1996 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Season — Schedule, Stats, Results

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Season Snapshot 1996 at a glance

1996 Iowa Football

9-3

Overall

6-2

Big Ten

Bowl

Postseason

Won 27-0 · Alamo Bowl

#18

Final AP rank

Hayden Fry

Head coach

1996 Schedule 12 games

Date	Opponent	Score
Sep 7	Home Arizona	21–20	W
Sep 14	Home Iowa State	38–13	W
Sep 21	Away Tulsa	20–27	L
Oct 5	Home Michigan State	37–30	W
Oct 12	Away Indiana	31–10	W
Oct 19	Away (10) Penn State	21–20	W
Oct 26	Home (2) Ohio State	26–38	L
Nov 2	Away Illinois	31–21	W
Nov 9	Home (18) Northwestern	13–40	L
Nov 16	Home Wisconsin	31–0	W
Nov 23	Away Minnesota	43–24	W
Dec 29	Neutral Texas Tech Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)	27–0	W

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

28.2 vs 20.2

Iowa scored versus Iowa allowed per game.

+8.0 points per game

Total yards

356.2 vs 317.4

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

+38.8 difference per game

Pass yards

180.1 vs 169.3

Yards from passing per game — Iowa versus opponents.

+10.8 difference per game

Rush yards

176.1 vs 148.1

Yards on the ground per game — Iowa versus opponents.

+28.0 difference per game

First downs

17.3 vs 17.4

A first down means a fresh set of four tries — earning more is good.

-0.1 difference per game

Turnovers

2.2 vs 3.0

Times Iowa lost the ball (lower is better) versus times the defense took it back (higher is better).

-0.8 difference per game

Top Performers

Quarterback

Matt Sherman

1,792 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, 10 interceptions (11 games).

Lead rusher

Sedrick Shaw

1,003 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns over 10 games.

Lead receiver

Tim Dwight

45 catches, 646 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns.

Top tackler

Kerry Cooks

0 total tackles, — sacks, 1 interceptions.

Team Stats per Game

Stat

Offense

Defense

Diff

Pass Cmp

14.4

14.1

+0.3

Pass Att

25.1

29.9

-4.8

Pass Cmp %

57.2

47.1

+10.1

Pass Yds

180.1

169.3

+10.8

Pass TD

1.1

1.2

-0.1

Rush Att

42.8

39.4

+3.4

Rush Yds

176.1

148.1

+28.0

Rush Y/A

4.1

3.8

+0.3

Rush TD

2.0

1.3

+0.7

Plays

67.9

69.3

-1.4

Total Yds

356.2

317.4

+38.8

Yds/Play

5.2

4.6

+0.6

1st Downs

17.3

17.4

-0.1

Penalties

6.0

4.8

+1.2

Penalty Yds

47.0

35.3

+11.7

Fumbles

1.1

1.5

-0.4

Interceptions

1.1

1.5

-0.4

Turnovers

2.2

3.0

-0.8

Splits

Offense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Home	6.0	4.0	2.0	186.2	158.7	344.8	2.5
Road	5.0	4.0	1.0	172.8	197.0	369.8	1.8

Defense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Home	6.0	4.0	2.0	130.2	175.2	305.3	3.0
Road	5.0	4.0	1.0	216.2	115.6	331.8	3.0

Offense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Loss	3.0	0.0	3.0	198.7	143.7	342.3	2.7
Win	8.0	8.0	0.0	173.1	188.3	361.4	2.0

Defense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Loss	3.0	0.0	3.0	189.0	218.7	407.7	1.0
Win	8.0	8.0	0.0	161.9	121.6	283.5	3.8

Offense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
November	4.0	3.0	1.0	193.8	179.0	372.8	2.0
October	4.0	3.0	1.0	185.3	145.0	330.3	2.5
September	3.0	2.0	1.0	155.0	213.7	368.7	2.0

Defense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
November	4.0	3.0	1.0	154.8	126.8	281.5	3.0
October	4.0	3.0	1.0	145.0	193.8	338.8	2.8
September	3.0	2.0	1.0	221.0	115.7	336.7	3.3

Offense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Saturday	11.0	8.0	3.0	180.1	176.1	356.2	2.2

Defense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Saturday	11.0	8.0	3.0	169.3	148.1	317.4	3.0

Offense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Big 12	1.0	1.0	0.0	235.0	301.0	536.0	4.0
Big Ten	8.0	6.0	2.0	189.5	162.0	351.5	2.3
Pac-10	1.0	1.0	0.0	81.0	123.0	204.0	2.0
WAC	1.0	0.0	1.0	149.0	217.0	366.0	0.0

Defense

Value	G	W	L	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	Total Yds	TO
Big 12	1.0	1.0	0.0	125.0	165.0	290.0	3.0
Big Ten	8.0	6.0	2.0	149.9	160.3	310.1	2.9
Pac-10	1.0	1.0	0.0	181.0	75.0	256.0	5.0
WAC	1.0	0.0	1.0	357.0	107.0	464.0	2.0

Player Stats

Passing

Player	G	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Y/A	AY/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate
Matt ShermanQB	11	145	248	58.5	1,792	12	10	7.2	6.4	12.4	162.9	127.1
Ryan DriscollQB	8	11	24	45.8	147	0	1	6.1	4.2	13.4	18.4	89.0
Rob TheinRB	11	1	1	100.0	25	0	0	25.0	25.0	25.0	2.3	310.0
Nick GalleryP	11	1	1	100.0	17	0	0	17.0	17.0	17.0	1.5	242.8
Tim DwightWR	11	0	2	0.0	0	0	1	0.0	-22.5	—	0.0	-100.0

Rushing & Receiving

Player	G	Rushing					Receiving					Scrimmage
		Att	Yds	Y/A	TD	Y/G	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Y/G	Plays	Yds	TD
Sedrick ShawRB	10	204	1,003	4.9	8	100.3	13	78	6.0	1	7.8	217	1,081	9
Tavian BanksRB	11	131	599	4.6	9	54.5	21	137	6.5	1	12.5	152	736	10
Tim DwightWR	11	9	68	7.6	3	6.2	45	646	14.4	4	58.7	54	714	7
Michael BurgerRB	11	47	261	5.6	2	23.7	6	52	8.7	0	4.7	53	313	2
Demosesneeds OdemsWR	11	2	36	18.0	0	3.3	18	262	14.6	0	23.8	20	298	0
Damon GibsonWR	9	0	0	—	0	0.0	16	257	16.1	3	28.6	16	257	3
Chris KnipperTE	10	0	0	—	0	0.0	14	173	12.4	3	17.3	14	173	3
Ricchard CarterWR	11	0	0	—	0	0.0	9	148	16.4	0	13.5	9	148	0
Aaron GranquistRB	11	8	77	9.6	0	7.0	4	19	4.8	0	1.7	12	96	0
Richard WillockWR	11	1	-2	-2.0	1	-0.2	5	97	19.4	0	8.8	6	95	1
Zeron FlemisterTE	7	0	0	—	0	0.0	5	66	13.2	0	9.4	5	66	0
Jed DullTE	9	0	0	—	0	0.0	2	46	23.0	0	5.1	2	46	0
Rodney FilerRB	11	7	34	4.9	0	3.1	0	0	—	0	0.0	7	34	0
Rob TheinRB	11	3	13	4.3	0	1.2	0	0	—	0	0.0	3	13	0
Ryan DriscollQB	8	5	11	2.2	0	1.4	0	0	—	0	0.0	5	11	0
Doug MillerRB	3	1	-1	-1.0	0	-0.3	0	0	—	0	0.0	1	-1	0
Matt ShermanQB	11	53	-162	-3.1	0	-14.7	0	0	—	0	0.0	53	-162	0

Defense & Fumbles

Player	G	Solo	Ast	Comb	TFL	Sk	Int	Yds	TD	PD	FR	FF
Kerry CooksDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	20	0	—	—	—
Matt HughesLB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	38	0	—	—	—
Plez AtkinsDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	35	0	—	—	—
Tom KnightDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	4	80	1	—	—	—
Brett ChambersDL	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	—	—	—
Damien RobinsonDB	11	—	—	—	—	—	6	99	0	—	—	—
Eric ThigpenDB	7	—	—	—	—	—	1	2	0	—	—	—
Vernon RollinsLB	11	—	—	—	—	—	1	20	1	—	—	—

Kick & Punt Returns

Player	G	Kick Returns				Punt Returns				APYd
		Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
Tim DwightWR	11	12	227	18.9	0	22	417	19.0	2	1,358
Ricchard CarterWR	11	11	281	25.5	0	0	0	—	0	429
Demosesneeds OdemsWR	11	0	0	—	0	10	143	14.3	0	441
Damien RobinsonDB	11	4	51	12.8	0	1	0	0.0	0	150
Tavian BanksRB	11	2	44	22.0	0	1	5	5.0	0	785
Ed GibsonDB	11	1	25	25.0	0	1	0	0.0	0	25
Trevor BollersRB	7	1	4	4.0	0	0	0	—	0	4
J.P. LangeDB	2	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0

Kicking & Punting

Player	G	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts	Pnt	Yds	Y/P
Nick GalleryP	11	0	0	—	0	0	—	0	44	1,956	44.5
Brion HurleyK	11	0	0	—	5	11	45.5	15	10	325	32.5
Zach BromertK	11	35	36	97.2	6	8	75.0	53	—	—	—

Scoring

Player	G	Rush	Rec	PR	Int	FR	Oth	TD	XPM	XPA	FGM	FGA	Sfty	Pts	Pts/G
Tavian BanksRB	11	9	1	0	0	—	—	10	0	0	0	0	—	60	5.5
Sedrick ShawRB	10	8	1	0	0	—	—	9	0	0	0	0	—	54	5.4
Tim DwightWR	11	3	4	2	0	—	—	9	0	0	0	0	—	54	4.9
Zach BromertK	11	0	0	0	0	—	—	0	35	36	6	8	—	53	4.8
Chris KnipperTE	10	0	3	0	0	—	—	3	0	0	0	0	—	18	1.8
Damon GibsonWR	9	0	3	0	0	—	—	3	0	0	0	0	—	18	2.0
Brion HurleyK	11	0	0	0	0	—	—	0	0	0	5	11	—	15	1.4
Michael BurgerRB	11	2	0	0	0	—	—	2	0	0	0	0	—	12	1.1
Richard WillockWR	11	1	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Tom KnightDB	11	0	0	0	1	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	—	6	0.5
Vernon RollinsLB	11	0	0	0	1	—	—	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 7	Arizona	W 21–20	10	17	81	1	4.8	118.3	48	123	1	65	204	3.1	—	—	2	0	2
Sep 14	Iowa State	W 38–13	20	30	235	1	7.8	136.8	42	301	4	72	536	7.4	—	—	3	1	4
Sep 21	@ Tulsa	L 20–27	10	21	149	1	7.1	122.9	48	217	1	69	366	5.3	—	—	0	0	0
Oct 5	Michigan State	W 37–30	10	19	177	3	9.3	172.5	39	138	2	58	315	5.4	—	—	0	1	1
Oct 12	@ Indiana	W 31–10	16	30	243	0	8.1	108.0	50	207	3	80	450	5.6	—	—	1	2	3
Oct 19	@ Penn State	W 21–20	9	21	129	0	6.1	94.5	38	131	2	59	260	4.4	—	—	1	0	1
Oct 26	Ohio State	L 26–38	18	38	192	0	5.1	68.8	35	104	2	73	296	4.1	—	—	1	4	5
Nov 2	@ Illinois	W 31–21	15	22	117	2	5.3	124.7	50	203	1	72	320	4.4	—	—	1	2	3
Nov 9	Northwestern	L 13–40	16	32	255	2	8.0	125.1	30	110	0	62	365	5.9	—	—	1	2	3
Nov 16	Wisconsin	W 31–0	17	25	177	1	7.1	140.7	46	176	3	71	353	5.0	—	—	0	0	0
Nov 23	@ Minnesota	W 43–24	17	21	226	1	10.8	187.1	45	227	3	66	453	6.9	—	—	2	0	2
Dec 29	vs Texas Tech Alamo Bowl	W 27–0	10	17	139	0	8.2	127.5	52	217	3	69	356	5.2	—	—	0	0	0

1996 Roster 31 players

Player	Class	Pos	Season summary
Damien Robinson	—	DB
Eric Thigpen	—	DB
J.P. Lange	—	DB
Kerry Cooks	—	DB
Plez Atkins	—	DB
Tom Knight	—	DB
Bart Palmer	—	DL
Brett Chambers	—	DL
Brion Hurley	—	K
Zach Bromert	—	K
Matt Hughes	—	LB
Vernon Rollins	—	LB
Nick Gallery	—	P
Matt Sherman	—	QB	154 Cmp, 264 Att, 1918 Yds, 12 TD
Ryan Driscoll	—	QB	12 Cmp, 25 Att, 160 Yds, 0 TD
Aaron Granquist	—	RB	12 Att, 102 Yds, 8.5 Avg
Doug Miller	—	RB	1 Att, -1 Yds, -1.0 Avg
Michael Burger	—	RB	50 Att, 269 Yds, 5.4 Avg
Rob Thein	—	RB	7 Att, 37 Yds, 5.3 Avg
Rodney Filer	—	RB	11 Att, 75 Yds, 6.8 Avg
Sedrick Shaw	—	RB	224 Att, 1116 Yds, 5.0 Avg
Tavian Banks	—	RB	144 Att, 629 Yds, 4.4 Avg
Trevor Bollers	—	RB
Chris Knipper	—	TE	15 Rec, 190 Yds, 12.7 Avg
Jed Dull	—	TE	2 Rec, 46 Yds, 23.0 Avg
Zeron Flemister	—	TE	5 Rec, 66 Yds, 13.2 Avg
Damon Gibson	—	WR	17 Rec, 260 Yds, 15.3 Avg
Demosesneeds Odems	—	WR	18 Rec, 262 Yds, 14.6 Avg
Ricchard Carter	—	WR	9 Rec, 148 Yds, 16.4 Avg
Richard Willock	—	WR	6 Rec, 110 Yds, 18.3 Avg
Tim Dwight	—	WR	51 Rec, 751 Yds, 14.7 Avg

1996 AP Poll Movement

AP Poll

Final

#18

Final Ranking

Season Summary

Highest Rank: #18
Lowest Rank: #25
Weeks in Poll: 13
Total Weeks: 18

Week-by-week rankings

Pre

#22

8/26

#22

9/2

#22

9/9

#21

9/16

#19

9/23

9/30

10/7

10/14

10/21

#20

10/28

#25

11/4

#23

11/11

11/18

#24

11/25

#22

12/2

#21

12/9

#21

Final

#18

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 1996 at a glance

1996 Iowa Football

By the Numbers

Memorable Games

Rankings & Streaks

Season Defining Games ranked wins, overtime battles, and heartbreakers

Beat #10 Penn State

Signature Wins

Beat Texas Tech

Beat Minnesota

Beat Wisconsin

Heartbreakers & Tough Tests

Faced #2 Ohio State

Faced #18 Northwestern

Compare This Team

1996 Schedule 12 games

Team & Player Stats

Per-Game Averages

Top Performers

Team Stats per Game

Splits

Offense

Defense

Offense

Defense

Offense

Defense

Offense

Defense

Offense

Defense

Player Stats

Passing

Rushing & Receiving

Defense & Fumbles

Kick & Punt Returns

Kicking & Punting

Scoring

Game Logs

1996 Roster 31 players

1996 AP Poll Movement

AP Poll

Greatest Teams

Bowl Games

Rivalries

Best Defenses

Player Leaders

AP Poll History

Greatest Iowa Teams

Iowa Bowl Games

Iowa Rivalries

Best Iowa Defenses

All-Time Single-Season Leaders

Passing yards

Rushing yards

Receiving yards

Tackles

AP Poll History