FEATURED GAME
Beat #3 Ohio State
20
vs
14
Took down #3 at home
Football History
Season Snapshot 1983 at a glance
1983 Iowa Football
9-3
Overall
7-2
Big Ten
Bowl
Postseason
Lost 6-14 · Gator Bowl
#14
Final AP rank
Hayden Fry
Head coach
By the Numbers
Power rating
+14.0
Simple Rating System — #13 nationally
Memorable Games
Highest score
61
vs Northwestern on Oct 8
Best defensive game
held them to 3
vs Indiana (49-3)
Closest game
3-point loss
vs (10) Michigan (13-16)
Biggest win
by 51
vs Minnesota (61-10)
Rankings & Streaks
Final AP rank
#14
end-of-season Associated Press poll
Longest win streak
4
consecutive wins during the season
Home record
5-0
at Carver / Kinnick / home court
Road record
4-2
true road games (excludes neutral sites)
Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers
Signature Wins
VS CY-HAWK
Beat Iowa State
51
vs
10
Kept the Cy-Hawk — won by 41
VS HEARTLAND TROPHY
Beat Wisconsin
34
vs
14
Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 20
VS FLOYD OF ROSEDALE
Beat Minnesota
61
vs
10
Kept the Floyd of Rosedale — won by 51
Heartbreakers & Tough Tests
GATOR BOWL (JACKSONVILLE, FL)
Lost to Florida
6
vs
14
Came up short on the season's biggest stage
HEARTBREAKER
Lost by 3 to Michigan
13
vs
16
Lost by just 3 in the final minutes
Compare This Team
See how the 1983 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1983 Schedule 12 games
| Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | Away Iowa State | 51–10 | W |
| Sep 17 | Away Penn State | 42–34 | W |
| Sep 24 | Home (3) Ohio State | 20–14 | W |
| Oct 1 | Away Illinois | 0–33 | L |
| Oct 8 | Home Northwestern | 61–21 | W |
| Oct 15 | Home Purdue | 31–14 | W |
| Oct 22 | Away (10) Michigan | 13–16 | L |
| Oct 29 | Home Indiana | 49–3 | W |
| Nov 5 | Away Wisconsin | 34–14 | W |
| Nov 12 | Away Michigan State | 12–6 | W |
| Nov 19 | Home Minnesota | 61–10 | W |
| Dec 30 | Neutral (11) Florida Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) | 6–14 | L |
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
31.7
vs
15.8
Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
+15.9 points per game
Total yards
—
vs
—
How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
279.3
vs
213.5
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+65.8 difference per game
Rush yards
208.5
vs
129.5
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+79.0 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
16.5
17.8
-1.3
Pass Att
28.7
35.5
-6.8
Pass Cmp %
57.3
50.3
+7.0
Pass Yds
279.3
213.5
+65.8
Pass TD
1.8
1.1
+0.7
Rush Att
44.7
37.8
+6.9
Rush Yds
208.5
129.5
+79.0
Rush Y/A
4.7
3.4
+1.3
Rush TD
2.5
0.7
+1.8
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck LongQB | 11 | 144 | 236 | 61.0 | 2,434 | 14 | 8 | 10.3 | 10.0 | 16.9 | 221.3 | 160.4 |
| Tom GroganQB | 11 | 27 | 56 | 48.2 | 462 | 3 | 1 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 17.1 | 42.0 | 131.6 |
| Cornelius RobertsonQB | 11 | 9 | 19 | 47.4 | 171 | 3 | 1 | 9.0 | 9.8 | 19.0 | 15.5 | 164.5 |
| Mark VlasicQB | 11 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 35.5 |
Rushing & Receiving
| Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | TD | ||
| Eddie PhillipsRB | 11 | 149 | 740 | 5.0 | 8 | 67.3 | 13 | 175 | 13.5 | 1 | 15.9 | 162 | 915 | 9 |
| Dave MoritzWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 50 | 912 | 18.2 | 5 | 82.9 | 50 | 912 | 5 |
| Owen GillRB | 11 | 119 | 715 | 6.0 | 10 | 65.0 | 13 | 166 | 12.8 | 0 | 15.1 | 132 | 881 | 10 |
| Ronnie HarmonWR | 11 | 22 | 185 | 8.4 | 2 | 16.8 | 29 | 639 | 22.0 | 5 | 58.1 | 51 | 824 | 7 |
| Norm GrangerRB | 11 | 62 | 429 | 6.9 | 2 | 39.0 | 8 | 106 | 13.3 | 1 | 9.6 | 70 | 535 | 3 |
| Robert SmithWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 210 | 30.0 | 1 | 19.1 | 7 | 210 | 1 |
| Mike HuffordTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 13 | 210 | 16.2 | 2 | 19.1 | 13 | 210 | 2 |
| Bill BroghamerWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 15 | 204 | 13.6 | 0 | 18.5 | 15 | 204 | 0 |
| Jonathan HayesTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 153 | 15.3 | 1 | 13.9 | 10 | 153 | 1 |
| Bill HappelWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 137 | 17.1 | 0 | 12.5 | 8 | 137 | 0 |
| Tom GroganQB | 11 | 16 | 79 | 4.9 | 0 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 16 | 79 | 0 |
| Fred BushRB | 11 | 10 | 69 | 6.9 | 0 | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 69 | 0 |
| Treye JacksonRB | 11 | 11 | 37 | 3.4 | 1 | 3.4 | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 | 2.5 | 13 | 64 | 1 |
| Glenn BuggsRB | 11 | 8 | 44 | 5.5 | 0 | 4.0 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 1.4 | 9 | 59 | 0 |
| Scott HelversonWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 42 | 10.5 | 2 | 3.8 | 4 | 42 | 2 |
| Lon OlejniczakTE | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 41 | 8.2 | 2 | 3.7 | 5 | 41 | 2 |
| Paul McCartyRB | 11 | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 0 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| J.C. Love JordanWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 0 | 2.1 | 1 | 23 | 0 |
| Tim SennottRB | 11 | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
| Gregg HammannWR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 1.1 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| Mark VlasicQB | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Carroll | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cornelius RobertsonQB | 11 | 3 | -8 | -2.7 | 0 | -0.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | -8 | 0 |
| Chuck LongQB | 11 | 85 | -30 | -0.4 | 5 | -2.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 85 | -30 | 5 |
Defense & Fumbles
| Player | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devon MitchellDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — |
| George DavisLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Jeff DrostDL | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | -3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Keith HunterDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Ken SimsDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Kevin SpitzigLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Larry StationLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 20 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mike StoopsDB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 154 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mike YaculloLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Nate Creer*DB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Steve BrownLB | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
Kick & Punt Returns
| Player | G | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | APYd | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| Robert SmithWR | 11 | 3 | 71 | 23.7 | 0 | 34 | 292 | 8.6 | 1 | 573 |
| Ronnie HarmonWR | 11 | 11 | 187 | 17.0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 1,018 |
| Norm GrangerRB | 11 | 3 | 85 | 28.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 620 |
| J.C. Love JordanWR | 11 | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 56 |
| Fred BushRB | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 69 |
Kicking & Punting
| Player | G | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts | Pnt | Yds | Y/P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom NicholK | 11 | 44 | 47 | 93.6 | 12 | 18 | 66.7 | 80 | 48 | 1,842 | 38.4 |
| Tom GroganQB | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 28 | 28.0 |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom NicholK | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 44 | 47 | 12 | 18 | 0 | — | 80 | 7.3 |
| Owen GillRB | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 60 | 5.5 |
| Eddie PhillipsRB | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 54 | 4.9 |
| Ronnie HarmonWR | 11 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 42 | 3.8 |
| Chuck LongQB | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 2.7 |
| Dave MoritzWR | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 2.7 |
| Norm GrangerRB | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1.6 |
| Mike HuffordTE | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Robert SmithWR | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Lon OlejniczakTE | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Scott HelversonWR | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.1 |
| Jonathan HayesTE | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Treye JacksonRB | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | @ Iowa State | W 51–10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 17 | @ Penn State | W 42–34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 24 | Ohio State | W 20–14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 1 | @ Illinois | L 0–33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 8 | Northwestern | W 61–21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 15 | Purdue | W 31–14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 22 | @ Michigan | L 13–16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 29 | Indiana | W 49–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 5 | @ Wisconsin | W 34–14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 12 | @ Michigan State | W 12–6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 19 | Minnesota | W 61–10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dec 30 | vs Florida Gator Bowl | L 6–14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1983 Roster 38 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devon Mitchell | — | DB | |
| Keith Hunter | — | DB | |
| Ken Sims | — | DB | |
| Mike Stoops | — | DB | |
| Nate Creer* | — | DB | |
| Jeff Drost | — | DL | |
| Tom Nichol | — | K | |
| George Davis | — | LB | |
| Kevin Spitzig | — | LB | |
| Larry Station | — | LB | |
| Mike Yacullo | — | LB | |
| Steve Brown | — | LB | |
| Joel Hilgenberg* | — | OL | |
| John Alt* | — | OL | |
| Chuck Long | — | QB | 157 Cmp, 265 Att, 2601 Yds, 14 TD |
| Cornelius Robertson | — | QB | 9 Cmp, 19 Att, 171 Yds, 3 TD |
| Mark Vlasic | — | QB | 1 Cmp, 4 Att, 5 Yds, 0 TD |
| Tom Grogan | — | QB | 27 Cmp, 56 Att, 462 Yds, 3 TD |
| Eddie Phillips | — | RB | 162 Att, 773 Yds, 4.8 Avg |
| Fred Bush | — | RB | 10 Att, 69 Yds, 6.9 Avg |
| Glenn Buggs | — | RB | 8 Att, 44 Yds, 5.5 Avg |
| Norm Granger | — | RB | 71 Att, 466 Yds, 6.6 Avg |
| Owen Gill | — | RB | 129 Att, 798 Yds, 6.2 Avg |
| Paul McCarty | — | RB | 2 Att, 26 Yds, 13.0 Avg |
| Tim Sennott | — | RB | 3 Att, 19 Yds, 6.3 Avg |
| Treye Jackson | — | RB | 11 Att, 37 Yds, 3.4 Avg |
| Jonathan Hayes | — | TE | 10 Rec, 153 Yds, 15.3 Avg |
| Lon Olejniczak | — | TE | 5 Rec, 41 Yds, 8.2 Avg |
| Mike Hufford | — | TE | 14 Rec, 226 Yds, 16.1 Avg |
| Bill Broghamer | — | WR | 15 Rec, 204 Yds, 13.6 Avg |
| Bill Happel | — | WR | 8 Rec, 137 Yds, 17.1 Avg |
| Dave Moritz | — | WR | 50 Rec, 912 Yds, 18.2 Avg |
| Gregg Hammann | — | WR | 1 Rec, 12 Yds, 12.0 Avg |
| J.C. Love Jordan | — | WR | 1 Rec, 23 Yds, 23.0 Avg |
| Robert Smith | — | WR | 7 Rec, 210 Yds, 30.0 Avg |
| Ronnie Harmon | — | WR | 35 Rec, 729 Yds, 20.8 Avg |
| Scott Helverson | — | WR | 4 Rec, 42 Yds, 10.5 Avg |
| John Carroll | — | — |
1983 AP Poll Movement
AP Poll
Final
#14
Final Ranking
Season Summary
- Highest Rank
- #4
- Lowest Rank
- #17
- Weeks in Poll
- 16
- Total Weeks
- 16
Week-by-week rankings
Pre
#16
9/5
#16
9/12
#13
9/19
#7
9/26
#4
10/3
#15
10/10
#14
10/17
#12
10/24
#17
10/31
#15
11/7
#12
11/14
#11
11/21
#10
11/28
#10
12/5
#10
Final
#14
History Library
Chapters of Iowa football history
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AP Poll History
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Updated Jun 1, 5:30 AM