1985 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Season — Schedule, Stats, Results

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Season Snapshot 1985 at a glance

1985 Iowa Football

10-2

Overall

7-1

Big Ten

Bowl

Postseason

Lost 28-45 · Rose Bowl

#10

Final AP rank

Hayden Fry

Head coach

By the Numbers

Shutouts

Drake, Illinois

Power rating

+16.5

Simple Rating System — #8 nationally

Memorable Games

Highest score

vs Illinois on Nov 9

Best defensive game

held them to 0

vs Drake (58-0)

Closest game

2-point win

vs (2) Michigan (12-10)

Biggest win

by 59

vs Illinois (59-0)

Rankings & Streaks

Final AP rank

#10

end-of-season Associated Press poll

Longest win streak

consecutive wins during the season

Home record

6-0

at Carver / Kinnick / home court

Road record

4-2

true road games (excludes neutral sites)

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

FEATURED GAME

Beat #2 Michigan

12 vs 10

home vs Michigan · Oct 19, 1985

Took down #2 at home

Signature Wins

VS CY-HAWK

Beat Iowa State

57 vs 3

at Iowa State · Sep 28, 1985

Kept the Cy-Hawk — won by 54

VS HEARTLAND TROPHY

Beat Wisconsin

23 vs 13

at Wisconsin · Oct 12, 1985

Kept the Heartland Trophy — won by 10

VS FLOYD OF ROSEDALE

Beat Minnesota

31 vs 9

home vs Minnesota · Nov 23, 1985

Kept the Floyd of Rosedale — won by 22

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

ROSE BOWL (PASADENA, CA)

Lost to UCLA

28 vs 45

at UCLA · Jan 1, 1986

Came up short on the season's biggest stage

VS A TOP TEAM

Faced #8 Ohio State

13 vs 22

at Ohio State · Nov 2, 1985

Tough matchup against #8

Compare This Team

See how the 1985 Hawkeyes stack up against another Iowa season.

1985 Schedule 12 games

Date	Opponent	Score
Sep 14	Home Drake	58–0	W
Sep 21	Home Northern Illinois	48–20	W
Sep 28	Away Iowa State	57–3	W
Oct 5	Home Michigan State	35–31	W
Oct 12	Away Wisconsin	23–13	W
Oct 19	Home (2) Michigan	12–10	W
Oct 26	Away Northwestern	49–10	W
Nov 2	Away (8) Ohio State	13–22	L
Nov 9	Home Illinois	59–0	W
Nov 16	Away Purdue	27–24	W
Nov 23	Home Minnesota	31–9	W
Jan 1	Away (13) UCLA Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)	28–45	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

36.7 vs 15.6

Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.

+21.1 points per game

Total yards

— vs —

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

Pass yards

299.3 vs 175.2

Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.

+124.1 difference per game

Rush yards

164.9 vs 101.5

Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.

+63.4 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

Quarterback

Chuck Long

2,978 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, 15 interceptions (11 games).

Lead rusher

Ronnie Harmon

1,111 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns over 11 games.

Lead receiver

Bill Happel

50 catches, 812 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns.

Top tackler

Devon Mitchell

0 total tackles, — sacks, 5 interceptions.

Team Stats per Game

Stat

Offense

Defense

Diff

Pass Cmp

22.5

15.6

+6.9

Pass Att

34.7

29.2

+5.5

Pass Cmp %

64.7

53.6

+11.1

Pass Yds

299.3

175.2

+124.1

Pass TD

2.6

0.7

+1.9

Rush Att

39.4

39.5

-0.1

Rush Yds

164.9

101.5

+63.4

Rush Y/A

4.2

2.6

+1.6

Rush TD

2.1

0.7

+1.4

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
Chuck LongQBH-2,Maxwell,AA	11	231	351	65.8	2,978	26	15	8.5	8.0	12.9	270.7	153.0
Mark VlasicQB	11	16	31	51.6	314	3	0	10.1	12.1	19.6	28.5	168.6

Rushing & Receiving

Player	G	Rushing					Receiving					Scrimmage
		Att	Yds	Y/A	TD	Y/G	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Y/G	Plays	Yds	TD
Ronnie HarmonRB	11	209	1,111	5.3	9	101.0	49	597	12.2	1	54.3	258	1,708	10
Bill HappelWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	50	812	16.2	7	73.8	50	812	7
Scott HelversonWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	53	686	12.9	5	62.4	53	686	5
David HudsonRB	11	64	309	4.8	6	28.1	8	108	13.5	0	9.8	72	417	6
Robert SmithWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	17	357	21.0	7	32.5	17	357	7
Quinn EarlyWR	11	1	-2	-2.0	0	-0.2	16	281	17.6	1	25.5	17	279	1
Kevin HarmonRB	11	36	180	5.0	3	16.4	8	25	3.1	0	2.3	44	205	3
Mike FlaggTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	25	190	7.6	5	17.3	25	190	5
Rick BaylessRB	11	28	123	4.4	2	11.2	1	12	12.0	0	1.1	29	135	2
Jim MauroWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	4	115	28.8	1	10.5	4	115	1
Grant GoodmanRB	11	15	113	7.5	1	10.3	0	0	—	0	0.0	15	113	1
Fred BushRB	11	14	27	1.9	1	2.5	6	45	7.5	0	4.1	20	72	1
Marshall CottonRB	11	7	43	6.1	0	3.9	4	22	5.5	0	2.0	11	65	0
Craig ClarkTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	5	33	6.6	2	3.0	5	33	2
Dave MurphyTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	9	9.0	0	0.8	1	9	0
John Marchese	11	4	8	2.0	0	0.7	0	0	—	0	0.0	4	8	0
Jay HessQB	11	3	7	2.3	0	0.6	0	0	—	0	0.0	3	7	0
John RudolphRB	11	1	1	1.0	0	0.1	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	1	0
Tim SennottRB	11	1	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	0	0
Mark VlasicQB	11	4	-1	-0.3	0	-0.1	0	0	—	0	0.0	4	-1	0
S. Lemp	11	1	-2	-2.0	0	-0.2	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	-2	0
Chuck HartliebQB	11	5	-12	-2.4	0	-1.1	0	0	—	0	0.0	5	-12	0
Chuck LongQBH-2,Maxwell,AA	11	40	-91	-2.3	1	-8.3	0	0	—	0	0.0	40	-91	1

Defense & Fumbles

Player	G	Solo	Ast	Comb	TFL	Sk	Int	Yds	PD	FR	FF
Devon MitchellDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	5	1	—	—	—
Jay NorvellDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	7	93	—	—	—
Ken SimsDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	2	0	—	—	—
Larry StationLBAA	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	25	—	—	—
Mike BolanDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	5	—	—	—
Rick SchmidtDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	2	33	—	—	—

Kick & Punt Returns

Player	G	Kick Returns				Punt Returns				APYd
		Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
Ronnie HarmonRB	11	9	147	16.3	0	0	0	—	0	1,855
Robert SmithWR	11	3	83	27.7	0	9	51	5.7	0	491
Bill HappelWR	11	0	0	—	0	19	113	5.9	0	925
Kevin HarmonRB	11	3	72	24.0	0	0	0	—	0	277
Quinn EarlyWR	11	3	67	22.3	0	0	0	—	0	346
Grant GoodmanRB	11	1	16	16.0	0	0	0	—	0	129
Fred BushRB	11	1	3	3.0	0	0	0	—	0	75
Jay NorvellDB	11	0	0	—	0	1	0	0.0	0	93
Mike FlaggTE	11	1	-2	-2.0	0	0	0	—	0	188

Kicking & Punting

Player	G	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts	Pnt	Yds	Y/P
Gary KostrubalaP	11	0	0	—	0	0	—	0	38	1,507	39.7
Rob HoughtlinK	11	46	49	93.9	17	25	68.0	97	5	203	40.6
Marv CookTE	11	1	1	100.0	0	0	—	1	—	—	—

Scoring

Player	G	Rush	Rec	FR	Oth	TD	XPM	XPA	FGM	FGA	Sfty	Pts	Pts/G
Rob HoughtlinK	11	0	0	—	—	0	46	49	17	25	—	97	8.8
Ronnie HarmonRB	11	9	1	—	—	10	0	0	0	0	—	60	5.5
Robert SmithWR	11	0	7	—	—	7	0	0	0	0	—	42	3.8
Bill HappelWR	11	0	7	—	—	7	0	0	0	0	—	42	3.8
David HudsonRB	11	6	0	—	—	6	0	0	0	0	—	36	3.3
Scott HelversonWR	11	0	5	—	—	5	0	0	0	0	—	30	2.7
Mike FlaggTE	11	0	5	—	—	5	0	0	0	0	—	30	2.7
Kevin HarmonRB	11	3	0	—	—	3	0	0	0	0	—	18	1.6
Rick BaylessRB	11	2	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Craig ClarkTE	11	0	2	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Quinn EarlyWR	11	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Grant GoodmanRB	11	1	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Fred BushRB	11	1	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Jim MauroWR	11	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Chuck LongQB	11	1	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Marv CookTE	11	0	0	—	—	0	1	1	0	0	—	1	0.1

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 14	Drake	W 58–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 21	Northern Illinois	W 48–20	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 28	@ Iowa State	W 57–3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 5	Michigan State	W 35–31	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 12	@ Wisconsin	W 23–13	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 19	Michigan	W 12–10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 26	@ Northwestern	W 49–10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 2	@ Ohio State	L 13–22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 9	Illinois	W 59–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 16	@ Purdue	W 27–24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 23	Minnesota	W 31–9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Jan 1	@ UCLA Rose Bowl	L 28–45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

1985 Roster 33 players

Player	Class	Pos	Season summary
Devon Mitchell	—	DB
Jay Norvell	—	DB
Ken Sims	—	DB
Mike Bolan	—	DB
Nate Creer*	—	DB
Rick Schmidt	—	DB
Rob Houghtlin	—	K
Larry Station	—	LB
Gary Kostrubala	—	P
Chuck Hartlieb	—	QB
Chuck Long	—	QB	231 Cmp, 351 Att, 2978 Yds, 26 TD
Jay Hess	—	QB
Mark Vlasic	—	QB	16 Cmp, 31 Att, 314 Yds, 3 TD
David Hudson	—	RB	64 Att, 309 Yds, 4.8 Avg
Fred Bush	—	RB	14 Att, 27 Yds, 1.9 Avg
Grant Goodman	—	RB	15 Att, 113 Yds, 7.5 Avg
John Rudolph	—	RB	1 Att, 1 Yds, 1.0 Avg
Kevin Harmon	—	RB	36 Att, 180 Yds, 5.0 Avg
Marshall Cotton	—	RB	7 Att, 43 Yds, 6.1 Avg
Rick Bayless	—	RB	28 Att, 123 Yds, 4.4 Avg
Ronnie Harmon	—	RB	209 Att, 1111 Yds, 5.3 Avg
Tim Sennott	—	RB	1 Att, 0 Yds, 0.0 Avg
Craig Clark	—	TE	5 Rec, 33 Yds, 6.6 Avg
Dave Murphy	—	TE	1 Rec, 9 Yds, 9.0 Avg
Marv Cook	—	TE
Mike Flagg	—	TE	25 Rec, 190 Yds, 7.6 Avg
Bill Happel	—	WR	50 Rec, 812 Yds, 16.2 Avg
Jim Mauro	—	WR	4 Rec, 115 Yds, 28.8 Avg
Quinn Early	—	WR	16 Rec, 281 Yds, 17.6 Avg
Robert Smith	—	WR	17 Rec, 357 Yds, 21.0 Avg
Scott Helverson	—	WR	53 Rec, 686 Yds, 12.9 Avg
John Marchese	—	—
S. Lemp	—	—

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 1985 at a glance

1985 Iowa Football

By the Numbers

Memorable Games

Rankings & Streaks

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

Beat #2 Michigan

Signature Wins

Beat Iowa State

Beat Wisconsin

Beat Minnesota

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

Lost to UCLA

Faced #8 Ohio State

Compare This Team

1985 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

1985 Roster 33 players

1985 AP Poll Movement

AP Poll

History Library

Greatest Teams

Bowl Games

Rivalries

Best Defenses

Player Leaders

AP Poll History