 97 Yds, 12.1 Avg
Mike Hufford	—	TE	10 Rec, 181 Yds, 18.1 Avg
Charles Jones	—	WR	1 Rec, 51 Yds, 51.0 Avg
Dave Moritz	—	WR	17 Rec, 390 Yds, 22.9 Avg
Dave Strobel	—	WR	3 Rec, 41 Yds, 13.7 Avg
Ivory Webb	—	WR	16 Rec, 170 Yds, 10.6 Avg
Jeff Brown	—	WR	20 Rec, 301 Yds, 15.1 Avg
Vince Campbell	—	WR	2 Rec, 20 Yds, 10.0 Avg
Reggie Roby	—	—

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 1981 at a glance

1981 Iowa Football

By the Numbers

Memorable Games

Rankings & Streaks

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

Beat #7 Nebraska

Signature Wins

Beat #5 Michigan

Beat #6 UCLA

Beat Wisconsin

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

Lost to Washington

Faced Minnesota

Faced Iowa State

Compare This Team

1981 Schedule 12 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

1981 Roster 32 players

1981 AP Poll Movement

AP Poll

History Library

Greatest Teams

Bowl Games

Rivalries

Best Defenses

Player Leaders

AP Poll History