1989 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Season — Schedule, Stats, Results

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Seasons All-Time Records In the NFL Legends

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1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980

Season Snapshot 1989 at a glance

1989 Iowa Football

5-6

Overall

3-5

Big Ten

Hayden Fry

Head coach

1989 Schedule 11 games

Date	Opponent	Score
Sep 16	Home Oregon	6–44	L
Sep 23	Away Iowa State	31–21	W
Sep 30	Home Tulsa	30–22	W
Oct 7	Home (24) Michigan State	14–17	L
Oct 14	Away Wisconsin	31–24	W
Oct 21	Home (5) Michigan	12–26	L
Oct 28	Away Northwestern	35–22	W
Nov 4	Home (8) Illinois	7–31	L
Nov 11	Away Ohio State	0–28	L
Nov 18	Away Purdue	24–0	W
Nov 25	Home Minnesota	7–43	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

17.9 vs 25.3

Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.

-7.4 points per game

Total yards

— vs —

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

Pass yards

223.2 vs 203.0

Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.

+20.2 difference per game

Rush yards

120.3 vs 146.5

Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.

-26.2 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

Matt Rodgers

2,222 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, 13 interceptions (11 games).

Lead rusher

Nick Bell

603 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns over 10 games.

Lead receiver

Travis Watkins

36 catches, 583 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns.

Top tackler

Brad Quast

0 total tackles, — sacks, 4 interceptions.

Team Stats per Game

Stat

Offense

Defense

Diff

Pass Cmp

17.8

16.5

+1.3

Pass Att

32.0

29.0

+3.0

Pass Cmp %

55.7

57.1

-1.4

Pass Yds

223.2

203.0

+20.2

Pass TD

1.2

0.0

Rush Att

36.5

43.6

-7.1

Rush Yds

120.3

146.5

-26.2

Rush Y/A

3.3

3.4

-0.1

Rush TD

1.2

1.6

-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
Matt RodgersQB	11	178	312	57.1	2,222	12	13	7.1	6.0	12.5	202.0	121.2
Tom PoholskyQB	5	13	31	41.9	142	0	3	4.6	0.2	10.9	28.4	61.1
Mike SaundersWR	11	2	3	66.7	66	1	0	22.0	28.7	33.0	6.0	361.5
Jim HartliebQB	9	3	4	75.0	25	0	1	6.3	-5.0	8.3	2.8	77.5
Michael TitleyTE	11	0	1	0.0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0
Tony StewartRB	10	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
Nick BellRB	10	117	603	5.2	4	60.3	12	96	8.0	1	9.6	129	699	5
Travis WatkinsWR	10	1	8	8.0	0	0.8	36	583	16.2	4	58.3	37	591	4
Mike SaundersWR	11	35	158	4.5	2	14.4	28	343	12.3	2	31.2	63	501	4
Danan HughesWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	28	471	16.8	2	42.8	28	471	2
Tony StewartRB	10	92	356	3.9	4	35.6	11	79	7.2	0	7.9	103	435	4
Richard BassRB	11	54	211	3.9	0	19.2	17	99	5.8	2	9.0	71	310	2
Peter MarcianoWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	19	305	16.1	1	27.7	19	305	1
Michael TitleyTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	22	256	11.6	0	23.3	22	256	0
John PalmerTE	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	13	136	10.5	1	12.4	13	136	1
Marvin LampkinRB	6	7	25	3.6	0	4.2	1	7	7.0	0	1.2	8	32	0
Lew MontgomeryRB	11	9	16	1.8	1	1.5	3	14	4.7	0	1.3	12	30	1
Scott NeumanWR	7	0	0	—	0	0.0	3	30	10.0	0	4.3	3	30	0
Jon FilloonWR	5	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	27	27.0	0	5.4	1	27	0
Jim HartliebQB	9	3	19	6.3	0	2.1	0	0	—	0	0.0	3	19	0
Alan CrossTE	10	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	6	6.0	0	0.6	1	6	0
Tom PoholskyQB	5	5	1	0.2	0	0.2	0	0	—	0	0.0	5	1	0
Matt RodgersQB	11	79	-74	-0.9	2	-6.7	1	3	3.0	0	0.3	80	-71	2

Defense & Fumbles

Player	G	Solo	Ast	Comb	TFL	Sk	Int	Yds	PD	FR	FF
Brad QuastLB	10	—	—	—	—	—	4	34	—	—	—
Eddie PollyDB	10	—	—	—	—	—	2	11	—	—	—
Leroy Smith*DL	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	—	—	—
Merton HanksDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	3	13	—	—	—
Tork HookDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	2	0	—	—	—

Kick & Punt Returns

Player	G	Kick Returns				Punt Returns				APYd
		Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
Mike SaundersWR	11	27	525	19.4	0	0	0	—	0	1,026
Danan HughesWR	11	11	216	19.6	0	0	0	—	0	687
Peter MarcianoWR	11	4	67	16.8	0	25	145	5.8	0	517
Marvin LampkinRB	6	3	64	21.3	0	0	0	—	0	96
Merton HanksDB	11	0	0	—	0	2	37	18.5	0	50
Lew MontgomeryRB	11	1	14	14.0	0	0	0	—	0	44
Eddie PollyDB	10	0	0	—	0	1	11	11.0	0	22
Alan CrossTE	10	1	5	5.0	0	0	0	—	0	11
Richard BassRB	11	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	310
Michael TitleyTE	11	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	256

Kicking & Punting

Player	G	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts	Pnt	Yds	Y/P
Jim HujsakP	11	0	0	—	0	0	—	0	50	1,928	38.6
Sean SnyderP	1	0	0	—	0	0	—	0	7	237	33.9
George MurphyK	11	23	24	95.8	4	5	80.0	35	—	—	—
Jeff SkillettK	11	0	0	—	0	1	0.0	0	—	—	—

Scoring

Player	G	Rush	Rec	FR	Oth	TD	XPM	XPA	FGM	FGA	Sfty	Pts	Pts/G
George MurphyK	11	0	0	—	—	0	23	24	4	5	—	35	3.2
Nick BellRB	10	4	1	—	—	5	0	0	0	0	—	30	3.0
Travis WatkinsWR	10	0	4	—	—	4	0	0	0	0	—	24	2.4
Mike SaundersWR	11	2	2	—	—	4	0	0	0	0	—	24	2.2
Tony StewartRB	10	4	0	—	—	4	0	0	0	0	—	24	2.4
Danan HughesWR	11	0	2	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Richard BassRB	11	0	2	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Matt RodgersQB	11	2	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
John PalmerTE	11	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Peter MarcianoWR	11	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Lew MontgomeryRB	11	1	0	—	—	1	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 16	Oregon	L 6–44	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 23	@ Iowa State	W 31–21	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 30	Tulsa	W 30–22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 7	Michigan State	L 14–17	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 14	@ Wisconsin	W 31–24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 21	Michigan	L 12–26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 28	@ Northwestern	W 35–22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 4	Illinois	L 7–31	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 11	@ Ohio State	L 0–28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 18	@ Purdue	W 24–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 25	Minnesota	L 7–43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

1989 Roster 26 players

Player	Class	Pos	Season summary
Eddie Polly	—	DB
Merton Hanks	—	DB
Tork Hook	—	DB
Leroy Smith*	—	DL
George Murphy	—	K
Jeff Skillett	—	K
Brad Quast	—	LB
Jim Hujsak	—	P
Sean Snyder	—	P
Jim Hartlieb	—	QB	3 Cmp, 4 Att, 25 Yds, 0 TD
Matt Rodgers	—	QB	178 Cmp, 312 Att, 2222 Yds, 12 TD
Tom Poholsky	—	QB	13 Cmp, 31 Att, 142 Yds, 0 TD
Lew Montgomery	—	RB	9 Att, 16 Yds, 1.8 Avg
Marvin Lampkin	—	RB	7 Att, 25 Yds, 3.6 Avg
Nick Bell	—	RB	117 Att, 603 Yds, 5.2 Avg
Richard Bass	—	RB	54 Att, 211 Yds, 3.9 Avg
Tony Stewart	—	RB	92 Att, 356 Yds, 3.9 Avg
Alan Cross	—	TE	1 Rec, 6 Yds, 6.0 Avg
John Palmer	—	TE	13 Rec, 136 Yds, 10.5 Avg
Michael Titley	—	TE	22 Rec, 256 Yds, 11.6 Avg
Danan Hughes	—	WR	28 Rec, 471 Yds, 16.8 Avg
Jon Filloon	—	WR	1 Rec, 27 Yds, 27.0 Avg
Mike Saunders	—	WR	28 Rec, 343 Yds, 12.3 Avg
Peter Marciano	—	WR	19 Rec, 305 Yds, 16.1 Avg
Scott Neuman	—	WR	3 Rec, 30 Yds, 10.0 Avg
Travis Watkins	—	WR	36 Rec, 583 Yds, 16.2 Avg

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 1989 at a glance

1989 Iowa Football

By the Numbers

Memorable Games

Rankings & Streaks

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

Beat Iowa State

Signature Wins

Beat Wisconsin

Beat Purdue

Beat Northwestern

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

Lost by 3 to Michigan State

Faced #5 Michigan

Faced #8 Illinois

Compare This Team

1989 Schedule 11 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

1989 Roster 26 players

1989 AP Poll Movement

AP Poll

History Library

Greatest Teams

Bowl Games

Rivalries

Best Defenses

Player Leaders

AP Poll History