The 2004 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in the

2004 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2004 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, NCAA Division I-A football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season ...

. They played their home games in

Kinnick Stadium Kinnick Stadium is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Iowa Hawkeyes football, Hawkeyes football team. Opened in 1929 as Iowa Stadium to replace Iowa Field, it currently holds u ...

and were coached by

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the Universi ...

. Finishing the 2003 season with a 10–3 record and an

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

victory, the Hawkeyes began the season 2–0 with wins over Kent State and

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

. But after rocky performances at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, the Hawkeyes sat at 2–2 going into their game with

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. The Hawkeyes handily defeated the Spartans 38–16, and turned their attention to

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, a team whom the Hawkeyes had not beaten at home since 1983. Behind a strong

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

performance that allowed only 177 yards, the Hawkeyes easily defeated the Buckeyes by 26 points, the largest margin of victory over Ohio State in Iowa history at the time. However, tragedy struck soon thereafter, when

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Kirk Ferentz's father died. In the emotional game that ensued, the Hawkeyes narrowly defeated

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

6–4 on two Kyle Schlicher

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

. The Hawkeyes then raised their record to 8–2 with victories over

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. With a share of the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

on the line, the Hawkeyes met

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the final regular season game of the year. Iowa won the game, completing its second consecutive unbeaten season at home, and thousands of Hawkeye fans swarmed the field in celebration. Several weeks following the victory, Iowa accepted a bid to play the LSU Tigers in the

2005 Capital One Bowl The 2005 Capital One Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the LSU Tigers on January 1, 2005, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Spread bettors favored LSU by seven points, but Iowa won, 30–25 ...

. In a game that was originally thought to be a defensive matchup, the Hawkeyes took a 24–12 lead early in the fourth quarter. But behind

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

JaMarcus Russell JaMarcus Trenell Russell (born August 9, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football f ...

, the Tigers stormed back, and took a one-point lead with 46 seconds remaining. However, LSU's comeback was all for naught, as Iowa's Drew Tate completed a 56-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

pass to Warren Holloway as time expired, giving Iowa the 30–25 win and a 10–2 final record.

Previous season

In 2003, Iowa began the season 4–0 and would eventually complete the regular season with a 9–3 record that included wins over Iowa State, Michigan (Iowa's second straight victory against Michigan), and Minnesota. However, the Hawkeyes lost to Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue. Finishing fourth in the Big Ten standings, the Hawkeyes accepted a bid to play the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

in the Outback Bowl. Despite falling behind early on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Chris Leak to Kelvin Knight, the Hawkeyes reeled off 27 straight points en route to a 37–17 victory. It was a milestone victory, as it gave Iowa its second consecutive 10-win season along with the first Hawkeye victory in a January bowl game since the Rose Bowl in 1959. Following the season, five Iowa players were selected in the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...

. Robert Gallery, the 2003

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winner, became the second-highest pick in school history when he was selected 2nd by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. Following Gallery in Iowa's draft order were Bob Sanders, taken 44th by

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Nate Kaeding, taken 65th by

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, Jared Clauss, taken in the seventh round by

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and Erik Jensen, who was taken in the seventh round by

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Before the season

Prior to the season, the Hawkeyes looked to replace seven offensive starters and four defensive starters. Key losses from 2003 included Maurice Brown, Robert Gallery, Nate Chandler,

Fred Russell Fred Russell (August 27, 1906 – January 26, 2003) was an American sportswriter from Tennessee who served as sports editor for the ''Nashville Banner'' newspaper for 68 years (1930–1998). He was a member of the Heisman Trophy Committee, presi ...

, and Ramon Ochoa on offense. Defensively, the Hawkeyes looked to replace Howard Hodges, Jared Clauss, Grant Steen, and Bob Sanders. Replacement starters on offense were Drew Tate, Champ Davis, Jermelle Lewis, Calvin Davis, Tony Jackson, Lee Gray, Mike Elgin, and Chris Felder. On defense, Derreck Robinson, Tyler Luebke, George Lewis, and Marcus Paschal assumed their roles on the starting lineup. On special teams, David Bradley returned for his senior season as punter, while Kyle Schlicher replaced Nate Kaeding as the starting kicker.

Preseason Rankings

* NationalChamps.net – 12th * USA today – 12th * SI.com – 15th * AP top 25 – 19th

Recruiting class

Iowa signed 21 players on

National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, which was February 4, 2004. The Hawkeyes added other late commits to the class with the late additions of defensive lineman Ettore Ewen . Another recruit, Kyle Williams, later de-committed from the Hawkeyes and committed to the Purdue Boilermakers.

Schedule

Schedule note

Due to the Big Ten's rotating schedule, the Hawkeyes did not play either Northwestern or

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Strength of schedule rankings

* FootballFantasy.com – 13th * Russell rankings – 18th * AndersonSports – 18th

Roster

Coaching staff

Rankings

Game summaries

Kent State

*Source: Box Score
/small> The Hawkeyes, wearing throwback uniforms commemorating 75 years at Kinnick Stadium, smothered the Golden Flashes. Sophomore Drew Tate had two touchdown passes in his debut as starter. Junior linebacker Chad Greenway had a blocked punt and two interceptions, the latter turning into a pick six midway through the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.

Iowa State

*Source: Box Score
/small>

at Arizona State

*Source: Box Score
/small>

at No. 18 Michigan

*Source: Box Score
/small>

Michigan State

*Source: Box Score
/small>

No. 25 Ohio State

*Source: Box Score
/small>

was able to get his first win over Ohio State in this dominant victory. Iowa's defense was relentless and held the Buckeyes to just 27 yards rushing on 29 attempts. Additionally, Ohio State only ran six plays in Hawkeye territory through the first three quarters of the game, and scored their only points with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore quarterback Drew Tate had four touchdowns (1 rushing).

at Penn State

*Source: Box Score
/small> Iowa's first win without a touchdown since beating Michigan in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

at Illinois

*Source: Box Score
/small>

Purdue

*Source: Box Score
/small>

at Minnesota

*Source: Box Score
/small> In one of the more unlikely victories of the season, Iowa traveled to the Metrodome to challenge the Golden Gophers powerful rushing duo of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney. The Hawkeye defense came into the game rated #1 in the country in rushing defense. Despite that, the Gopher tandem shredded the Hawkeye defense with the Gophers outrushing Iowa by an outlandish margin of 337 to 6 in yards gained. The Hawkeyes prevailed however behind the deft passing and scrambling of sophomore quarterback Drew Tate, a pass defense that held the Gophers to 73 yards through the air and forced three turnovers, and Iowa's sophomore place-kicker Kyle Schlicher, who was a perfect 5–5 in field goals. The Hawkeyes led virtually the entire game, but needed a huge defensive stop in the closing minutes, with Jr. linebacker Chad Greenway stopping Marion Barber III for a key loss on 2nd down in Iowa territory and eventually forcing Minnesota to attempt a 51-yard field goal, trailing by two. Although Gopher placekicker Rhyss Lloyd had won three games in his career with last-minute field goals, this time his attempt shanked wide. QB Drew Tate then guided the Hawks to one closing first down with the help of an offside penalty on Minnesota, and the Hawks survived, winning their sixth consecutive game, all against Big 10 teams. By the time the Hawkeyes kicked off in their next (and final) regular-season game, they learned they would be playing for a portion of the Big Ten title.

No. 9 Wisconsin

*Source: Box Score
/small> Iowa clinched a share of Big Ten title with this victory over Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes' defense was smothering, holding a top-ten Badger team to just seven points. Fans rushed the field as it capped off a historic run and an undefeated home season.

vs. No. 11 LSU (Capital One Bowl)

*Source: Box Score
/small> LSU would not go away in this back-and-forth bowl game. The Tigers took the lead with under a minute to play. Drew Tate was able to find Warren Holloway for a 56-yard pass as time expired to give the Hawkeyes a miracle victory which would become to be known as "The Catch" among Iowa fans.

Postseason awards

Team players in the 2005 NFL draft

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons Citrus Bowl champion seasons

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 and played their first ...