The 1984 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team that 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 ...

as a member of the

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

during the 1984 Big Ten football season. In their sixth year under head coach

Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now known ...

, the Hawkeyes compiled an 8–4–1 (5–3–1 in conference games), tied for fourth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 304 to 184. Iowa concluded its season with a victory over

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in the

Freedom Bowl The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994. The bowl frequently invited a team from the Western Athletic Conference to compete against an at-large opp ...

and was ranked No. 16 in the final AP poll and No. 15 in the final UPI poll. Running back

Ronnie Harmon Ronnie Keith Harmon (born May 7, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1986 to 1997. Early life and college Harmon was born in Queens, New Yor ...

was selected as the team's most valuable player. He led the team in rushing (1,166 yards) and receiving (151 catches for 715 yards). Quarterback

Chuck Long Charles Franklin Long Jr. (born February 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played as a quarter ...

completed 216 of 322 passes for 2,871 yards and 22 touchdowns. The team played its home games at

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 ...

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

Iowa State

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Box Score and Game RecapBox Score and Game Recap

No. 12 Penn State

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Box score and Game storyBox Score and Game Recap

at No. 5 Ohio State

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Box score and Game storyBox Score
The Hawkeyes outgained the Buckeyes 458–335, but four turnovers (one returned for a touchdown) were too much to overcome on this trip to Columbus.

Keith Byars Keith Alan Byars (born October 14, 1963) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional football player. He played as a fullback and tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New E ...

ran, caught, and threw touchdowns for Ohio State.

Illinois

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Box score and Game story
The Hawkeyes exacted some revenge for the whipping laid on them in Champaign the previous season. The win over the defending Big Ten champions snapped the Illini's 12-game conference winning streak.

had 3 touchdown runs for Iowa.

At Northwestern

*Sources:''
Box Score and Game story
The Hawkeyes held Northwestern to only 49 yards of total offense, a mark that still stands as a single-game school record.

recorded 3 touchdown runs for the second straight game.

at No. 14 Purdue

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Box Score and Game story

went 17-21 for 369 yards and 4 TD as Iowa won in West Lafayette for the first time since 1956, snapping a 12-game losing skid at Ross–Ade Stadium.

Michigan

*Sources:''
Box Score and Game story
The Hawkeyes' 26–0 shutout of the Wolverines would end up being

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

's worst loss in 21 years as head coach at Michigan.

At Indiana

*Source:''
Box Score and Game Story
Chuck Long set an NCAA record by completing 22 consecutive passes (record stood until 1998) and tossed two touchdowns, and Ronnie Harmon ran for 160 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Indiana. Iowa sat atop the Big Ten standings after beating the Hoosiers, but would not win another conference game in 1984.

Wisconsin

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Box Score and Game Story

Michigan State

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Box Score and Game Story

At Minnesota

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Box Score and Game Story

At Hawaii

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Box Score and Game Story

vs. No. 19 Texas (Freedom Bowl)

*Source
Box Score
Chuck Long 29–39, 461 yards, 6 TD

Roster

Postseason awards

Larry Station Larry W. Station Jr. (born December 5, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Iowa. He ...

, linebacker – Consensus First-team All-American * Paul Hufford, defensive tackle –

Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the ''Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the confer ...

Team players in the 1985 NFL draft

References

{{Iowa Hawkeyes football navbox

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 Freedom 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 ...