1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their seventh year under head coach Hayden Fry, the Hawkeyes compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 304 to 184. They lost to UCLA in the 1986 Rose Bowl and were ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll and No. 9 in the final UPI poll.^[3][4]

1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 28–45 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 10
Record	10–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Hayden Fry (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Snyder (7th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Brashier (7th season)
MVP	13 players[1] Nate Creer Mike Haight Bill Happel Ronnie Harmon Scott Helverson Tom Humphrey Chuck Long George Millett Devon Mitchell Jay Norvell Kelly O'Brien Hap Peterson Larry Station
Captains	Mike Haight Ronnie Harmon Chuck Long Hap Peterson Larry Station[2]
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Iowa $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 2 Michigan	6	–	1	–	1			10	–	1	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1			6	–	5	–	1
No. 14 Ohio State	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Chuck Long declared that he would return for his senior season. He became an instant Heisman Trophy candidate, and Iowa was a preseason top five team. After three weeks in 1985, the Hawkeyes ascended to No. 1 in the national rankings for the second time in team history (1960). Three weeks later, in the sixth game of the season, No. 1 Iowa faced No. 2 Michigan at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa trailed 10–9 as the Hawkeyes regained possession of the football at their own 22-yard line with just 5:27 remaining in the game. Long drove the Iowa team to the 12-yard line with two seconds remaining to set up kicker Rob Houghtlin's game-winning field goal as time expired. After a rout of Northwestern, the Hawkeyes were upset by the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. The loss to Ohio State cost Iowa their No. 1 ranking, but the Hawkeyes still won the Big Ten title outright for the first time in 27 years.^[5]

Long won a number of major national awards, including the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's top player and the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback, and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the top player in the Big Ten. He was a consensus first-team selection to the 1985 College Football All-America Team and the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy to Bo Jackson of Auburn, losing by just 45 points.

Iowa lost Long's final game, the 1986 Rose Bowl, to UCLA by a score of 45–28. Long's Iowa teams compiled a 35–13–1 record. He graduated with 10,461 passing yards and 74 touchdowns on 782 completions.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	Drake*	No. 5	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 58–0	66,135	[6]
September 21	Northern Illinois*	No. 4	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 48–20	66,014	[7]
September 28	at Iowa State*	No. 3	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)	ABC	W 57–3	53,202	[8]
October 5	Michigan State	No. 1	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	CBS	W 35–31	66,044	[9]
October 12	at Wisconsin	No. 1	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)		W 23–13	79,023	[10]
October 19	No. 2 Michigan	No. 1	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	CBS	W 12–10	66,350	[11]
October 26	at Northwestern	No. 1	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 49–10	47,269	[12]
November 2	at No. 8 Ohio State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	CBS	L 13–22	90,467	[13]
November 9	Illinois	No. 6	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 59–0	66,120	[14]
November 16	at Purdue	No. 5	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	CBS	W 27–24	57,762	[15]
November 23	Minnesota	No. 3	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	TBS	W 31–9	66,020	[16]
January 1	vs. No. 13 UCLA*	No. 4	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 28–45	103,292	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[18]

Rankings

Further information: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	4 (7)	4 (5)	5 (5)	4 (5)	3 (5)	1 (35)	1 (34)	1 (27)	1 (60)	1 (58)	6	5	3	2 (3)	3 (3)	4 (2)	10
Coaches	8 (1)		7	4	3	1 (19)	1 (16)	1 (16)	1 (42)	1 (42)	6	5	4	3	3	3	9

^[19]

Game summaries

Drake

Drake at #5 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0
• No. 5 Hawkeyes	0	14	37	7	58

• Date: September 14
• Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 1:05 p.m. EDT
• Elapsed time: 2:55
• Game attendance: 66,135
• Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), Partly cloudy, Wind SW 10–12 miles per hour (16–19 km/h)
• Referee: Jim Kemerling

• Source: Box score and Game story

      

Scoring summary

2	10:37	IOWA	Clark 6-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 7–0
	0:02	IOWA	Helverson 4-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 14–0
3	11:28	IOWA	R. Harmon 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 21–0
	9:16	IOWA	R. Harmon 6-yard run (kick failed)	Iowa 27–0
	5:50	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 46-yard field goal	Iowa 30–0
	4:37	IOWA	K. Harmon 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 37–0
	3:40	IOWA	Hudson 10-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 44–0
	1:50	IOWA	Helverson 31-yard pass from Vlasic (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 51–0
4	8:41	IOWA	Bayless 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 58–0

See also: 1985 Drake Bulldogs football team

^[20]

	Drake	Iowa
First Downs	9	25
Rushing Yards	–36	167
Passing	19–37–1	25–37–0
Passing Yards	184	324
Total Offense	148	491
Fumbles Lost	2–2	0–0
Punts-Average	9–35.5	4–36.5
Penalties	6–59	6–37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Drake	Passing	Ed Cheatham	12–17, 121 yards, INT
	Rushing	Lawrence	3 carries, 10 yards
	Receiving	Peterson	6 receptions, 85 yards
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	21–31, 248 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	14 carries, 58 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Scott Helverson	7 receptions, 88 yards, 2 TD

Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois at #4 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	7	6	7	20
• Hawkeyes	14	10	14	10	48

• Date: September 21
• Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 1:05 p.m. EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:00
• Game attendance: 66,014
• Game weather: ~65 °F (18 °C), Cloudy
• Referee: Tom Quinn

• Source: Box score and Game story

       

Scoring summary

1	4:52	Iowa	Smith 8-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 7–0
	3:08	Iowa	Happel 36-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 14–0
2	11:57	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 50-yard field goal	Iowa 17–0
	9:08	Iowa	Happel 39-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 24–0
	5:06	NIU	Wooldridge 21-yard pass from Taylor (Forester kick)	Iowa 24–7
3	6:31	Iowa	Early 15-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 31–7
	5:32	NIU	Taylor 1-yard run (run failed)	Iowa 31–13
	3:32	Iowa	Happel 12-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 38–13
4	11:43	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 41-yard field goal	Iowa 41–13
	5:46	Iowa	Mauro 16-yard pass from Vlasic (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 48–13
	1:34	NIU	Gerin 22-yard pass from Genatempo (Forester kick)	Iowa 48–20

See also: 1985 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

Senior WR Bill Happel had a big day with 207 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. The yardage total marked the first time a Hawkeye had more than 200 yards receiving in a single game and stood as the school record for two years.

^[21]

	NIU	Iowa
First Downs	8	25
Rushing Yards	16	187
Passing	5–14–2	20–32–3
Passing Yards	69	347
Total Offense	85	534
Fumbles Lost	4–3	3–3
Punts-Average	10–43.8	3–48.0
Penalties	2–10	7–55
Time of Possession	30:35	29:25

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Illinois	Passing	Marshall Taylor	3–9, 41 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Antonio Davis	6 carries, 27 yards
	Receiving	Andy Wooldridge	2 receptions, 37 yards, TD
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	18–28, 270 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	17 carries, 92 yards
	Receiving	Bill Happel	9 receptions, 207 yards, 3 TD

at Iowa State

#3 Iowa at Iowa State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Hawkeyes	7	34	16	0	57
Cyclones	0	0	0	3	3

• Date: September 28
• Location: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa
• Game start: 2:30 p.m. EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:25
• Game attendance: 53,202
• Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), Wind NE 15 mph (24 km/h)
• Referee: Vance Carlson
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Lee Grosscup, and Al Trautwig

• Source: Box score and Game story

       

Scoring summary

1	4:11	Iowa	Fred Bush 4-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 7–0
2	14:05	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 47-yard field goal	Iowa 10–0
	8:55	Iowa	R. Harmon 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 17–0
	6:59	Iowa	R. Harmon 23-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 24–0
	2:48	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 41-yard field goal	Iowa 27–0
	1:47	Iowa	Mike Flagg 3-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 34–0
	0:47	Iowa	Smith 9-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 41–0
3	13:19	Iowa	Scott Helverson 46-yard pass from Chuck Long (kick failed)	Iowa 47–0
	9:37	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 27-yard field goal	Iowa 50–0
	2:33	Iowa	Scott Helverson 26-yard pass from Vlassic (Cook kick)	Iowa 57–0
4	5:21	ISU	Frank 52-yard field goal	Iowa 57–3

See also: 1985 Iowa State Cyclones football team and Iowa–Iowa State football rivalry

The Hawkeyes earned the third of 15 consecutive wins over their in-state rivals. To date, this remains the largest margin of victory in the series. The convincing win vaulted Iowa to the #1 ranking in the country, a spot they would occupy for five consecutive weeks.

^{[22] [23]}

	Iowa	ISU
First Downs	23	13
Rushing Yards	138	73
Passing	24–40–0	16–33–1
Passing Yards	357	157
Total Offense	495	230
Fumbles Lost	3–2	6–3
Punts-Average	3–38.7	8–35.1
Penalties	6–55	4–26
Time of Possession	28:33	31:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	19–32, 223 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	19 carries, 103 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Scott Helverson	8 receptions, 154 yards, 2 TD
Iowa State	Passing	Alex Espinoza	16–33, 157 yards, INT
	Rushing	Marques Rodgers	12 carries, 55 yards
	Receiving	Danny Gantt	4 receptions, 43 yards

Michigan State

Michigan State at #1 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	10	14	7	31
• No. 1 Hawkeyes	7	6	15	7	35

• Date: October 5
• Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 1:40 p.m. CDT
• Elapsed time: 3:50
• Game attendance: 66,044
• Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), Cloudy, Wind NW 20–25 mph (32–40 km/h)
• Referee: Tom Quinn
• TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian

• Source: Box score and Game story

      

Scoring summary

1	10:23	Iowa	Robert Smith 60-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 7–0
2	13:12	Iowa	Mike Flagg 17-yard pass from Chuck Long (kick failed)	Iowa 13–0
	11:34	MSU	Chris Caudell 32-yard field goal	Iowa 13–3
	9:15	MSU	Andre Rison 50-yard pass from Bobby McAllister (Caudell kick)	Iowa 13–10
3	12:30	MSU	Lorenzo White 23-yard run (Caudell kick)	MSU 17–13
	7:01	MSU	Lorenzo White 1-yard run (Caudell kick)	MSU 24–13
	6:16	Iowa	Robert Smith 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Flagg pass from Long for two-point conversion)	MSU 24–21
	3:21	Iowa	Mike Flagg 12-yard pass from Chuck Long (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 28–24
4	4:06	MSU	Craig Johnson 25-yard run (Caudell kick)	MSU 31–28
	0:27	Iowa	Chuck Long 2-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 35–31

See also: 1985 Michigan State Spartans football team

In their first game since ascending to the #1 ranking, the Hawkeyes survived a wild, back and forth thriller. The teams combined for well over 1,000 yards of total offense. Chuck Long (30–39, 380 yards, 4 TD) scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard bootleg with 27 seconds remaining.

^[24]

	MSU	Iowa
First Downs	28	25
Rushing Yards	305	108
Passing	18–28–0	30–39–2
Passing Yards	275	380
Total Offense	580	488
Fumbles Lost	1–0	0–0
Punts-Average	6–37.0	5–45.2
Penalties	9–50	4–40
Time of Possession	36:15	23:45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing	Bobby McAllister	18–27, 275 yards, TD
	Rushing	Lorenzo White	39 carries, 226 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Mark Ingram	7 receptions, 148 yards
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	30–39, 380 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	20 carries, 84 yards
	Receiving	Scott Helverson	9 receptions, 102 yards

at Wisconsin

#1 Iowa at Wisconsin

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 1 Hawkeyes	3	7	3	10	23
Badgers	0	0	10	3	13

• Date: October 12
• Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
• Game start: 1:08 p.m. CDT
• Elapsed time: 2:51
• Game attendance: 79,023
• Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), Cloudy, Wind SSW 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h)
• Referee: John Nealon

• Source: Box score and Game story

Scoring summary

1	3:55	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 30-yard field goal	Iowa 3–0
2	11:42	IOWA	Bill Happel 8-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	Iowa 10–0
3	5:52	WIS	Joe Armentrout 3-yard pass from Bud Keyes (Todd Gregoire kick)	Iowa 10–7
3	3:53	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 40-yard field goal	Iowa 13–7
3	0:07	WIS	Todd Gregoire 27-yard field goal	Iowa 13–10
4	10:52	IOWA	Ronnie Harmon 12-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 20-10
4	6:01	WIS	Todd Gregoire 24-yard field goal	Iowa 20–13
4	3:14	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 35-yard field goal	Iowa 23–13

See also: 1985 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry

^[25]

	Iowa	Wis
First Downs	15	17
Rushing Yards	174	172
Passing	18–30–1	13–31–3
Passing Yards	167	134
Total Offense	341	306
Fumbles Lost	2–2	0–0
Punts-Average	5–43.4	8–36.8
Penalties	7–49	5–35
Time of Possession	26:58	33:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	18–28, 167 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	20 carries, 175 yards, TD
	Receiving	Ronnie Harmon	8 receptions, 62 yards
Wisconsin	Passing	Bud Keyes	7–19, 88 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Larry Emery	19 carries, 104 yards
	Receiving	Scott Sharron	5 receptions, 47 yards

No. 2 Michigan

#2 Michigan at #1 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Wolverines	0	7	0	3	10
• No. 1 Hawkeyes	0	6	0	6	12

• Date: October 19
• Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 2:50 p.m. CDT
• Elapsed time: 3:00
• Game attendance: 66,350
• Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), Chance of showers, Wind SW 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h)
• Referee: Jerry Hendrickson
• TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian

• Source: Box score and Game story

    

Scoring summary

2	9:05	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 35-yard field goal	Iowa 3–0
	6:06	MICH	White 6-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Mike Gillette kick)	Mich 7–3
	0:04	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 27-yard field goal	Mich 7–6
4	14:20	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 36-yard field goal	Iowa 9–7
	10:55	MICH	Mike Gillette 40-yard field goal	Mich 10–9
	0:00	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 29-yard field goal	Iowa 12–10

See also: 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team

The #1 Hawkeyes dominated the game statistically — holding major advantages in total yards (422–182), offensive plays (84–41), and time of possession (38:05-21:55) — but could not find the end zone. Rob Houghtlin kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired to lift the top-ranked Hawkeyes to victory over the #2 "Wolverdinks", as Houghtlin referred to them.^[26]

^{[27] [28] [29] [30] [31]}

	Mich	Iowa
First Downs	9	26
Rushing Yards	127	125
Passing	8–13–0	26–39–1
Passing Yards	55	297
Total Offense	182	422
Fumbles Lost	0–0	1–0
Punts-Average	6–39.8	3–31.7
Penalties	4–35	3–26
Time of Possession	21:55	38:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan	Passing	Jim Harbaugh	8–13, 55 yards, TD
	Rushing	Jamie Morris	14 carries, 70 yards
	Receiving	Paul Jokisch	2 receptions, 23 yards
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	26–39, 297 yards, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	32 carries, 120 yards
	Receiving	Bill Happel	9 receptions, 107 yards

at Northwestern

#1 Iowa at Northwestern

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 1 Hawkeyes	7	21	7	14	49
Wildcats	0	3	0	7	10

• Date: October 26
• Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
• Game start: 1:37 p.m. CDT
• Elapsed time: 2:44
• Game attendance: 47,276
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), Sunny, Wind SW 14 mph (23 km/h)

• Source: Box score and Game story

Scoring summary

1	8:48	IOWA	Bill Happel 28-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 7–0
2	9:16	NW	John Duvic 21-yard field goal	IOWA 7–3
2	7:14	IOWA	Ronnie Harmon 44-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 14–3
2	3:44	IOWA	Robert Smith 89-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 21–3
2	2:37	IOWA	Bill Happel 35-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 28–3
3	11:22	IOWA	Bill Happel 25-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 35–3
4	14:52	IOWA	Craig Clark 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 42–3
4	12:51	IOWA	Kevin Harmon 2-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 49–3
4	2:02	NW	Marc Bumgarner 4-yard pass from Mike Greenfield (John Duvic kick)	IOWA 49–10

See also: 1985 Northwestern Wildcats football team

On a windy day in Evanston, Chuck Long went 19-26 for 399 yards and a Big Ten record-tying 6 TDs. Bill Happel hauled in three touchdowns, finishing with 117 yards on 5 receptions.

^{[32] [33] [34]}

	Iowa	NW
First Downs	20	18
Rushing Yards	124	46
Passing	19–26–1	21–40–3
Passing Yards	399	242
Total Offense	523	288
Fumbles Lost	1–0	1–0
Punts-Average	4–36.3	7–42.6
Penalties	4–34	3–15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	19–26, 399 yards, 6 TD, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	14 carries, 74 yards
	Receiving	Bill Happel	5 receptions, 117 yards, 3 TD
Northwestern	Passing	Mike Greenfield	21–40, 242 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Mike Greenfield	29 carries, 18 yards
	Receiving	George Jones	4 receptions, 84 yards

at No. 8 Ohio State

#1 Iowa at #8 Ohio State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Hawkeyes	0	7	0	6	13
• No. 8 Buckeyes	5	10	0	7	22

• Date: November 2
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 2:44 p.m. CST
• Elapsed time: 3:19
• Game attendance: 90,467
• Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), Rain, Wind S 10 mph (16 km/h)
• Referee: Gil Marchman
• TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian

• Source: Box score Archived 2015-11-25 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary

1	11:03	OSU	Rich Spangler 28-yard field goal	OSU 3–0
1	0:02	OSU	Safety, Sonny Gordan blocked punt out of end zone	OSU 5–0
2	9:06	OSU	John Woolridge 57-yard run (Spangler kick)	OSU 12–0
2	5:00	OSU	Rich Spangler 26-yard field goal	OSU 15–0
2	0:28	Iowa	Ronnie Harmon 3-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	OSU 15–7
4	11:39	OSU	Vince Workman 4-yard run (Spangler kick)	OSU 22–7
4	8:19	Iowa	David Hudson 2-yard run (run failed)	OSU 22–13

See also: 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

^[35]

	Iowa	Ohio St
First Downs	21	16
Rushing Yards	186	233
Passing	17–34–4	10–17–2
Passing Yards	169	151
Total Offense	345	370
Fumbles Lost	2–1	1–0
Punts-Average	4–32.5	4–45.3
Penalties	3–16	7–57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	19–26, 169 yards, 4 INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	26 carries, 120 yards, TD
	Receiving	Ronnie Harmon	5 receptions, 19 yards
Ohio State	Passing	Jim Karsatos	10–17, 151 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	George Cooper	17 carries, 104 yards
	Receiving	Cris Carter	3 receptions, 65 yards

Illinois

Illinois at #6 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	0	0	0	0
• No. 6 Hawkeyes	35	14	0	10	59

• Date: November 9
• Location:
  Kinnick Stadium,
  Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start: 1:05 p.m. CST
• Elapsed time: 3:20
• Game attendance: 66,120
• Game weather: ~45 °F (7 °C), Cloudy, rain, Wind NE 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h)
• Referee: Otho Kortz

• Source: Box score

Scoring summary

1	11:54	IOWA	R. Smith 49-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 7–0
1	10:16	IOWA	Hudson 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 14–0
1	7:28	IOWA	R. Smith 43-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 21–0
1	4:36	IOWA	R. Harmon 46-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 28–0
1	0:59	IOWA	Hudson 10-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 35–0
2	5:16	IOWA	Flagg 1-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 42–0
2	2:31	IOWA	Helverson 9-yard pass from Long (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 49–0
4	13:12	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 37-yard field goal	IOWA 52–0
4	8:21	IOWA	Goodman 16-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 59–0

See also: 1985 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

^{[36] [37] [38] [39]}

	Illinois	Iowa
First Downs	14	27
Rushing Yards	5	232
Passing	30–58–5	27–41–1
Passing Yards	227	316
Total Offense	232	548
Fumbles Lost	5–4	1–0
Punts-Average	9–34.8	6–42.2
Penalties	10–82	5–62
Time of Possession	27:09	32:51

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing	Jack Trudeau	26–47, 208 yards, 4 INT
	Rushing	Thomas Rooks	7 carries, 26 yards
	Receiving	David Williams	10 receptions, 70 yards
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	22–30, 289 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	32 carries, 120 yards
	Receiving	Robert Smith	3 receptions, 98 yards, 2 TD

at Purdue

#5 Iowa at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 5 Hawkeyes	7	17	0	3	27
Boilermakers	7	10	0	7	24

• Date: November 16
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
• Game start: 3:42 p.m. EST
• Elapsed time: 3:17
• Game attendance: 57,762
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), Cloudy, Wind WSW 23 mph (37 km/h)
• Referee: Tom Quinn
• TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, and Pat O'Brien

• Source: Box score and Game story

Scoring summary

1	9:21	Purdue	Griffin 49-yard pass from Jim Everett (Briggs kick)	Purdue 7–0
1	0:08	Iowa	Ronnie Harmon 2-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	Tied 7–7
2	14:02	Iowa	Hudson 1-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 14–7
2	9:53	Purdue	Medlock 1-yard run (Briggs kick)	Tied 14–14
2	5:55	Iowa	Hudson 1-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 21–14
2	1:30	Purdue	Briggs 37-yard field goal	IOWA 21–17
2	0:02	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 33-yard field goal	IOWA 24–17
4	6:35	Purdue	Medlock 2-yard run (Briggs kick)	Tied 24–24
4	1:08	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 25-yard field goal	IOWA 27–24

See also: 1985 Purdue Boilermakers football team

^{[40] [41] [42]}

	Iowa	Purdue
First Downs	28	16
Rushing Yards	206	36
Passing	20–33–1	23–32–1
Passing Yards	268	315
Total Offense	474	351
Fumbles Lost	1–0	2–1
Punts-Average	5–31.8	4–29.8
Penalties	4–19	2–10
Time of Possession	34:30	25:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	20–33, 268 yards, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	25 carries, 122 yards, TD
	Receiving	Ronnie Harmon	9 receptions, 118 yards
Purdue	Passing	Jim Everett	23–32, 315 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ray Wallace	10 carries, 21 yards
	Receiving	Steve Griffin	4 receptions, 110 yards, TD

Minnesota

Minnesota at #3 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	3	0	0	6	9
• No. 3 Hawkeyes	7	10	7	7	31

• Date: November 23
• Location:
  Kinnick Stadium,
  Iowa City, Iowa
• Game start:
  11:40 a.m. CST
• Elapsed time: 3:00
• Game attendance: 66,020
• Game weather: ~25 °F (−4 °C), Cloudy, Wind NNW 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h)
• Referee: John Nealon
• TV announcers (TBS Sports): Pete van Wieren (play-by-play) and Ron Kramer (analyst)

• Source: Box score and Game story

Scoring summary

1	9:48	Iowa	Ronnie Harmon 5-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 7–0
1	1:54	Minn	Chip Lohmiller 35-yard field goal	IOWA 7–3
2	5:15	Iowa	Rob Houghtlin 26-yard field goal	IOWA 10–3
2	1:40	Iowa	Mike Flagg 4-yard pass from Chuck Long (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 17–3
3	9:39	Iowa	Kevin Harmon 10-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 24–3
4	14:11	Iowa	Rick Bayless 5-yard run (Rob Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 31–3
4	2:01	Minn	Gailord 16-yard pass from Holt (conversion failed)	IOWA 31–9

See also: 1985 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry

In the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale, Iowa beat the Golden Gophers in Lou Holtz's last game as Minnesota's head coach. Chuck Long, in his final game at Kinnick Stadium, became the first player in Big Ten history to eclipse 10,000 career passing yards.

^{[43] [44]}

	Minn	Iowa
First Downs	18	24
Rushing Yards	154	177
Passing	9–18–0	21–31–1
Passing Yards	118	268
Total Offense	272	445
Fumbles Lost	4–2	2–1
Punts-Average	6–32.8	2–39.5
Penalties	1–5	6–30
Time of Possession	30:10	29:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Minnesota	Passing	Rickey Foggie	6–13, 69 yards
	Rushing	David Puk	13 carries, 61 yards
	Receiving	Eugene Gailord	3 receptions, 57 yards, TD
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	21–31, 268 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	13 carries, 75 yards, TD
	Receiving	Scott Helverson	7 receptions, 86 yards

vs. No. 13 UCLA (Rose Bowl)

#13 UCLA vs. #4 Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 13 Bruins	10	14	7	14	45
No. 4 Hawkeyes	7	3	7	11	28

• Date: January 1, 1986
• Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
• Game start:
  2:12 p.m. PST
• Elapsed time: 3:18
• Game attendance: 103,292
• Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), Overcast, Wind S 5 mph (8.0 km/h)
• Referee: Tom Quinn
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen

Scoring summary

1	7:02	IOWA	David Hudson 1-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	IOWA 7–0
1	3:23	UCLA	Eric Ball 30-yard run (Lee kick)	Tied 7–7
1	1:11	UCLA	John Lee 42-yard field goal	UCLA 10–7
2	7:43	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 24-yard field goal	Tied 10–10
2	6:19	UCLA	Eric Ball 40-yard run (Lee kick)	UCLA 17–10
2	1:36	UCLA	Eric Ball 6-yard run (Lee kick)	UCLA 24–10
3	12:19	IOWA	Chuck Long 4-yard run (Houghtlin kick)	UCLA 24–17
3	6:25	UCLA	Mike Sherrard 6-yard pass from Matt Stevens (J. Lee kick)	UCLA 31–17
4	13:25	UCLA	Eric Ball 32-yard run (Lee kick)	UCLA 38–17
4	10:51	IOWA	Rob Houghtlin 52-yard field goal	UCLA 38–20
4	6:38	UCLA	Matt Stevens 1-yard run (Lee kick)	UCLA 45–20
4	3:11	IOWA	Bill Happel 11-yard pass from Chuck Long (Harmon run)	UCLA 45–28

Main article: 1986 Rose Bowl

See also: 1985 UCLA Bruins football team

^[45]

	UCLA	Iowa
First Downs	29	25
Rushing Yards	55–299	34–82
Passing	16–26–1	29–38–1
Passing Yards	189	319
Total Offense	488	401
Fumbles Lost	3–2	4–4
Punts-Average	2–38.5	2–32.5
Penalties	6–36	5–40

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UCLA	Passing	Matt Stevens	16–26, 189 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Eric Ball	12 carries, 67 yards
	Receiving	Mike Sherrard	4 receptions, 48 yards
Iowa	Passing	Chuck Long	29–37, 319 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ronnie Harmon	14 carries, 55 yards
	Receiving	Ronnie Harmon	11 receptions, 102 yards

Roster

1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL 55 Dave Alexander Jr OL 75 Kevin Angel Sr FB 23 Richard Bass Fr RB 13 Rick Bayless So OL 69 Mike Bennett Sr FB 35 Fred Bush Sr OL 78 Malcolm Christie So TE 49 Craig Clark So TE 84 Marv Cook Fr WR 82 Pat Coppinger Jr FB 25 Marshall Cotton So OT 61 Dave Croston Jr OL 63 Jeff Croston Fr OL 58 Greg Divis So WR 1 Quinn Early So TE 86 Mike Flagg So OL 74 Chris Gambol Jr RB 22 Grant Goodman Fr WR 80 Steve Green So OT 79 Mike Haight (C) Sr WR 40 Bill Happel Sr RB 28 Kevin Harmon So RB 31 Ronnie Harmon (C) Sr QB 8 Chuck Hartlieb  Fr WR 87 Scott Helverson Sr QB 15 Jay Hess Jr FB 20 David Hudson Fr G 65 Tom Humphrey Sr G 70 Bob Kratch Fr QB 16 Chuck Long (C) Sr WR 81 Derrius Loveless So RB John Marchese Sr WR 26 Peter Marciano Fr WR 47 Jim Mauro So TE 89 Dave Murphy Jr OL 66 Kelly O'Brien Sr TE 85 John Palmer Fr QB 14 Tom Poholsky Fr OL 67 Jim Poynton Fr RB 33 Kevin Ringer Fr FB 30 John Rudolph Jr OL 60 Bob Schmitt So FB 17 Tim Sennott Sr C 56 Mark Sindlinger Jr WR 2 Robert Smith Jr OL 53 Mark Spranger Jr QB 12 Mark Vlasic Jr OL 71 Chuck Waggoner Fr TE 88 Tom Ward So OL 73 Herb Wester So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 68 Tim Anderson So LB 93 Tim Batterson So DE 92 Jeff Beard So DE 48 Tyrone Berrie Fr LB 43 Jeff Blake So DB 19 Mike Bolan Jr DE 5 Mike Burke So DE 90 Doug Burrell Sr DB 3 Kerry Burt So CB 29 Nate Creer Sr DB 18 Kyle Crowe Sr LB 37 George Davis Jr DL 76 Jeff Drost Jr DE 83 Mike Ertz Fr DE 94 Bruce Gear Jr DE 96 Robert Grafton Jr DL 64 Dave Haight Fr DL 54 Eric Higgins Fr DB 42 Tork Hook Fr DB 19 Carl Jackson So DL 77 Myron Keppy Jr DB 4 Lloyd Kimber Jr LB 34 Vernon Little Fr DE 98 George Millett Sr DB 21 Devon Mitchell Sr DE 97 Joe Mott Fr DB 45 Jay Norvell Sr DL 50 Hap Peterson (C) Sr DE 71 Chris Pigott Fr DE 99 Richard Pryor Jr LB 32 J.J. Puk Jr LB 95 Jim Reilly Fr LB 38 Shawon Respress Fr DE 91 Sean Ridley Fr DB 11 Rick Schmidt Jr DL 72 Joe Schuster  Jr DB 44 Keaton Smiley So DB 9 Ken Sims Jr LB 36 Larry Station (C) Sr DB 41 Mark Stoops Fr LB 39 Tyrone Taylor So DL 95 Eric Underberg Jr DL 57 Jon Vrieze Jr DL 51 Bill Weires Sr LB 46 Dan Wirth So DB 10 Anthony Wright Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 84 Marv Cook Fr K 6 George Murphy Fr K 7 Rob Houghtlin So P 27 Gary Kostrubala Jr	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Snyder – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Bill Brashier – Defensive coordinator Kirk Ferentz – Offensive line Carl Jackson – Running backs Del Miller – Offensive assistant Dan McCarney – Defensive line Barry Alvarez – Linebackers Don Patterson – Defensive backs Bernie Wyatt – Defensive ends/recruiting coordinator Bill Dervich – Strength and conditioning Bob Stoops – Volunteer assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards and honors

• Chuck Long, Quarterback – Big Ten Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award,^[46] Maxwell Award,^[46] and Runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Consensus First-team All-American.^[47]
• Larry StationLinebacker $2 – Consensus First-team All-American.^[47]

See also: 1985 College Football All-America Team and 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team

1986 NFL draft

Main article: 1986 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Chuck Long	Quarterback	1	12	Detroit Lions
Ronnie Harmon	Running back	1	16	Buffalo Bills
Mike Haight	Tackle	1	22	New York Jets
Devon Mitchell	Defensive back	4	92	Detroit Lions
Larry Station	Linebacker	11	287	Pittsburgh Steelers

^[48]

Future head coaches

Name	1985 Position	School	Tenure
Bill Snyder	Offensive coordinator/QB Coach	Kansas State	1989–2005, 2009–2018
Barry Alvarez	Linebackers Coach	Wisconsin	1990–2005
Dan McCarney	Defensive line coach	Iowa State North Texas	1995–2006 2011–2015
Bob Stoops	Volunteer Coach	Oklahoma	1999–2016
Kirk Ferentz	Offensive line coach	Iowa	1999–present
Don Patterson	Tight ends coach	Western Illinois	1999–2009
Chuck Long	Quarterback	San Diego State	2006–2008
Mark Stoops	Defensive back	Kentucky	2013–present
Jay Norvell	Defensive backs	Nevada Colorado State	2017–2021 2022–present