FEATURED GAME
Beat #19 Texas
55
vs
17
Freedom Bowl (Anaheim, CA) — defining win on the season's biggest stage
Football History
Season Snapshot 1984 at a glance
1984 Iowa Football
8-4-1
Overall
5-3-1
Big Ten
Bowl
Postseason
Won 55-17 · Freedom Bowl
#16
Final AP rank
Hayden Fry
Head coach
By the Numbers
Shutouts
1
Michigan
Power rating
+10.2
Simple Rating System — #22 nationally
Memorable Games
Highest score
59
vs Iowa State on Sep 8
Best defensive game
held them to 0
vs Michigan (26-0)
Closest game
0-point loss
vs Wisconsin (10-10)
Biggest win
by 38
vs Iowa State (59-21)
Rankings & Streaks
Final AP rank
#16
end-of-season Associated Press poll
Longest win streak
5
consecutive wins during the season
Home record
3-2
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
ROAD WIN
Beat #14 Purdue
40
vs
3
Signature road win against a ranked opponent
VS CY-HAWK
Beat Iowa State
59
vs
21
Kept the Cy-Hawk — won by 38
BLOWOUT WIN
Beat Northwestern
31
vs
3
Wire-to-wire control — won by 28
Heartbreakers & Tough Tests
HEARTBREAKER
Lost by 3 to Penn State
17
vs
20
Lost by just 3 in the final minutes
VS FLOYD OF ROSEDALE
Faced Minnesota
17
vs
23
Trophy game came up just short
VS A TOP TEAM
Faced #5 Ohio State
26
vs
45
Tough matchup against #5
Compare This Team
See how the 1984 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.
1984 Schedule 13 games
| Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | Home Iowa State | 59–21 | W |
| Sep 15 | Home (12) Penn State | 17–20 | L |
| Sep 22 | Away (5) Ohio State | 26–45 | L |
| Sep 29 | Home Illinois | 21–16 | W |
| Oct 6 | Away Northwestern | 31–3 | W |
| Oct 13 | Away (14) Purdue | 40–3 | W |
| Oct 20 | Home Michigan | 26–0 | W |
| Oct 27 | Away Indiana | 24–20 | W |
| Nov 3 | Home Wisconsin | 10–10 | T |
| Nov 10 | Home Michigan State | 16–17 | L |
| Nov 17 | Away Minnesota | 17–23 | L |
| Dec 1 | Away Hawaii | 17–6 | W |
| Dec 26 | Neutral (19) Texas Freedom Bowl (Anaheim, CA) | 55–17 | W |
Team & Player Stats
Per-Game Averages
Points per game
27.6
vs
15.5
Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.
+12.2 points per game
Total yards
—
vs
—
How many yards Iowa moved the ball, versus how many they let the other team move.
Pass yards
215.3
vs
170.5
Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+44.8 difference per game
Rush yards
167.8
vs
99.4
Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.
+68.4 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
16.3
15.6
+0.7
Pass Att
25.7
29.3
-3.6
Pass Cmp %
63.6
53.3
+10.3
Pass Yds
215.3
170.5
+44.8
Pass TD
1.4
1.1
+0.3
Rush Att
47.2
36.6
+10.6
Rush Yds
167.8
99.4
+68.4
Rush Y/A
3.6
2.7
+0.9
Rush TD
1.6
0.6
+1.0
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 LongQBH-7 | 12 | 187 | 283 | 66.1 | 2,410 | 16 | 13 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 12.9 | 200.8 | 147.1 |
| Mark VlasicQB | 12 | 8 | 20 | 40.0 | 156 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 19.5 | 13.0 | 105.5 |
| Kevin HarmonRB | 12 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | -13.0 | 18.0 | 1.5 | 45.3 |
| Ronnie HarmonRB | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | -45.0 | — | 0.0 | -200.0 |
Rushing & Receiving
| Player | G | Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | TD | ||
| Ronnie HarmonRB | 12 | 190 | 907 | 4.8 | 11 | 75.6 | 32 | 318 | 9.9 | 1 | 26.5 | 222 | 1,225 | 12 |
| Owen GillRB | 12 | 182 | 859 | 4.7 | 4 | 71.6 | 22 | 201 | 9.1 | 0 | 16.8 | 204 | 1,060 | 4 |
| Bill HappelWR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 39 | 528 | 13.5 | 2 | 44.0 | 39 | 528 | 2 |
| Jonathan HayesTE | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 39 | 442 | 11.3 | 4 | 36.8 | 39 | 442 | 4 |
| Robert SmithWR | 12 | 7 | 45 | 6.4 | 0 | 3.8 | 15 | 391 | 26.1 | 4 | 32.6 | 22 | 436 | 4 |
| Rick BaylessRB | 12 | 26 | 138 | 5.3 | 0 | 11.5 | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 0 | 3.9 | 29 | 185 | 0 |
| Scott HelversonWR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 14 | 184 | 13.1 | 3 | 15.3 | 14 | 184 | 3 |
| J.C. Love JordanWR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 165 | 15.0 | 1 | 13.8 | 11 | 165 | 1 |
| Tim SennottRB | 12 | 27 | 87 | 3.2 | 0 | 7.3 | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 0 | 2.1 | 32 | 112 | 0 |
| Mike FlaggTE | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 108 | 18.0 | 1 | 9.0 | 6 | 108 | 1 |
| Fred BushRB | 12 | 21 | 69 | 3.3 | 0 | 5.8 | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 23 | 93 | 0 |
| Kevin HarmonRB | 12 | 10 | 68 | 6.8 | 0 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 68 | 0 |
| Kerry BurtWR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 61 | 30.5 | 0 | 5.1 | 2 | 61 | 0 |
| Quinn EarlyWR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 0 | 4.8 | 3 | 57 | 0 |
| Marshall CottonRB | 12 | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 0 | 1.3 | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 1 | 2.8 | 7 | 49 | 1 |
| Eddie PoliteRB | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Mark VlasicQB | 12 | 11 | -4 | -0.4 | 0 | -0.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | -4 | 0 |
| Chuck LongQBH-7 | 12 | 84 | -174 | -2.1 | 4 | -14.5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 84 | -174 | 4 |
Defense & Fumbles
| Player | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave StrobelDL | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 38 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Devon MitchellDB | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 110 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Jay NorvellDB | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Keith HunterDB | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 27 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Ken SimsDB | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 18 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mike StoopsDB | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 22 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Nate Creer*DB | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 31 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Zane CorbinDB | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — |
Kick & Punt Returns
| Player | G | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | APYd | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| Robert SmithWR | 12 | 4 | 108 | 27.0 | 0 | 27 | 179 | 6.6 | 0 | 723 |
| Ronnie HarmonRB | 12 | 11 | 262 | 23.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1,487 |
| Bill HappelWR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | 119 | 29.8 | 1 | 647 |
| Kerry BurtWR | 12 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 99 |
| Quinn EarlyWR | 12 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 78 |
| Scott HelversonWR | 12 | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 197 |
| Mike StoopsDB | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 31 |
| Eddie PoliteRB | 12 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 9 |
| Kirk BanksOL | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
Kicking & Punting
| Player | G | XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | Pts | Pnt | Yds | Y/P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary KostrubalaP | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 52 | 2,043 | 39.3 |
| Tom NicholK | 12 | 34 | 36 | 94.4 | 14 | 20 | 70.0 | 76 | 9 | 318 | 35.3 |
Scoring
| Player | G | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Int | FR | Oth | TD | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | 2PM | Sfty | Pts | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom NicholK | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 34 | 36 | 14 | 20 | 0 | — | 89 | 7.4 |
| Ronnie HarmonRB | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 72 | 6.0 |
| Jonathan HayesTE | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 3.0 |
| Robert SmithWR | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 2.5 |
| Owen GillRB | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2.0 |
| Chuck LongQB | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2.0 |
| Bill HappelWR | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2.0 |
| Scott HelversonWR | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2.0 |
| Mike FlaggTE | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1.0 |
| Marshall CottonRB | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| J.C. Love JordanWR | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0.5 |
| Fred BushRB | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 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 8 | Iowa State | W 59–21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 15 | Penn State | L 17–20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 22 | @ Ohio State | L 26–45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 29 | Illinois | W 21–16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 6 | @ Northwestern | W 31–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 13 | @ Purdue | W 40–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 20 | Michigan | W 26–0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 27 | @ Indiana | W 24–20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 3 | Wisconsin | T 10–10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 10 | Michigan State | L 16–17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 17 | @ Minnesota | L 17–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dec 1 | @ Hawaii | W 17–6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dec 26 | vs Texas Freedom Bowl | W 55–17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1984 Roster 30 players
| Player | Class | Pos | Season summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devon Mitchell | — | DB | |
| Jay Norvell | — | DB | |
| Keith Hunter | — | DB | |
| Ken Sims | — | DB | |
| Mike Stoops | — | DB | |
| Nate Creer* | — | DB | |
| Zane Corbin | — | DB | |
| Dave Strobel | — | DL | |
| Tom Nichol | — | K | |
| Larry Station | — | LB | |
| Kirk Banks | — | OL | |
| Gary Kostrubala | — | P | |
| Chuck Long | — | QB | 216 Cmp, 322 Att, 2871 Yds, 22 TD |
| Mark Vlasic | — | QB | 9 Cmp, 21 Att, 164 Yds, 0 TD |
| Eddie Polite | — | RB | 6 Att, 10 Yds, 1.7 Avg |
| Fred Bush | — | RB | 24 Att, 74 Yds, 3.1 Avg |
| Kevin Harmon | — | RB | 14 Att, 66 Yds, 4.7 Avg |
| Marshall Cotton | — | RB | 9 Att, 24 Yds, 2.7 Avg |
| Owen Gill | — | RB | 199 Att, 920 Yds, 4.6 Avg |
| Rick Bayless | — | RB | 27 Att, 140 Yds, 5.2 Avg |
| Ronnie Harmon | — | RB | 190 Att, 907 Yds, 4.8 Avg |
| Tim Sennott | — | RB | 27 Att, 87 Yds, 3.2 Avg |
| Jonathan Hayes | — | TE | 42 Rec, 512 Yds, 12.2 Avg |
| Mike Flagg | — | TE | 11 Rec, 179 Yds, 16.3 Avg |
| Bill Happel | — | WR | 47 Rec, 632 Yds, 13.4 Avg |
| J.C. Love Jordan | — | WR | 13 Rec, 180 Yds, 13.8 Avg |
| Kerry Burt | — | WR | 2 Rec, 61 Yds, 30.5 Avg |
| Quinn Early | — | WR | 4 Rec, 64 Yds, 16.0 Avg |
| Robert Smith | — | WR | 19 Rec, 506 Yds, 26.6 Avg |
| Scott Helverson | — | WR | 18 Rec, 250 Yds, 13.9 Avg |
1984 AP Poll Movement
AP Poll
Final
#16
Final Ranking
Season Summary
- Highest Rank
- #5
- Lowest Rank
- #18
- Weeks in Poll
- 9
- Total Weeks
- 16
Week-by-week rankings
Pre
#12
9/4
#10
9/11
#5
9/18
#14
9/25
NR
10/2
NR
10/9
NR
10/16
#18
10/23
#17
10/30
#17
11/6
#18
11/13
NR
11/20
NR
11/27
NR
12/4
NR
Final
#16
History Library
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Updated Oct 21, 12:30 AM